August 31st, 2009 by admin

Earlier this year, the Southern District of New York engineered a controversial crackdown on U.S. poker players. In the end, more than $30 million heading to or from over 24,000 player accounts was seized. Under the UIGEA, it is illegal for banks in the United States to transfer funds to or from an online gambling establishment. Government officials used this law to justify seizing funds from two California bank accounts belonging to Account Services, a San Diego-based company that processes funds transfers for American poker players.

On Thursday, legal representation for both Account Services and the Poker Players Alliance went before U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Miller to request that at least $13 million be returned to the players, since the players themselves did not violate UIGEA laws. While illegal gambling, fraud and money laundering charges have been filed against Account Services owner Douglas Reddick, no charges have been brought against the affected players, leaving the world to wonder why their money cannot be released. It’s a question the prosecution has never fully answered.

Thursday the PPA presented several arguments on the players’ behalf, but because online poker is such a gray area in the U.S., Judge Miller ruled against releasing the requested funds. The San Diego Union-Tribune predicted that it could now be “years” before the players see their sequestered money again. While the PPA vowed to forge ahead in their efforts to see the players reimbursed, they were at a loss to explain just how they planned to do that.