Black Friday and the aftermath: Online Poker Implications

[GreekStein]

I hate America/Americans.

Racist/ban.

+1

Mods, is this an acceptable thing to say on the public forum?

[Ironside]

if any americans are looking for a full tilt account and want to make me an offer too good to refuse they are more than welcome to mine

[redarmi]

I hate America/Americans.

+1.....and I live in Florida.

[pleno1]

if any americans are looking for a full tilt account and want to make me an offer too good to refuse they are more than welcome to mine

delete/pm/ban/warn etc

[George2Loose]

if any americans are looking for a full tilt account and want to make me an offer too good to refuse they are more than welcome to mine

How about £zero? You're bound to make money anway

[TightEnd]

Absolute are still open to US players, I believe

What would be the strategy behind sticking two fingers up at the DOJ and saying "fuck you"?

Dwan, I saw, was quoted as saying he wouldn't pay 40c in the $ in lieu of money on AP.

[smashedagain]

i got a ban from full tilt a few years ago. i dont know what all the fuss is about. it had a positive effect on my life. thinking about my friend lisa condon in dublin. recently moved fom Boyles to full tilt and am sure she has something to do with the money laundering

[Bongo]

One strategy could be to get a load of US players money before running off to a country that doesn't have extradition treaties with the USA.

[GreekStein]

I hate America/Americans.

Racist/ban.

+1

Mods, is this an acceptable thing to say on the public forum?

[TightEnd]

Titanium Bean gets a bit excitable, and I don't think one should take his sweeping generalisation seriously, should we Mr Wayman?

[TightEnd]

Meanwhile on egamingreview

"In the 72 hours following the indictment of 11 senior executives and owners of three of the biggest US-facing poker sites, their European rivals have launched respective marketing drives in an attempt to capitalise on the availability of new players.

Since the US Attorney’s Office issued a notice on Friday bringing charges against Pokerstars founder Isai Scheinberg, Full Tilt’s Ray Bitar, and nine others for alleged fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling, traffic on a number of rivals' sites has risen dramatically.

According to Pokerscout’s weekly traffic report, all three affected sites have seen their traffic drop significantly, with Full Tilt’s 48% week-on-week decline the most striking. PKR, however has seen a 21% rise (the highest from a non-US site) while PartyPoker (9%), 888Poker (5%) and the iPoker network (4%) are also on the up.

Several networks and sites not taking US customers have hastily launched promotions to target those players looking to deposit on sites other than Full Tilt, Pokerstars and the Cereus, the two-site network that contains Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, both of which are included in Friday’s indictment.

Last night, Unibet announced it would be holding its first ever €500,000 guarantee tournament, while ChiliPoker – on the iPoker network – countered what has come to be known as online poker’s “Black Friday” with its own “Purple Day” promotion, featuring 200% sign-up bonuses.

One European-based affiliate, who asked not to be named, told eGaming Review: “My inbox is getting constant messages such as 888 doubling their prize-pools, and Titan Poker offering 60% revenue shares and saying if you are a Pokerstars player you can send them a screenshot of your VIP status then you get the same level of loyalty there.

“I was surprised by the email [from Titan] because it was so obvious, but I think Pokerstars and Full Tilt have really played outside the rules of the game and now this is a very positive development for the whole affiliate system.”

He went on to suggest that, from a player’s point of view, a more carefree attitude towards funds locked up on the bigger US-facing sites could begin to reap rewards. “Many people think that playing on Pokerstars and Full Tilt is like playing Zynga poker because no one knows what the value of the chips really is,” he said.

Dominik Kofert, CEO of power affiliate PokerStrategy.com, is cautiously optimistic about the impact Friday’s news will have on the online poker market outside the US.

“The curious thing is that some of these same people used to say that – compared to some banks and payment providers – the safest place to keep money was on Stars and Tilt.”

His site refuses to take American players and runs IP blocks. Providing Pokerstars and Full Tilt can continue to run their non-US-facing sites, as is currently the case, he expects a “mini-boom” outside the US.

“The European-facing sites have launched their various promotions and I think Pokerstars will follow suit in the next few days,” he said.

“With more traffic going to those sites not taking players from the US, I expect Pokerstars  and Full Tilt to divert more of their marketing spend to these markets in response.”

He added the priority for many of his players was to ensure their funds are secure, with many of them currently unable to withdraw from Pokerstars and Full Tilt.

“It is an issue of trust, and it is important that this element gets sorted out as quickly as possible,” he said.

But while European sites are seemingly showing a near-unanimous drive to capitalise on those players deserting the ‘big three’ in America, a mixed message is coming from stateside competitors.

Bodog made a mysterious return to Pokerscout's rankings with a 26% seven day rise in player numbers in the wake of Friday’s indictments, having blocked the tracking site earlier this year, while the Merge and Cake networks continue to take American players at the time of writing.

However, Victory Poker – one of the larger skins on Cake – is immediately abandoning its US focus. CEO Dan Fleyshman tweeted yesterday: “Asked the Cake Network to BLOCK US players from the Victory Poker site. They are supportive of my decision. Hope it gets regulated 1 day!” "

[tikay]

Meanwhile, 888 & BWin shares soar on the LSE.......

From the BBC....

Shares in London-listed online betting firms surged after some big poker websites in the US were shut for alleged illegal activity.

In early afternoon trading Bwin were up more than 34% and 888 up 24% as investors speculated that the US closures would boost their operations.

On Friday, 11 people linked to three major poker sites were charged with offences, including fraud.

The US probe involves three sites: Full Tilt, PokerStars, and Absolute Poker.

According to Execution Noble analyst Geetanjali Sharma: "The closure of the main competitors' operations and the US legal proceedings initiated against them should benefit European listed operators."

Playtech, another gaming site, also saw its shares jump 11%

[smashedagain]

Titanium Bean gets a bit excitable, and I don't think one should take his sweeping generalisation seriously, should we Mr Wayman?

he wont reply until he gets back from the EDL meeting

[titaniumbean]

Titanium Bean gets a bit excitable, and I don't think one should take his sweeping generalisation seriously, should we Mr Wayman?

is it better to generalise to most of the worlds populace then?

[TightEnd]

and, we say, desperately trying to keep the thread on track..


Party Poker rose 30% in London today too