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 It appears that a grand jury in Manhattan is set to investigate one of the largest online poker sites serving US gamblers. Full Tilt Poker and some of its top players are facing charges of money laundering and the violation of online gambling laws according to the Financial Times of London.
According to the newspaper the investigation "could bring indictments against some of the world's best know professional players." Some of the top pros on the Full Tilt roster include Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson.
The paper goes on to say that authorities are most likely to pursue money laundering charges, "FBI agents or prosecutors have spoken to at least two people involved in disputes with Full Tilt, paying special attention to the possibility of money-laundering violations...Money-laundering charges might be attractive to the government as they would compel co-operation from authorities even in countries where gambling is legal."
It is believed that authorities have been investigating Full Tilt for some time now trying to gather as much evidence as possible before taking up any charges. Industry experts believe that the current Grand Jury investigation may be just another example of intimidation by the US authorities who wish to bring online gambling and poker to its knees.
"They are waging this war of intimidation," said Nelson Rose, an author of books on gambling law and adviser to some of the top companies in the industry. "There are not a lot of good statutes, so they go after high-profile targets and try to intimidate everybody."
The justice department maintains that online poker is in violation of federal law. They claim that the decades-old Wire Act bans the practice and that the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act has reinforced this notion. Despite this however Rose says that he did not know of any criminal charges brought under the 2006 law and blames the bills poor warning.
While a number of bills are circulating in Congress that could legalize and regulate of the online gambling industry, federal agents have continued their battle with leading figures under the guise of money-laundering and other laws.
Whatever steps they take though the industry continues to thrive in the U.S. It is estimated that American facing poker sites make around $1 billion each year off of its customers and things have shown no sign of slowing down.
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