By
Dan |
Published
Apr 30 2009, 09:50 PM
The list of 200 internet gaming websites at risk in Minnesota includes a bevy of online poker rooms that do not accept U.S. players. Headlining U.S.-friendly sites on the list is Full Tilt Poker, whose domain name is also in jeopardy in Kentucky. The list in Minnesota was compiled randomly and spans the worlds of online poker, casinos, Bingo sites, and sports books. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were served written notice on Monday to halt access by Minnesota residents to the 200 sites in question and now have three weeks to respond. Read the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s list.
The list contains a number of sites that do not allow customers from the United States to sign up and play. They include several sites on the iPoker Network, which is the largest worldwide that does not accept U.S. customers. Titan Poker, Betfred, CD Poker, Noble Poker, and MansionPoker all now find themselves at risk. Also appearing on the list is Everest Poker, which aficionados of the game know is the title sponsor of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP). The tournament series features Everest Poker logos on its felts, which will receive a considerable amount of exposure when its events are beamed into households in the United States and around the world. Everest Poker is an independent site and does not accept U.S. customers.
Curiously also on the list are PokerRoom and CasinoRoom, which closed down earlier this month and sent remaining members to bwin, which is not at risk in Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety also calls out Hollywood Poker, Gnuf, Action Poker, and Betway; none accept real money players from the United States. Among the list of 200 sites is Party Casino, a sister site of PartyPoker. The latter, however, does not appear. Both sites are owned by Party Gaming, which poker players will note recently forged a non-prosecution agreement with the United States Government and will pay $105 million in penalties. In December, one of its co-founders, Anurag Dikshit, forked over $300 million to U.S. authorities. World Poker Tour Host Mike Sexton signed back on with Party Poker this week as the site’s host, ambassador, and card room consultant. Neither Party Casino nor Party Poker accepts U.S. customers.
U.S.-friendly sites on the list include Full Tilt Poker and Bodog. However, the latter is listed as “BoDog.com,” but its associated URL is of its casino arm, not its online poker site. Full Tilt Poker has also come under fire in Kentucky and is one of 141 internet gambling sites whose domain name may be forfeited as a result of ongoing legal action by the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. Full Tilt Poker purchased the domain fulltilt.com as a backup; that URL currently forwards to its main website. Another major site that accepts U.S. players and is at risk in Minnesota is Players Only, which makes its home on the Cake Poker Network.
Other sites that appear include 32red, BetUS, Crazy Poker, Euro Poker, InterTops Casino, Total Poker, William Hill Casino, Kiwi Casino, Ladbrokes Casino, PokerRoom School, River Belle, Spin Palace, and Sports Interaction. Not appearing on the list are U.S.-friendly sites such as Doyle’s Room, Absolute Poker, Ultimate Bet, PokerStars, Cake Poker, Carbon Poker, and Lock Poker. A press release distributed by the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) notes that BetUS “had an endorsement deal with former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura.”
Also circulating on Thursday were copies of the notice served to ISPs. Each is dated on Friday, April 24th and authored by John Willems, the Director of the Department of Public Safety’s Department of Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement. The notice reads, “Attached is a list of online gambling sites and telephone numbers that are available to your Minnesota customers. This gambling is illegal in Minnesota… The provided list should provide sufficient information for your network systems personnel to block access to these sites by customers located in Minnesota.” A copy of Minnesota’s gambling statute is included, as are the IP addresses and phone numbers for each site on the list.
The URLs were allegedly determined randomly without regard to what kind of online gambling each site was engaged in. iMEGA’s Joe Brennan commented, “To propose censoring Minnesota residents’ Web access and not to know which sites are even in the U.S. market makes me wonder just how seriously the DPS is taking this action. It comes off as a half-baked attempt at intimidation rather than thoughtful enforcement.”
Stay tuned to PocketFives.com for the latest from the Minnesota internet gambling blockage.