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ARTICLE · 01 JULY 2012

Online poker: Reality or bluff?

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The US Department of Justice accused three online poker companies of bank fraud, illegal gambling and money laundering.

AustraliaCriminal Law
Alex Bell
Alex Bell
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Introduction

On 14 April 2011, the US online poker market was thriving. At any time, over 55,000 players sat at virtual tables, gambling with their real dollars. The market was dominated by three players – Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Absolute Poker (the 'Poker Companies').1

This industry was brought to a shuddering halt on Friday 15 April 2011, when US Department of Justice ('DoJ') seized control of the companies' websites and accused them of bank fraud, illegal gambling and money laundering.2

In this article, we analyse the events since 'Black Friday' (as it became known in the poker world) to try to make sense of the allegations and answer the question: Were these legitimate businesses or elaborate frauds?

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