FBI seizes top online poker sites, including traditional MMA mega-sponsors

Dent · **Posted:** Sat Apr 16, 2011 2:39 am

Apparently, sometimes you can stop the Internet – at least briefly, anyway.

Online poker sites PokerStars.com, FullTiltPoker.com and AbsolutePoker.com were today seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the owners of the sites have been charged with accusations of fraud and illegal gambling.

The shutdown could have a substantial impact in the world of mixed martial arts as the online poker industry features several companies that have traditionally invested heavily in the sponsorship of entire promotions, as well as individual fighters.

Sam Spira, who along with Randy Couture co-owns Xtreme Couture management, said the move could affect several prominent MMA fighters. Couture was the first-ever UFC fighter to wear the Full Tilt logo.

"This is a disturbing development," Spira told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "Full Tilt was one of the remaining pro-fighter sponsors that has strongly supported MMA over the past few years. The importance of the ongoing interplay between supporters and fans of poker and supporters and fans of MMA cannot be underestimated."

MMAAgents boss Ken Pavia echoed those concerns.

"The online poker companies don't have a complete handle on it at this time, but they're doing their due diligence to find out what the full impact is," Pavia said. "In the short-term, it will severely impact fighters' sponsor revenue, which traditionally matched their show pay for our televised clients. I would venture to say the poker industry is equal to apparel industry as the No. 1 sponsor of fighters outside the UFC."

Poker website sponsorships are not currently allowed in the UFC or Bellator Fighting Championships, but Full Tilt has been a title sponsor in Strikeforce, and Pavia said the companies also have a significant presence in several regional promotions in the U.S. and Canada.

It's currently uncertain exactly how the seizure will immediately affect sponsored fighters, but Pavia said a visit planned for this weekend with an unnamed online poker company has been canceled.

A Strikeforce spokesperson was equally unsure at this time as to exactly how the company's relationship with the online poker industry would be affected moving forward.

"We're looking into the situation specifically as to how it relates to our deal," he said. "We have no further comment at this time."

Internet gambling has been illegal in the U.S. since 2006, but companies catering to U.S. residents have operated overseas since that time. A total of 11 online poker executives were cited in today's charges, according to Reuters.com.

Civil money-laundering charges were also filed, and the government is said to be seeking $3 billion from the companies in money-laundering penalties. Some 76 involved bank accounts have been seized.

According to Reuters' original report, "The criminal charges outlined a scheme by the company owners and some of their employees to direct the gambling profits to online shell companies that would appear legitimate to banks processing payments."

Magnetic MMA head Jason Genet is quick to point out that the sites that have traditionally sponsored the UFC and some of its athletes are actually the companies' .net addresses, which are simply for educational and entertainment purposes and do not allow online wagering.

"The poker sponsorships that have been allowed in the UFC and other organizations are actually compliant," Genet told MMAjunkie.com. "They are for learning or entertainment purposes – not wagering. Most of the top organizations have a sponsorship vetting process that protects the athletes.

"For example, if you click on FullTiltPoker.net, you will see that the site is still live."

The online poker industry is, of course, nothing new, and the companies have experienced substantial growth since the 2006 regulation that banned online wagering in the U.S. Genet finds it hard to believe the government is just now discovering an issue.

"It is kind of hard to believe that Visa and MasterCard were somehow fooled," Genet said. "The offshore betting sites tend to host their servers in the same locations. These are normally in places like Costa Rica, etc. Why else would these areas have so much Internet-based commerce?"

All three websites may still be currently visible to Internet users in various regions of the U.S., but that will soon change. The lag is due to a delay in DNS updates by some Internet providers.

Source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/23266/fbi-sei ... onsors.mma

FBI seizes top online poker sites, including traditional MMA mega-sponsors

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