Poker News

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING CRACKDOWN COULD IMPACT U.S. POKER

Source: bluffed.net


Bids to restrict messenger betting could affect staking and investment in players.

Professional poker players in major tournaments, especially in the USA, who sell part of their action to investors who are not themselves playing, could be impacted by the recent clampdown on anti-money laundering by the US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

The watchdog has recently issued warnings to American gambling companies regarding the dangers of money laundering and the concealment of sources of gambling money, and in response Nevada lawmakers have crafted an amendment to state law in bill SB40 that will specifically ban "messenger betting" - the placing of bets through a third party resident in Nevada.

Gambling companies are already required by federal law to notify the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on any cash bets over $10,000.

Another federal law - the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act - restricts sports betting to just four US states, with Nevada enjoying the most latitude. That has resulted in a situation in which punters in other states where sports betting is illegal try to place bets in Nevada through third hence the messenger bet, which the Treasury is worried may be exploited by money launderers.

Nevada's state Gaming Control Board is driving SB40 in order to comply with federal government requirements, and it seeks to obviate messenger betting by beefing up the existing requirement that any person or entity accepting a bet on behalf of another must comply with regulations and be licensed by the state.

SB40 does this by extending the scope of the existing law to any unauthorised person or entity who financially benefits from third-party betting activity or receives "directly or indirectly, any compensation or reward, or any percentage or share of the money or property played."

On the face of it that would appear to embrace your action-selling poker players, and perhaps even revenue-sharing affiliate and the amending bill makes the offence a felony, with tough punitive provisions.

NEW BRIT I.S.P. POLICY REQUIRES PUNTERS TO OPT-IN FOR 'ADULT' SITES

Moves by ISPs could restrict internet access to "adult" content sites.

Political pressure on British internet service providers to restrict access to "adult" websites offering gambling, violent or pornographic content unless users first opt-in is beginning to produce results.

ISP giant Sky is the first to roll out a version of the new restrictions, announcing last week that it planned to launch the Sky Broadband Shield filtering program by the first week in February. This will entail Sky users changing their settings in order to specifically opt-in to adult sites; if they do not, their access to such sites will be blocked.

Another ISP, TalkTalk, has issued a similar advisory for its HomeSafe filter, likewise destined for roll-out in February, and requiring users to opt-in for access to adult sites.

BT and Virgin Media have taken a different approach, with BT undertaking a user survey asking its customers how they would feel about automated filtering, and Virgin leaving the decision on whether to activate filtering or not to its so far only 10% have taken the option.

The danger, as ever, is that ISP blocks are too enthusiastically applied and end up impacting perfectly legitimate entities, a point already being made by internet freedom action groups that have been quick to seize on bad examples of over-blocking (remember the furore in Australia over a government attempt at ISP blocking and the unintended victims several years ago?)

Heightening tensions on the issue, a 2025 report from watchdog Ofcom revealed that less than 13% of users opted in to filtering programs, and that over-blocking errors were not uncommon.

Related News Tags: USA, Virgin