Online Casino Bank Accounts Seized in US

Three bank accounts in the United States allegedly holding funds from online casinos were seized by the federal police on 4 September. Following an investigation, the authorities deemed that there was sufficient evidence to seize the money pursuant to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) on the basis that the funds were associated with illegal gambling activities and money laundering.

The bank accounts which included winnings pay outs were at Citi Bank and the Bank of America and are held in the name of HMD Inc. It has been suggested that HMD Inc. has some connection to previous seizures of accounts owned by Electracash, a payment processor.

The seizure warrants were issued by the courts in Maryland and New York. Neither of these states prohibit online gambling yet the courts recently deemed the legal issues surrounding online gambling to be the responsibility of the state.

A reported $30 million dollars has been seized by the federal government in the past two months alone from poker winnings. As of December this year, the financial institutions themselves will be responsible for the UIGEA.