Troubled Online Poker Payments

The Southern District of New York recently moved against what they considered the ‘illegal gambling activity' of Canadian Douglas Rennick. He is charged with fraudulently operating payment processors for online gambling sites in North America.

Some $34 million has already been seized by the State, leaving many people expecting their winning payments in limbo.

What's it all about?
Rennick was operating online payment processors that received and paid out funds for online gambling activity. According to the current US law - the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act 2006 (UIGEA) and the Federal Wire Act 1961 in particular - no banking or financial institutions in the USA are allowed to process payments or receive funds with the purposes of online gambling activity.

The State claims that Rennick is guilty of bank fraud, money laundering, and gambling conspiracy.

Now that the investigation of Rennick is fully underway, the players who have been waiting for their payouts from Full Tilt Poker, Pokerstars and Ultimate Bet, are between stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) rightly intervened, due to no warrants being issued in the first place, and they are now working alongside the court to direct the investigation fairly.

How much?
Claims that $350 million was processed through a Cyprus bank account have been leaked, but the Justice Department is seeking the forfeiture of $565 million. If Rennick is convicted he faces punitive measures of 30 years imprisonment and a fine of $2 million.

A counter-suit has been filed by Account Services Corporation, regarding the ‘illegal' seizure of the $34 million, and is set to be heard on August 21, but no date has been released for the Douglas Rennick case.