Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

Sportingbet shares suspended on London stock exchange. Looks like BetonSports but bigger, if you have money in PAradise Poker I'd suggest trying to get it out now before they freeze the accounts like BetonSports did. Hopefully not a lot of you US guys hedged your Mansion free bet at Paradise...


Sportingbet chairman detained

Update

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

Well since we can't catch Osama Bin Laden the govt. will just work on catching poker players instead. God the US is the worst funking country in the civilized world. Pathetic.

I just requested a withdrawl of all my funds from Paradise. Everyone else should do the same before they shut down and disappear into the ether of the internet.

[img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

Holy crap - this is major news folks. Maybe the US realizes this legislation is doomed and is trying to instill the idea (to US players) that their money isn't safe and can be frozen or confiscated anytime. Scary. What was this guy doing in the US?

Jeff

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

Who knows what he was doing here, the last guy got nailed in transition going from point a to b. That means they got a list, surveil who's traveling, abusing war on terror intelligence, then springing little traps for them when they are in sovereign U. S. territory.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

Wow. Thanks for posting this.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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That means they got a list, surveil who's traveling, abusing war on terror intelligence...

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Well of course they are. Nobody who is paying the slightest bit of attention expected them to do otherwise.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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Holy crap - this is major news folks. Maybe the US realizes this legislation is doomed and is trying to instill the idea (to US players) that their money isn't safe and can be frozen or confiscated anytime. Scary. What was this guy doing in the US?

Jeff

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From the BBC

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The chairman of the UK-based gambling firm Sportingbet is due to appear in a US court later, though details of any charges remain unclear.
Peter Dicks, 64, was arrested by US authorities in Dallas as he passed through the USA on the way to his company's offices in Costa Rica.


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Not much info, shares in party and 888 down by 11% and 17%.

chez

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

you tax dollars at work.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

Why don´t they just stay out of the US?

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

One important point. This is also a Sports Betting company. No one has touched pure poker sites even though key representatives were all sitting in one big room in Vegas just a few short weeks ago.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

why was the idiot in the US, if that's where he was nabbed.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

Listed in UK, based in Costa Rica - not easy to transit without going thru US really - and of course he will have flown it hundreds of times before.

I'm sure from now on all poker/internet casino/sports-betting company execs will make an extra effort to ban US cutomers or stay out of US...

So far they are attacking companies that run a sportsbook...but remember the Justice Dept. claim onlinepoker is illegal too - and that's why Party just lost 12% of its cap this morning..

Amazing country the US - you can buy prescription medication, guns and hardcore porn online and yet you commit a federal offence by making a $10 bet on an NBA match.....

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

I tried to buy a can of beer at a regular store in Plano, TX and was told I couldn't because although I could prove my age, I didn't have a club membership [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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Hopefully not a lot of you US guys hedged your Mansion free bet at Paradise...

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Well, I did hedge there. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

For those that followed the BOS thing more closely than I did, what are the odds that I never see those funds again?

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

"Well since we can't catch Osama Bin Laden the govt. will just work on catching poker players instead. God the US is the worst funking country in the civilized world. Pathetic."

They have caught/killed Bin Laden already but will never reveal it. Bush needs him as his terro boogeyman. Btw, they have killed the `10 million #2 guys in Al Queda now by my count.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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Hopefully not a lot of you US guys hedged your Mansion free bet at Paradise...

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Well, I did hedge there. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

For those that followed the BOS thing more closely than I did, what are the odds that I never see those funds again?

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Its a £1 bn ($1.9 bn) market cap company pre today's announcement, has a lot of UK accounts as well as US one (maybe more UK and Europe actually) so can't see them being stopped from returning US player's funds. Bigger risk is that they make all US player's bets void from today as part of a deal with DoJ which means you could get your stake back but the hedge falls away. However they could also end up with a huge fine and given player's accounts are not segregated then your money is at risk if the company were to file as a result of the fine or loss of business.

Pokerstar's policy of keeping your cash segregated with Royal Bank of Scotland makes me feel like its the only site I want to keep my cash with whilst all this litigation continues.

I suspect though that your cash will be fine given the size of Sportingbet's UK, European and Asian franchise which will be unaffected by any actions of the DoJ as sportsbetting is legal in the UK and most European jurisdictions.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

Thanks. My understanding is that BOS was basically forced into insolvency, but that seems pretty unlikely with Sportingbet.

With my luck, all our funds will get confiscated at Paradise, Mansion will turn out to be an elaborate scam, and I'll be out ~$1600. BBV. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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Holy crap - this is major news folks. Maybe the US realizes this legislation is doomed and is trying to instill the idea (to US players) that their money isn't safe and can be frozen or confiscated anytime. Scary. What was this guy doing in the US?

Jeff

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Sportingbet is a multi billion dollar company listed on the LSE, this is equivalent to Bill Gates being locked away in the UK, for selling software. The US is retarded.

Mack

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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The US is retarded.

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Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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The US is retarded.

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The US is HELLA [censored] RETARDED!

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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The US is retarded.

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The US is HELLA [censored] RETARDED!

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Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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Pokerstar's policy of keeping your cash segregated with Royal Bank of Scotland makes me feel like its the only site I want to keep my cash with whilst all this litigation continues.


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FYI, Royal Bank of Scotland rolled over on the last company the DOJ came after. A company called Soulbury, which the DOJ alleges was related to online gaming had their funds confiscated with the help of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

How? Through their corresponding bank in NY. The DOJ took the money from RBS's account at the NY bank and told them if they wanted it they could go get it from Soulbury, which they did. Instead of standing up and saying you can't do that, RBS politely asked which account shall we debit? It's all documented.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

It should be kept in mind that it is the sports betting sites that are the main targets of this and why that guy was detained, not because of poker related subsidiaries. Sports betting is more clearly illegal under the wire act whereas poker is not (though DOJ does consider it so but just doesn't have certainty as with sports betting). So as long as you are playing on a site that is only poker or poker/casino and doesn't have a sports book associated with same, then for now unless the online gambling bill passes, you should be safe and your funds would be OK.

As for paradise, if the sports book that owns them ceases operations as did the other company, then you should get your funds eventually, but not right away. However if there is a run on a bank, you don't want to be last in line.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

I try and stick by this country (US) as much as I possibly can but I find it so hard to believe there aren't more important issues out there for the government to be concerned about.

~ shakes head in disgust

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

Just to play it safe I withdrew from Paradise a few hours ago. Its still being processed.....funds haven't made it to netteller yet. Will let you know if there is any difficulty.

It was time to withdraw anywhere in preparation for there next reload bonus....lol. What sucks is I will probably be afraid to make a large depo on the enxt reload now.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

Anyone have any opinions on how this arrest would affect Bodog or any of the Crypto sights? Since the crypto sites specifically state that US players cannot bet in the sports book, do you think they are safe?

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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do you think they are safe?

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No one is safe, ALL YOUR CEOS ARE BELONG TO US.

J

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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That means they got a list, surveil who's traveling, abusing war on terror intelligence...

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Well of course they are. Nobody who is paying the slightest bit of attention expected them to do otherwise.

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Obviously I don't agree with arresting the guy - but this isn't using "war on terror intelligence." People were arrested in this fashion before 9/11 and there is no reason that would change.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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Obviously I don't agree with arresting the guy - but this isn't using "war on terror intelligence." People were arrested in this fashion before 9/11 and there is no reason that would change.

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According to press reports after David Carruthers was arrested, U.S. authorities used an anti-terror agreement with the EU that provides airline manifests that can be screened for potential terrorists to identify Mr. Carruthers as a passenger on a U.S. bound flight. Apparently that is what happened here as well.

In previous news reports on the Carruthers case, U.S. authorities also indicated that a recent anti-terror extradition treaty with the UK could be used to charge gaming execs in abstentia and then demand their extradition to the U.S.

The prosecutor in the Carruthers case also said that she believed the large unregulated amount of cash flowing out of the U.S. to gaming sites was being used by terrorists to plan attacks on the U.S.

Very clearly the crackdown on internet gambling is considered by the U.S. government to be part of the War on Terror.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

God Bless America.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

I am not surprised by this. America (my country tis of thee) is a country filled to overflowing with overweight busybodies.

Bored, fat women who've nothing better to do than nag their men about the way other people live. Bored fat men who've nothing better to do than try to remove the splinter from my eye before removing the plank from their own.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

As a site operator, I say good luck to Mr. Dicks and I hope he gets through this unscathed.

As a US citizen, I would ask my country to calmly look to the east and follow the guidance of the UK when it comes to gambling instead of a 37 year old law made when most folks still didn't have a color TV.

As a mostly conservative voter, I respectfully ask my party to get off the moral/terrorist high horse and let folks have some fun with their own lives.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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Very clearly the crackdown on internet gambling is considered by the U.S. government to be part of the War on Terror.

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We're going to get rivered by the terrorist card, aren't we? Worst bad beat ever!

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

'The prosecutor in the Carruthers case also said that she believed the large unregulated amount of cash flowing out of the U.S. to gaming sites was being used by terrorists to plan attacks on the U.S.'

LOL - Osama is holed up in a cave somewhere multi-tabling the Party $1000 tables? or does AL-Q own PokerRoom or something?

sheer bollox...the terrorists are probably trying to get money INTO the US from Saudi/Pakistan or wherever, not out of it..

it's about the ouflow of untaxed funds from the US - it has about as much to do with the war on terror as Iraq did with 9/11..

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

This is some scary [censored]. How many more sportsbooks, casinos, and poker rooms are going to cut us off for being a US citizen now? Kind of off topic but anyone from the UK or Ireland here who was originally a US citizen? I am going to be applying for Irish Citizenship soon and was curious if it was a long process? Thank god my family came from there and I have an out from this damn government that doesn't want us to be free anymore.

-Brendan

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

Correct me if I am wrong, but Sporting Bet was also part of the original indictments filed back when the BOS chair was put into custody, Sportsbook.com actively advertises in the United States, and I am sure that does not help their case

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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"Well since we can't catch Osama Bin Laden the govt. will just work on catching poker players instead. God the US is the worst funking country in the civilized world. Pathetic."


They have caught/killed Bin Laden already but will never reveal it. Bush needs him as his terro boogeyman. Btw, they have killed the `10 million #2 guys in Al Queda now by my count.

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can you provide evidence of this?

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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We're going to get rivered by the terrorist card, aren't we? Worst bad beat ever!

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Next step - they're going to send all poker players to Gitmo for aiding and abetting terrorism.

At least the weather is nice - do they have wifi there?

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

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According to press reports after David Carruthers was arrested, U.S. authorities used an anti-terror agreement with the EU that provides airline manifests that can be screened for potential terrorists to identify Mr. Carruthers as a passenger on a U.S. bound flight. Apparently that is what happened here as well.

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This scares me the most. Seriously, our government is taking away civil liberties left and right and 90% of the population couldn't give a [censored]. Doesn't exactly bode well for our future.

Re: Paradise Poker chairman arrested in US
 

Word is this is NOT gaming related and do to some outstanding state warrant out of Louisiana. Rumor is it is for soliicitation. Amazing if it is true, look at it what it did to the sector on the AIM.