US Attorney Rod Rosenstein, who lead the latest online gambling websites and bank account seizures, stated that online gamblers (or players) will not be liable for prosecution including players who play poker online.
In an interview with Baltimore’s 1090 AM WBAL, Rosenstein first said that despite players being able to gamble, online gambling companies are not allowed to offer their services to US players as it’s illegal for online gambling transactions through banks to take place:
“People need to be familiar with the law in their particular state. There are some states that allow gambling but companies that are in the business of providing online gambling services are generally prohibited under US law and prohibited from moving money back and forth through banks, which is how they operate”.
He then went on to say about the recent indictments:
“And so these indictments target, not the users but the businesses that are in violation of US law by providing these services.”
Rod Rosenstein’s comments come as a result of the Black Friday indictment which saw Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker charged with money laundering, bank fraud and illegal gambling offenses. Click here to read more.
Since the initial Black Friday indictment, the US Department of Justice has seized 10 more domains including DoylesRoom.com, Bookmaker.com and BetEd.com (who have now folded). To read that news article, click here.