Author: John Mehaffey

RAWA Subcommittee Hearing Involved No Experienced Specialists The House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations held a hearing for the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) this week.  Noticeably absent were specialists involved in geolocation, player verification, or any gaming regulators.  The hearing consisted mostly of antigambling groups, although there were a couple […]

More Funds Released in Full Tilt Poker Fraud About 3,500 more former Full Tilt Poker players were paid this week.  The Garden City Group disbursed $2.8 million in previously disputed amounts, according to the Full Tilt Poker Claims website.  This brings the total amount paid to victims of the Full Tilt Poker fraud to about […]

Second Pennsylvania Online Poker Bill Released Pennsylvania appears to be on course to become the next state to legalize and regulate online poker.  State Representative Nick Miccarelli introduced a second online poker bill.  This one had two distinct differences from the one we reported on in last week’s Weekly Roundup. Miccarelli’s bill only includes poker.  […]

SealWithClubs Reopens Under New Brand The Bitcoin-only online poker SealsWithClubs ceased operations last week after being offline for 10 days. Chairman Bryan Micon created a You Tube video explaining the situation. In the video, Micon states that the Nevada Gaming Control Board raided his Las Vegas home early in the morning of February 11, 2015. […]

Intertops Now Accepts New U.S. Players Intertops stopped accepting new U.S. players shortly after Black Friday. Its existing base of American players was allowed to stay in the site. Now, most U.S. players may also join the site. Players in 43 states are welcome. Louisiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Missouri, and Washington players […]

Bovada Poker Moves to Fourth Place in World Bovada is now the fourth largest online poker network in the world, according to PokerScout.  It is now three times larger than the second largest U.S.-facing network, Merge Gaming.  Bovada is averaging 1,900 players at any given time.  It peaks around 4,000 players. Bovada’s traffic is up […]

Restore the Wire Act Reintroduced Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) has reintroduced the Restoration of America’s Wire Act.  The bill would destroy the existing regulated online poker and casino industry in the U.S.  This same bill failed to pass in the previous Congress, even with a late push to attach it to must-pass legislation in December […]

WSOP Changes Main Event Payouts The World Series of Poker announced last month that it would guarantee a $10 million first prize.  Many players voiced displeasure towards this, stating that a flatter payout would be better for the poker economy.  The World Series of Poker management took the feedback well and returned with a new […]

New California Online Poker Bill Introduced Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer introduced AB 167 this week in California.  The bill would legalize and regulated online poker.  It has some differences from AB 9, previously introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto. AB 167 would allow racetracks to participate in California online poker, in addition to the card clubs and […]

Mississippi Online Gaming Bill Introduced Mississippi Representative Bobby Moak has introduced an online poker bill in the state for a fourth year in a row.  The bill would allow the state’s gaming commission to regulate online poker and casino games.  It includes penalties for unlicensed sites and even players that give them action. Players would […]