AGA calls on New Jersey to block PokerStars
Lobby group files 28-page petition detailing Stars' previous US-facing activity " operator says decision should be left to regulators.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) has called on New Jersey’s gaming regulators to block PokerStars’ licensure in the state, claiming the operator has a history of “systematically flouting US law”.
In a 28-page document filed yesterday the lobby group, which represents many of the largest gambling companies in the US including New Jersey operators Caesars Entertainment and Boyd Gaming, argued that Stars “should not be found qualified” for a licence in the state.
Stars is currently waiting to hear whether it will receive an interim casino operator licence which will allow it to complete the acquisition of The Atlantic Club Casino, a deal which could protect around 2,000 jobs.
Speculation over whether the Isle-of-Man licensed operator will be allowed entry into the state, where online gambling became legal last week, has been rife.
As the AGA’s filing describes at length, PokerStars continued to accept bets from US customers post-UIGEA in 2006 when others including Absolute and Full Tilt Poker exited the market. It eventually shut down its US-facing operations in April last year following the Black Friday indictments and later reached a $731m settlement with the US Department of Justice in July without admitting any wrongdoing.
One version of New Jersey’s egaming bill included a so-called ‘bad actor’ clause, blocking operators who “willingly accepted” bets after December 2006, however that particular provision “ since implemented in Nevada “ was later removed. Proponents of this clause argue that any operator which remained in the US market after 2006 would have a significant competitive advantage over new entrants.
The AGA claims Stars’ failure to remove itself from the US at that stage means it cannot “meet the law’s standards for integrity and honesty”, citing the “federal criminal prosecution for bank fraud, money laundering and gambling offenses, and a parallel forfeiture action”.
“The integrity of the gaming industry would be gravely compromised by any regulatory approvals of PokerStars, a business built on deceit, chicanery and the systematic flouting of US law,” lawyers Brian Molloy and David Stewart representing the AGA wrote in the brief.
“Any action allowing PokerStars to be licensed would send a damaging message to the world of gaming, and to the world beyond gaming, that companies that engage in chronic lawbreaking are welcome in the licensed gaming business.”
Eric Hollreiser, a spokesman for Stars’ parent company Rational Group, responded by saying that the AGA should allow New Jersey’s regulators to make the licensing decision.
“These are matters for expert regulators to determine, not self-interested partisans picking a public fight,” he said.
“We will continue to work with authorities including the NJ regulators and other interested state regulators to discuss our qualifications and allow them to comment on what they find.
“PokerStars is one of the largest and most respected internet gaming companies because we work closely with regulators and are in good standing with governments around the world.”