DoJ seizes 10 more domains

Doylesroom.com and Bookmaker.com were among 10 dot.com domains seized last night by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations, following an undercover operation which shed light on poker sites’ ties with third-party payment processors.

The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland has also helped obtain seizure warrants for two domestic bank accounts registered in Guam and North Carolina, as well as nine further accounts registered in Malta, Panama, Portugal and the Netherlands.

On top of the seizures, three individuals have been indicted on counts of alleged money laundering and operating an illegal gambling business: Darren Wright and David Parchomchuk of BetEd owner ThrillX Systems, and Ann Marie Puig of Bookmaker.com owner BMX Entertainment

The Guam and North Carolina bank accounts registered to Linwood Payment Solutions, described in a sworn affidavit as “an undercover payment processor business…[set up]…in an effort to identify online gambling organizations utilizing third-party payment processors in the United States.”

The affidavit goes on to establish that Linwood processed transactions for companies such as BetEd – one of those named in yesterday’s indictments – as well as Black Friday indictees Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet.

The seized domains other than BetEd.com were identified to the undercover agents through a series of contracts signed by another company – BMX Entertainment SA – when consulting with Linwood over payment processing possibilities.

It is currently unclear whether or not the indicted sites and companies have suspended play to US players, with one – Bookmaker.com – operating from the bmaker.ag domain.

Since the Black Friday indictments, a number of other US-facing poker sites and associated individuals have distanced themselves from the American market, despite not being subject to any criminal proceedings themselves.

Victory Poker stopped taking US bets in the immediate aftermath of 15 April, while Doyle Brunson reportedly left Doyle’s Room last week due to “potential legal ramifications.”

Yesterday saw Hero Poker on the Merge poker network, which also powers the poker offerings of US offshore sportsbooks such as BetED and Jazette-owned Sportsbook.com, announce it would take no more new US players after 25 May.

BodogBrand.com also revealed that those customers who had been able to access the Bodog.com domain would now be redirected to Bodog.eu under the terms of a new licensing agreement with the Kahnawake-licensed Morris Mohawk Gaming Group.

The response from players to the latest series of indictments has already begun, with Poker Players Network sponsored player Josh Brikis – a Pennsylvania-based pro – informing eGaming Review that he resigned from the Merge site in the light of the actions from the federal prosecutors.

The seized domains are:

• Bookmaker.com
• 2Betsdi.com
• Funtimebingo.com
• Goldenarchcasino.com
• Betmaker.com
• Betgrandesports.com
• Betehorse.com
• BetEd.com
• Doylesroom.com
• Truepoker.com