Poker News Daily has learned that poker network Microgaming may be leaving the United States market entirely, according to a reliable source that represents one of its online poker rooms. Currently, the site enforces an IP block on customers from 13 U.S. states – Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, and Utah – that have laws relating to internet gambling on the books.
Two weeks ago, Microgaming issued an e-mail stating that customers from the 13 states in question would be blocked. In addition, it claimed, “This is not a new rule; just sudden enforcement of an old one. Players can still play in the Sportsbook. Players can still register from the banned states, but will not be able to play in the Poker client or in the Casino. The IP blocking service Microgaming is using also has a proxy detector, so players will no longer be able to use a proxy to hide their IPs.”
A notable addition to the list of blocked Microgaming states was Kentucky, where an ongoing forfeiture lawsuit is pending. The Judge in the case, Thomas Wingate, decreed that unless online poker sites and networks block access by Kentuckians using IP technology, they may be subject to forfeiting their domain name worldwide. This means that the URLs of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet, Bodog, Cake Poker, Absolute Poker, and PlayersOnly may be at risk not just in Kentucky, but across the globe.
The Microgaming source added that the ban on U.S. customers may only apply to new accounts. Network skins may continue to service current customers, just not allow new signups. Online poker rooms that make their home on the Microgaming Network include 32Red Poker, Intertops Poker, Crazy Poker, PokerTime, Royal Vegas Poker, Ladbrokes, Betway, Unibet, Pokerwize, Doyle’s Room, Jennings Poker, Gnuf, and Eurolinx.
At the time of writing, internet users in Nevada (one of the blocked states), Georgia, and Tennessee were unable to access the company’s home page, Microgaming.com. Text on the site simply read, “Site not available.” Internet users in other countries were able to view the site normally. It is not known if the inability for U.S. users to connect is a result of a decision to exit the U.S. market or simply due to a routing error. The software for the online poker site Doyle’s Room, which is a member of the Microgaming Network, remained accessible.
Recently, the Fortune Lounge Group, which runs PokerTime and Royal Vegas Poker (both on the Microgaming Network), announced that it would cease taking new customers from the United States effective on Monday, November 10th. Despite this, the Group was optimistic about its plans to develop markets in the rest of the world, commenting in a press release sent to its affiliates, “We see this as an exciting opportunity for Fortune Affiliates and our valued partners as we aim to dominate new markets across the globe.”
The overarching internet gambling law in the United States is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was passed back in 2006. Its regulations are currently in line to be approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The rules were passed to the OMB by the United States Treasury on October 21st. It remains to be seen when they may be formally approved, but they are subject to a 60 day review period before being implemented.