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Full Tilt Poker Investigated by US Authorities
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Author: Marc Weinberg
 April 5 - According to a report that recently appeared in the Financial Times, world leading online poker room Full Tilt Poker is currently being investigated by a federal grand jury in Manhattan, New York to discover whether it is indeed violating U.S. gambling and money-laundering laws.
While the details of the investigation are still not known, what is known is that the executives that control Full Tilt Poker could be placed in the firing line, including well-known professional poker players and Full Tilt co-founders, Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson and Howard Lederer, both of whom are American.
If the players are found to have contravened the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), each could face criminal charges and possibly even jail time. When UIGEA was signed into law, it made taking part in online gambling - including online poker - illegal in the United States.
After an initial probe was conducted into Full Tilt Poker and its owners, Eric Jackson, a Los Angeles-based civil attorney acting on behalf of Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer said that 'he was not prepared to comment on a speculative grand jury investigation that he had not been informed about.'
However, Full Tilt Poker's owners are fully aware that U.S. authorities must tread carefully when targeting large online poker firm because of the vague wording of The Wire Act of 1961 and the Illegal Gambling Business Act, which casts doubt on whether poker is a game of chance or a game of skill.
But while the outcome of the investigation is obviously unknown, it is being seen as yet another way for the infamous U.S. Department of Justice to apply pressure to one of the world's largest online gambling sites, in an attempt to disrupt its operations and scare its owners into following its demands.
Although online gambling is illegal in the United States, it's no secret that over 2.5 million Americans wager approximately $30 billion at online poker websites each year, with the majority of U.S. online poker revenues - around 70 per cent ($1 billion) - split between PokerStars.com and Full Tilt Poker.
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