Op-Ed: Yet more poker tyranny by the American Government

Although Full Tilt Poker is the major victim of the Black Friday domain seizures, it was not and is not the only one. Now, the long arm of American 'justice' is reaching out to the Island of Malta.

According to the poker affiliate RakeTheRake, “Everleaf Gaming, a network of independent online cardrooms, has been forced to amend its conditions – to which players have had to agree to before seeing the cashier or player admin areas.” Everleaf does not admit players from Malta, but now two additional countries have been added to its banned list: the USA and France. The former is understandable in view of the ongoing crusade by the American legal authorities, but why France? The conspiratorially minded might see a connection here between this and the (still hopeful) future purchaser of Full Tilt, the French outfit Groupe Bernard Tapie. For those not au fait with the Black Friday domain seizures, click here and follow the links, but try not to burst into tears. For those who want to follow the political battle, the website of the Poker Players Alliance is worth a visit. If you are an American player, you might consider joining this organisation. If there is one thing this campaign by the Department of Justice proves, it is that contrary to the assertions of Alessio Rastani, money does not always rule the world. Sometimes that privilege belongs to stupidity.