by Anton Johan
In one of the blackest days in the history of US online poker, authorities swooped down on three of the top gambling companies in the country, arresting founders and employees and charging them with a wide range of things, including money laundering, bribery and fraud.
The eleven people arrested included the founders of Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and Poker Stars.
US authorities seized these sites' domain names in the US and froze their bank accounts. As a result, players are unable to access sites such as PokerStars.com and are met, instead, with a seizure notice issued by the FBI.
But while US poker players have been dealt a particularly bad hand with these actions, it actually means good things for British gambling companies.
For one, if and when the US decides to open up its online gambling market and starts regulating the activity, British gambling companies will be rewarded for not circumventing US laws all these years, by being awarded licenses to operate in the market.
According to the Chief Executive of Global Betting and Gaming Consultants, Warwick Bartlett: "The likes of Bwin.Party, Betfair, Ladbrokes and William Hill, which have not illegally taken bets in the US, are more likely to win licenses there."
In the meantime, until the US opens its markets, European gaming sites are expected to see many of the big spenders from the Continent return to their sites.
Over the years, high rolling Europeans have taken to playing the majority of their time at sites such as Full Tilt and Poker Stars, as they were able to take on some of the celebrity players from the US.
However, with that not being an option anymore, these 'whales' are expected to return to UK and European sites in their droves.
"Now that the big American whales won't be there, Full Tilt and the others have lost one of the key attractions," one industry source was quoted by the Telegraph.
