on Thu, 2011-04-21 19:45

http://www.onlinecasinospro.com/news/inside-look-at-poker-stars-alleged-laundering-scheme/

Last Friday, three of the biggest online poker websites in the world were shut down by the American government for allegedly committing fraud and money laundering. The charges each site faces are very severe, however fraud and money launder are vastly different in the online world from what you expect would take place in land-based casinos. To clarify exactly what went down, NextGov.com gives a comprehensive report on the matter.

The United States government filed an 80-page complaint against all three online poker companies, stating that Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker were using fake internet businesses to transfer money to their online gambling sites. Despite the UIGEA banning the transfer of funds to and from online casinos, the websites managed to circumvent the system.

In order to identify online poker transactions, banks and credit card companies attach specific codes to be associated with the activity. In response, the three poker websites allegedly changed their codes so that American-based financial institutions would see all transactions from those websites as payments to online flower shops and pet supply stores.

While the three websites implicated took part in illegally activities, the online gambling industry is still full of lawful, fair and safe online casino operators. In addition, the three websites are still running lawfully in Europe and other parts of the world besides the United States.