Regarding Poker

More details are coming out on the legal conflict between 1st Technology LLC and Bodog Entertainment Group which resulted in Bodog’s domains being suspended.

The Bodog.com online gambling business was disrupted Monday and remained inoperative Tuesday due to a $48.6 million default judgment obtained by a Las Vegas company against Bodog in a patent infringement case, reports The Vancouver Sun.

By Tuesday afternoon, Bodog had established a new temporary website, Newbodog.com, which is virtually identical to the old site and enabled Bodog clients to resume their activities.

This is not the first time that 1st Technology has resorted to litigation to secure licensing agreements in cases of patent infringement. In December 2005, SportingBet PLC and Paradise Poker entered into a licensing agreement with 1st Technology to resolve patent litigation claims between the parties. Likewise, NDS Group PLC and Orbis Technology also agreed to a licensing deal as a means to settle the claim against them for patent infringement in 2005.

With the loss of their domain name, Bodog will also be losing superior rankings in Google search result listings, which may force the company to rely more heavily on their affiliates than they have in the past.

Bodog, who runs one of the most search engine optimized websites on the internet, can be found easily in Google by typing in such phrases as ‘online casino’, ’sports betting’, and ‘online casino games’. They also have top results in Yahoo’s search results, as well as MSN and other search engines. However, now when a user clicks on one of the results they are brought to a blank page.

Why the NewBodog.com?

Welcome to the new (temporary) Bodog. As you may know by now, Bodog.com is experiencing a technical issue impacting our players’ ability to access our website.

This is the result of a legal dispute over the ownership of the Bodog.com domain name. We are fighting this dispute. We are confident that we will win, but until all is settled, I do not want our battle to interrupt your play.

So, I present you with newbodog.com. You won’t notice very many changes: same website, same brand, same product, and same service. Just a new domain name.

We are working to resolve any remaining issues on the temporary site as soon as possible, and fully expect to have our original site back up shortly.

I sincerely apologize if you were affected by our interruption and assure you that I will update you soon.

Regards,

Calvin Ayre

Good luck Bodog!

Poker is a game with a long, rich history. Whether played by politicians, professionals, or college professors, it’s a game enjoyed by all sorts of people all around the world.

At Full Tilt Poker, they are committed to protecting the game we all love.

This month, we want to let you know how you can help, and get a whole bunch of free cash from Full Tilt Poker in doing so.

Fighting to Protect the Game We Love

As a poker player, I’m sure you know about the UIGEA, which was signed into law by President Bush late last year. This bill, which aims to make it illegal for people to transfer money to online gaming sites, has - we believe - unfairly impacted online poker. (Please note: The Bill does not make playing poker illegal for the poker players, it just means that U.S. financial institutions can no longer deal with online poker rooms).

With that in mind, Full Tilt Poker is dedicated to helping the Poker Players Alliance and its new Chairman, former three-term Senator Al D’Amato, in the fight to get poker the express exemption it deserves from the new law. A long-term poker enthusiast, D’Amato knows that the first step toward change requires getting Congress to listen. That’s why Full Tilt Poker is working to help the Poker Players Alliance grow its membership to 1 million poker players, because a million voices can’t be ignored on Capitol Hill.

As a special incentive to Full Tilt Poker players, they are offering a special one-time Poker Players Alliance bonus. If you join the Poker Players Alliance or upgrade your existing membership before March 22nd, Full Tilt Poker will provide you with a bonus of up to $1,200. See the chart below for details:

As a poker player, we hope you believe in this cause as strongly as we do. You would be helping to protect much more than just your love of the game; you’ll be helping to protect a game that’s enjoyed by millions of players around the world who have every right to play when and where they like.

So help support the PPA. It’s good for the game, and for everyone who enjoys online poker and who wants to keep the game alive in America!

Full Tilt Poker is here to stay, and all American poker players are always welcome to play at Full Tilt Poker!

So join Full Tilt Poker, then support the Poker Players Alliance for as little as $20.00 (special link from Full Tilt Poker software) and get your free poker cash from Full Tilt Poker!

Remember, Full Tilt Poker will also give you a 100% deposit match bonus on your first real-money deposit up to $600!

Now that’s a lot of free cash… Join now!

Thanks Full Tilt Poker!

Is online poker legal? In one word, yes.

The Bill passed last September against online gaming sites is aimed at online payment processors and NOT online poker players.

The U.S. government is trying to make it very difficult for American poker players to make deposits into online poker rooms. They think if they take away the deposit methods then American poker players will not be able to deposit money into their online poker accounts and won’t be able to play.

What the U.S. government fails to realize is that there are many options still available for American poker players to make deposits and more will be available. Although Neteller will no longer accept Americans to deposit or withdraw in and from online poker websites, you still have many secure options.

Click here for the official Neteller FAQ statements regarding their position with American accounts and online gaming sites.

Don’t let the U.S. government push you around and tell you what you cannot do. 90% of polled Americans are against this new Bill and yet the government is not listening.

The U.S. government even passed the Bill by attaching it to a completely different Bill, the Port Security Bill. The government knew that the gambling Bill would not stand a chance on its own so they attached it to a Bill that was guaranteed to pass.

This sounds like prohibition and Americans should speak out. Let your voice be heard and help let the 80,000,000.00 American poker players do what they want to do with their own private time.

Speak out and let your voice be heard that you are against this Bill. Tell your political officials, newspapers, radio stations and TV stations know that you are against this Bill.

Here is a link regarding the Bill.

Here are the official statements from PokerStars and FullTilt Poker regarding their position on serving American poker players:

PokerStars

“As you are probably aware, the United States Congress recently enacted the Safe Port Act which contains provisions relating to Internet gambling.

PokerStars has received extensive expert advice from within and outside the U.S. which concluded that these provisions do not alter the U.S. legal situation with respect to our offering of online poker games. Furthermore it is important to emphasize that the Act does not in any way prohibit you from playing online poker.

Therefore, our business continues as before - open to players worldwide including the US. You may play on our site as you did prior to the Act.

PokerStars believes that poker is a game of skill enjoyed by millions of players and we remain committed to providing you a safe and fun environment in which to play. We value your loyalty to PokerStars, and look forward to continuing to serve you with the best online poker experience, as we have for the past five years, six billion hands, and 40 million tournaments.

PokerStars Management”

FullTilt Poker

“The new U.S. legislation does not in any way attempt to criminalize the act of you playing online poker. By playing online at Full Tilt Poker, you are not breaking any U.S. Federal laws”.

“The passage of the new Internet Gaming law will not have any impact on your day-to-day experience at Full Tilt Poker. We will provide all of our players, everywhere in the world, with full access to all of our games and tournaments”.

PokerStars, FullTilt Poker and Absolute Poker all gladly welcome players from around the world, including Americans!

So don’t let this Bill scare you off from playing online poker. Play online poker, it’s not illegal, so go out there and have fun and make some money too!