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Poker Funds aren’t Going Anywhere
                                                                            
August 30, 2009

For all of those poker fans that thought that they might be getting their online poker winnings – it is not going to happen at this time. US District Judge Jeffrey Miller in San Diego denied the bid that had been put in to have those poker funds released. 
 
When the state of New York initially seized the poker funds many were as surprised as they were angry. The poker industry has always maintained that as they are not gambling – they are a skill based game – that they are exempted from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 – or UIGEA. There have been several cases already across the US that have ruled in favor of this opinion.
 
That is why so many were shocked that it would go on. Account Services Inc. and the Poker Players Alliance had asked the courts to release and return the poker funds but to no avail. With a ruling like this against them, it could now take years before the poker players see their money returned. The ruling basically says that poker playing is illegal under federal law – which it has not been up until now.
 
Without the reasoning behind the poker fund seizure being released to the public there are some very understandably confused people out there wondering what is going on. The government is simply maintaining that the poker funds needed to be seized and that it is illegal. This doesn’t help anyone but the government – and the poker players say that they are not going to stop fighting until their funds are back in their possession.