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Europe-based online poker operator ChiliGaming [3] is to enter the US market in early 2011. Meanwhile, Full Tilt Poker [4] withdraws from the State of Washington, in accordance with a recent State Supreme Court decision.
[5]
ChiliGaming Network, established in 2006, is now about to expand to the United States and, more notably, does it lawfully. Their concept is something that has already been tried with varied success at best: a subscription-based system in which there is no actual money transfer at the tables. Players pay a (usually low) monthly fee that makes up the prize pool of the otherwise play money games. This is, it seems, a way to bypass US regulations.
As I said, there have already been some attempts to introduce sites utilising this method, but not many of them are still operational. ChiliPoker seems optimistic regardless: “We are very excited about this new dimension to our business. Our economies of scale will help this be a strong mechanism for further growth and it will help fill the void that exists in markets where online gaming is restricted and consumers want to play poker,” company CEO Alexandre Dreyfus stated.
Full Tilt Poker, on the other hand, announced that they follow PokerStars [6]’ example of banning their Washington-based members from real-money play [7] as a consequence of a recent State Supreme Court decision. Accounts remain playable from outside the state, however, and players may cash out as usual nevertheless.