Bwin CEO calls Full Tilt and PokerStars Illegal Poker Rooms

Online poker regulation is closer than ever before in the United States since Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank could finally get his poker bill passed as early as the end of this year. This has many online poker rooms salivating at the chance to advertise their services to American players. Party Poker and its future partner Bwin are two sites that are very excited about entering (re-entering) the US market.

Party Poker was once the world’s largest poker room before President George W. Bush signed the UIGEA into effect in 2006. After the bill was signed into effect, Party Poker dropped out of the US poker market and fell back into 4th place. However, there were other poker sites such as PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker which stayed in the US market despite the UIGEA. Seeing as how PokerStars and Full Tilt have risen to the number 1 and 2 spots on the poker food chain, it’s obvious that they benefited from their decision.

However, Bwin CEO Norbert Teufelberger strongly believes that both sites will be shut out of the US gaming market assuming the country repeals the UIGEA. Teufelberger even went as far as to say that the companies are operating illegally by stating, “We would expect that once the US regulates, these two companies will not have access to the market, and once that happens we’ll then see who the leader will be. They say they’re not operating illegally but I think they are. Let’s see who is right.”

He continued by saying, “I used to be personally licensed and operated in the land-based environment in the US so I know how stringent the US authorities are in their licensing process, and I cannot imagine that a company, which in the view of the DOJ (Department of Justice) and several state licensing authorities in the US, that acts illegally will be able or qualify to get a license. In my view, this will be absolutely impossible. What does that mean in the end? I don’t know. They may be prosecuted….they may not be prosecuted.”

Of course, all of Teufelberger’s comments are based on the assumption that online poker will finally be regulated, which isn’t a given on any level.