US crackdown on 3 big providers cuts off easy access to potential profits

For Northeastern University student Brendan O’Dowd, online poker was more than a game. He played almost every day, often for hours at a time. He says he turned consistent profits that he relied on to buy books, food, and walking-around money.

Like a shift worker punching the clock, he thought of the electronic card games like a regular paycheck.

So when federal prosecutors shut down the three most popular online poker sites last month, accusing their owners of defrauding banks to maintain the flow of billions in illegal gambling profits, O’Dowd and legions of players like him were livid.

“It was my main source of income over the past few years,’’ O’Dowd said. “It was a livable part-time job where I could be my own boss and make my own hours, as well as have a higher hourly rate than pretty much any normal job I could be working.’’

 

Posted in: US crackdown on 3 big providers cuts off easy access to potential profits