The Guardian – At least 10 illegal poker dens have been forced to close down as local authorities, backed by the Gambling Commission, have turned tough. Now, in the latest skirmish between the illegal poker world and local authorities, the council in Enfield, north London, has become the first in the UK to prosecute an illegal den operator successfully for money laundering. Ahmet Melin, 33, of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, will be sentenced next month after being found guilty of five offences of money laundering under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Money laundering carries a maximum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment….

Online Poker Report – The public was given a bit of insight into the mechanics bringing regulated online poker to California yesterday via an informational hearing on the subject in front of the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization. Video of the meeting can be viewed and downloaded from the CalChannel archives (direct link to video file here). An agenda of the meeting listing all of the speakers is available here. Much of the hearing, chaired by California Assemblymember Dr. Isadore Hall III, covered territory quite familiar for someone who follows the online poker industry. But among the dry recitations were…

iGaming Business – PokerStars and California’s Morongo Band of Mission Indians and the state’s three largest card rooms – the Commerce Club, the Hawaiian Gardens Casino and the Bicycle Casino, have confirmed their partnership that will see PokerStars supply and operate a California-licensed online poker site once regulation comes into force in the US’s most populous state. News of the agreement between the different parties first came out in late March, its official announcement was made yesterday (Wednesday) to coincide with the hearing organised by California’s Assembly Committee on Governmental Organisation on intra-state online poker regulation. The key issue in…

Poker News – While Poland keeps its online poker market in the hands of “grey operators” by continuing to ban the game from the country, DLA Piper Anna Wietrzyńska-Ciołkowska told PokerNews that the country’s missed tax revenues due to gambling restrictions could be about PLN 600 million — approximately €142 million. Since 2011, Poland’s online gambling market has been regulated by the Polish Gambling Act, a very restrictive set of norms that forbids online poker and allows online betting only on four operators holding state-issued licenses. Yet, on March 25, 2014, amendments to the Polish Gambling Act made it possible…

This Week in Gambling – Robert Smith, Treasurer of the CTBA Board and Chairman of the Pala Band of Luiseno Indians, will testify at the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization, during their informational hearing on Internet poker. The iPoker hearing is set for Wednesday, April 23 at 1:30 pm, in State Capitol, Room 4202. The hearing, was called by AGO Chair Isadore Hall, III, to promote a better understanding of the iPoker issue.  Two bills, AB 2291 (Jones-Sawyer) and SB 1366 (Correa), have been introduced this year that would legalize Internet poker in California.  CTBA member tribes are part of…

Press of Atlantic City – After an 11-year stint in Las Vegas, a high buy-in poker tournament drawing players from as far away as South Africa and Korea has left Sin City for Atlantic City. The reason, organizers say, is the New Jersey’s budding online gambling market. The championship event of the World Poker Tour kicked off Monday at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. Running concurrently with it is the first New Jersey Championship of Online Poker, now the largest online tournament ever held in the U.S. since the legalization of online gambling. The World Poker Tour event is sponsored…