Payment Processor Seeks Return Of Seized Funds
Account Services Corporation has filed a motion in to the US Federal Court seeking a return of more than $14 million which was seized from its bank account in June.
Account Services Corporation (ASC), has filed a motion seeking a federal judge to order the return of more than $14 million. Those funds were part of the seizure of more than $30 million in online poker funds that was conducted by the United State Department of Justice, Southern District of New York (SDNY) in June.
ASC believes that the funds which consisted mainly of winnings and withdrawn deposits from Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars were seized illegally as neither the company nor the poker players involved were in violation of the Illegal Gambling Business Act (IGBA) which is believed to be the reason for the seizure. 13,800 players were affected by the freeze placed on ASC's funds.
In its motion which was filed in the United States District Court of Southern California, ASC made clear that online poker does not constitute a form of online gambling as denoted by the IGBA. The statute defines illegal gambling as including “pool-selling, bookmaking, illegal slot machines, roulette wheels or dice tables, and conducting lotteries, policy, bolita or numbers games, or selling chances therein”.
ASC argues that the game of poker is a game of skill and therefore cannot constitute an act of illegal gambling. The same argument had been successfully made before the courts in South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Colorado in three earlier cases. In extension, ASC therefore is not involved in directing, supervising, managing, financing, or owning a business that deals with illegal gambling.
Furthermore, the motion also argues that the DoJ's actions were a violation of the affected players' constitutional rights. As the law involved was meant for businesses, individual poker players whom the money belonged to, could not possibly have violated it.
The Poker Players Alliance has voiced its strong support for the filing. In an official statement, the PPA has announced that ASC will receive its full support and it is ready to get involved if needed.
"The PPA will likely seek to get involved in this action to ensure that the voice of U.S. poker players are heard and their freedom to play the skill game of online poker is preserved - without the threat of the government seizing their money."
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