Merge Network Targeted by Department of Justice?

Subject:Poker reports that the Merge Network could also be a target of the US Department of Justice and that seizures are planned, affecting payment processors that processed deposits and withdrawals of US players.

In its coverage Subject:Poker refers to "own sources" and states that seizures of assets could take place during "mid- and late-September".  However, the authors also point out that such statements don't have any liability and that the DOJ could also take action sooner or later than stated.

The article also leaves open the question if charges will be brought against the involved managers and if there will be domain seizures as on "Black Friday". At the moment, there's no further information on these questions.

When assessing the consequences of such an action by the DOJ, it's particularly important whether player funds are segregated from company funds or not, since seizures probably won’t affect player accounts.

Currently, the Merge Network is licensed by the "Kahnawake Gaming Commission" which doesn't demand registered companies to segregate funds. Merge Poker itself hasn't commented on this question yet.

On the 24th of May, Merge already stopped accepting players that reside in US states with clear laws that prohibit gambling. Nonetheless, players that already had an account at Merge were able to continue playing.

Situation at PlayersOnly.com

PlayersOnly.com is a part of the Merge Network but hasn't accepted any US players for quite a while now.

Our note from the 28th of July 2011 still applies:

"Due to recent events concerning online poker in the US, we would like to issue a statement with regard to PlayersOnly, which is part of the Merge network, which is still accepting US players.

In light of the closure of other poker rooms operating in the US, we would like to advise you that funds on this poker room might be at risk.

PokerStrategy.com accepts no responsibility for any funds that you deposit or hold at PlayersOnly."