It's round two in the fight between the U.S. Department of Justice and the online gambling world. Yesterday, the DoJ seized ten more domain website domains. This time, however, the list included sportsbooks, most notably Bookmaker.com, 2Betdsi.com (BetDSI), and BetEd.com. In addition to the domain seizures, the DoJ seized 11 bank accounts located in Charlotte, North Carolina; Guam; Panama; Malta; Portugal; and the Netherlands.Two separate indictments were filed targeting two companies and three individuals on charges of conducting an illegal gambling business and money laundering.
Gambling 911 notes that while BetED processed "some $33 million ... with the fake processing company," Bookmaker was found having transferred "a paltry $91,000."
Bookmaker has already resumed operations. Bookmaker.com, despite the DoJ press release stating that users would be presented with the seizure notice, now directs its customers to its new domain, bmaker.ag.
The DoJ previously seized the domains of the three largest U.S.-servicing poker sites -- Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet -- on April 15. The Associated Press reported yesterday that one of the defendants in that case, Bradley Franzen, plead guilty to lesser charges in exchange for his testimony.
In (maybe) unrelated news, Bodog.com now redirects to Bodog.eu. The company claims that it made the change due to expansion plans, but the timing suggests it may have been a preemptive tactic against yesterday's DoJ actions.
For those planning to bet on UFC 130 this weekend, I would recommend the risk-averse among you to steer clear of Bookmaker. It does appear, however, that things are "business as usual" for the time being. (On a personal note, I have money on the site, and I'm not worried about losing it.) For alternatives to Bookmaker, I recommend playing on Bodog or 5Dimes, both of which offer MMA betting to U.S. customers and appear on Sports Book Review's recommended list (along with Bookmaker).