To say that the online poker industry in the United States is going through a rough patch would be a gross understatement. That it’s going to hell would be a more proper assessment of the situation. The status of the industry is so bad that PocketFives, one of the most popular poker forums, has decided to cut off all advertising deals with poker sites that still offer service to the US market.
Casualties of Black Friday
The Black Friday Incident closed off so many doors of opportunity for poker sites that operate in the United States. Beginning with the closure of the biggest and most popular poker sites proved that nobody was exempt from the law’s iron hand, not even big shot companies that are practically institutions in the field. There were still some companies that braved the US market even after the Black Friday Incident, seeing the issue as a big opportunity. But when the US followed up with another series of lawsuits, it soon became apparent that the Department of Justice was dead serious about the matter. Seeing as FTP has yet to pay out its customers, same with Absolute Poker and UB, it’s not unlikely that the same thing will happen with other poker sites that still offer service to the US market. PocketFives says that it’s no longer prudent to promote these sites in light of what has happened.
A Silver Lining
Still, that does not mean that PocketFives will no longer be catering to US players. It only means that they’ll no longer see ads geared towards them. All content will still be viewable by them and the US will still be factored into all the site’s content such as rankings and such. Also, PocketFives clarified that the reason they came upon this decision was because PocketFives has been returned to its original owners.
Most importantly, however, PocketFives promised to launch a service that would help US players who still want to continue living as poker professionals to relocate to a different country that would allow them to go on with their preferred lifetstyles. It’s a big decision to make, to be sure, but there will certainly be people who will prefer it over giving up poker completely. Indeed, PocketFives has done the most responsible thing by their decision, and the site is truly to be admired for its dedication to the game and the people who play it.
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