Isai Scheinberg, founder of iGaming giant PokerStars, has pleaded guilty in a New York federal court to charges of operating an illegal gambling business.
The 73-year-old could face up to five years in prison, but it’s unlikely he’ll do any jail time. Scheinberg was one of 11 executives of major online poker rooms charged with bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling on “Black Friday” in 2011. They operated U.S.-facing offshore poker and casino sites after the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act.
The U.S. government seized the domain names and funds of online poker rooms that were still operating in the U.S. after the 2006 law went into effect. Scheinberg stayed outside the U.S. and continued to operate his business, then sold the company to Canada’s Amaya in 2014 for $4.9 billion. PokerStars now operates in New Jersey and Pennsylvania under that parent company, now known as the Stars Group.
After resisting extradition, Scheinberg, a duel citizen of Canada and Israel, turned himself into U.S. authorities in January. He cut a plea deal admitting to a single count of illegal gambling. The fraud and money laundering charges were dropped.
