Amaya Gaming, which purchased PokerStars two years ago for .9 billion, has been trying to overcome the problems that PokerStars got itself into several years ago when it ignored the passage of UIGEA in 2006 and continued to serve U.S. customers from offshore for several years until 2011 when the U.S. Justice Department descended upon various online poker providers in the infamous Black Friday raids.
PokerStars paid a hefty fine, without admitting wrongdoing, and purchased rival Full Tilt Poker, thus cementing its position as the largest provider in the world.
Ever since that time various jurisdictions have labeled PokerStars as a “bad actor.” The state of Nevada forced it to wait five years before entering the online poker market after it legalized it.
New Jersey almost made the same requirement but eventually relented when Amaya purchased PokerStars. The idea was that the errant child had been brought to heel by its new parent.
In California, the question of whether PokerStars will be allowed to participate in iPoker has been the sticking point that has kept the game from being legalized for several years.
Eventually Amaya purchased the company and got rid of all of the old management. Problem solved.
Now, however, that narrative has suffered a grievous blow due to charges that have been filed in Quebec, Canada, against Amaya’s former CEO David Baazov, along with several other people connected to the company.
In 2014 after two years of investigations, Quebec financial regulators, Autorite des marches financiers (AMF), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police entered Amaya offices and seized computers and records. Multiple charges were filed against Baazov, and former and current executives with the company.
Baazov took a leave of absence as chief executive officer in March and then resigned. There are some reports that the company is seeking to sell to someone unconnected with the scandal.
The case against Baazov is circumstantial, and much depended on getting a phone from him that included much of his financial information. But they didn’t get the phone in time.
Baazov’s guilt or innocent appears to be immaterial at the moment, it’s the fact that he was accused at all that may affect Amaya’s further attempts to make inroads in the U.S. iPoker market. He will next appear in court on October 4.
