In an interesting development in the business-side of MMA, three major poker websites were shut down on Friday due to federal indictments.
According to a report by MMAWeekly.com, poker sites PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker received indictments for illegal gambling and money laundering.
“These defendants concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some U.S. banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits,” Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said in a statement.
The poker sites have been shut down by the government, and while some people may still be able to access them currently, it will only be a matter of time before they are shut down completely and inaccessible.
The online sites were once a prominent sponsor of the big MMA promotions like the UFC, but those days have passed. Despite the UFC avoiding these sponsors, they are still vital to smaller promotions that have to rely on their sponsorship dollars to stay afloat.
Also, despite the organization not allowing the sponsor, fighters still use sites like these for their own sponsorship. Time will tell what these indictments will do to the fighters’ bankroll.
