ESPN is dropping poker telecasts and advertising from its broadcast schedule in response to the U.S. government indicting five major gambling websites and freezing their bank accounts last week.
The all-sports network is one of the major players in the televised poker industry, along with Fox Sports Net, NBC and the Game Show Network. The five stations were scheduled to televise nearly 50 poker programs this week alone, "We are aware of the indictment only through what has been announced publicly,? ESPN said in a statement. ?For the immediate future, we are making efforts to remove related advertising and programming pending further review.?
The U.S. government froze nearly 80 bank accounts last Friday and seized web domains belonging to PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. The indictment names two principals from each company and others who allegedly worked alongside them to illegally process payments.
As a result of the indictment, Full Tilt and PokerStars began prohibiting real-money play for all U.S. players on Friday, while Absolute Bet began shutting down American players on Monday. International players are not affected by the indictments.
While ESPN had no further comment on the situation, ESPN.com poker writer Andrew Feldman reported on his Twitter feed Tuesday that the network will continue to cover the World Series of Poker, widely considered to be the game's annual signature event.
The all-sports network is one of the major players in the televised poker industry, along with Fox Sports Net, NBC and the Game Show Network. The five stations were scheduled to televise nearly 50 poker programs this week alone, "We are aware of the indictment only through what has been announced publicly,? ESPN said in a statement. ?For the immediate future, we are making efforts to remove related advertising and programming pending further review.?
The U.S. government froze nearly 80 bank accounts last Friday and seized web domains belonging to PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. The indictment names two principals from each company and others who allegedly worked alongside them to illegally process payments.
As a result of the indictment, Full Tilt and PokerStars began prohibiting real-money play for all U.S. players on Friday, while Absolute Bet began shutting down American players on Monday. International players are not affected by the indictments.
While ESPN had no further comment on the situation, ESPN.com poker writer Andrew Feldman reported on his Twitter feed Tuesday that the network will continue to cover the World Series of Poker, widely considered to be the game's annual signature event.
