If you still haven’t won yourself a seat to the poker competition everyone wants to be at – make sure you’re pumped and ready to play on the following days;

Pacific Poker are offering one of the most valuable packages available – worth $17,000 each – running respectively on Saturday May 31 at 14:00 EST/15:00 EDT and Wednesday June 11 at 14:00 EST/15:00 EDT. To qualify, finish in the top three of a PokerNews Daily WSOP*
Qualifier Freeroll or the top eight in a PokerNews Daily $5 + $0.50 Qualifier. Qualification periods for each freeroll are as follows;

Saturday May 31 at 14:00 EST/15:00 EDT
PokerNews Daily WSOP* Qualifier Freeroll (Daily at 14:00 EST/15:00 EDT from May 21 – May 30)
PokerNews Daily $5 + $0.50 Qualifiers (Daily at 14:30 EST/15:30 EDT from May 21 – May 30)

Wednesday June 11 at 14:00 EST/15:00 EDT
PokerNews Daily WSOP* Qualifier Freeroll (Daily at 14:00 EST/15:00 EDT from June 1 – June 10)
PokerNews Daily $5 + $0.50 Qualifiers (Daily at 14:30 EST/15:30 EDT from June 1 – June 10)

Interested? Download Pacific Poker through the links on PokerNews, get yourself registered, make a deposit and click away! Qualified players will need to manually register for each $17,000 freeroll.

Sunday June 1 at 19:05 EST/20:05 EDT will see Duplicate Poker host a $12,500 Team PokerNews Freeroll. To get on board, download Duplicate Poker through PokerNews and register a new account. Players have 30 days (cut-off date 24 hours prior to the freeroll) to participate in $100 worth of tournaments or earn 100 bonus points. Qualified players will receive automatic registration into the freeroll.

PokerNews is proud to be working with Poker770 to launch another $12,500 Team PokerNews Freeroll on Friday June 6 at 14:30 EST/15:30 EDT. Qualifying is simple – download Poker770 via PokerNews, set up a new account, make a deposit and accumulate 300 Poker770 Points between May 6 and June 2. Qualified players must manually register for the freeroll when registration opens.

If for some reason you couldn’t make the above dates, Mansion Poker are giving you another chance when they host a $13,000 Team PokerNews Freeroll on Saturday June 14 at 07:00 EST/08:00 EDT. Want to have a go? Download Mansion Poker from PokerNews, get yourself a new account, make a deposit and earn 200 Mansion Poker Points between May 10th and 5th June (ends 23:59 GMT) to qualify.

Players who already have existing accounts with the above poker rooms are still allowed to take part provided you originally signed up through PokerNews and have completed all other entry requirements.

Remember, each of these freerolls will get you a seat to the Main Event ($10,000), cash for travel, as well as an array of other goodies to ensure your experience at the Series is one you will never want to forget!

*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah’s License Company, LLC (“Harrah’s”). Harrah’s does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with PokerNews Ltd or its products, services, promotions or tournaments.

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Here’s what you have to look forward to this week;

Duplicate Poker do not disappoint as they offer PokerNews players four exclusive chances at a $12,500 Team PokerNews Package – that’s $50,000 worth of packages to be given away! To be in the running, download Duplicate Poker through PokerNews, sign up for a new account and compete in a $100 worth of tournaments or accumulate 100 bonus points in the 30 days prior to the start of the freeroll, with the cut-off being 24 hours prior. Players who qualify will receive automatic registration to the freeroll.

The four freerolls begin on 19:05 EST/20:05 EDT on the following days;

Sunday April 13
Saturday May 3
Sunday June 1
Saturday June 14

Moving on to our friends at Titan Poker – they have another massive $12,500 Team PokerNews Freeroll in store for you on Saturday April 19 at 13:00 EST/14:00 EDT. To participate, download Titan Poker through the links on PokerNews, open a new account and make a deposit. Earn a single Titan Poker Point and use that to ‘buy-in’ to the freeroll. To be eligible, new players have until the Wednesday prior to the freeroll (April 16) to make their first deposit.

Finally, Full Tilt Poker top off our week in style as they host their very own $12,500 Team PokerNews Freeroll on Sunday April 20 at 15:00 EST/16:00 EDT. Want to compete? Download Full Tilt Poker through PokerNews, register a new account and make a deposit. Players must then earn 300 Full Tilt Poker Points between April 6-19. Qualified players must click on the registration link in the tournament lobby to confirm registration. This can be done at anytime during the qualification period.

Existing account holders with the above poker rooms are still welcome to compete provided you have completed all other entry requirements. Remember, entry requirements for most rooms must be fulfilled at least 24 hours prior to the start of each freeroll. All freerolls are exclusive to PokerNews players. Visit our freerolls page for further information on all our not-to-be-missed promotions.

Could this be the year you take home your very first WSOP bracelet? Take part in one of our exciting freerolls and your ultimate poker dream may just come true!

*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah’s License Company, LLC (“Harrah’s”). Harrah’s does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with PokerNews Ltd or its products, services, promotions or tournaments.

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Titan Poker lead the way with a €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Freeroll on Wednesday April 9 at 13:30 EST. To enter, download Titan Poker through PokerNews, register a new account, make a deposit and earn a single Titan Poker Point. New players must have completed all entry requirements at least 24 hours prior to the start of the freeroll.

T6 Poker host their very own €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Freeroll on Thursday April 10 at 14:00 EST. To be in the running, download T6 Poker through the links on PokerNews, open a new account and make a minimum €50 deposit. Following that, players must earn €6 in rake. Qualified players must manually register for the freeroll. Remember, all entry requirements must be completed at least 24 hours prior to the freeroll.

Up next is CD Poker’s €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Freeroll which will kick off on Saturday April 12 at 13:00 EST. Interested players should download CD Poker through PokerNews, register a new account and make a deposit. Earn a single CD Poker Point and use that to ‘buy-in’ to the freeroll. Too easy! Players have until the Wednesday prior to the freeroll to fulfill all entry requirements.

Not one to miss out, Full Tilt Poker gets on board by hosting a €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Freeroll scheduled for Monday April 14 at 14:00 EST. To be in the running, simply download Full Tilt Poker through PokerNews, open a new account, make a deposit and earn 100 Full Tilt Poker Points from April 6-13. Qualified players must then click on the registration link in the lobby to confirm registration. This can be done at anytime during the qualification period.

Ending with a bang, PokerNews teams up with PokerStars to launch the final PokerNews Cup Austria Freeroll rewarding the top two finishers with a €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Package each! Want in? Make sure you’re at the tables Tuesday April 15 at 15:00 EST. Download PokerStars through PokerNews, register a new account, make a deposit and earn 100 VPPs between April 8 and 13. Qualified players must use the ticket that will be issued to them (after April 13) to register for the tournament.

Players who already have existing accounts with the above poker rooms need not worry. You can still compete provided you originally signed up through PokerNews and have fulfilled all other entry requirements. Also, don’t forget that requirements for most rooms need to be met at least 24 hours prior to the start of each freeroll. Visit Freerolls for further details.

This is the last call – so be ready to play, and play BIG for your chance to compete at the 2008 PokerNews Cup Austria!

pokernews.com

Our
friends at Full Tilt Poker host two freerolls scheduled for 14:00 EST on Monday March 17 and Monday March 24. Qualifying is easy – download Full Tilt Poker through PokerNews, register a new account, make a deposit and earn 100 Full Tilt Poker Points within the specified timeframes;

Monday March 17 (Earn 100 Full Tilt Poker Points from March 9 – 16)
Monday March 24 (Earn 100 Full Tilt Poker Points from March 16 – 23)

Qualified players must then click on the registration link in the lobby to confirm registration. Please note, this can be done at anytime during the qualification period.

PokerStars are offering incredible value as they award the top two finishers of each freeroll a €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Package each. There are two freerolls coming up this week – that’s four packages to be given away! Both freerolls kick off at 15:00 EST on Tuesday March 18 and Tuesday March 25. To be in the running, simply download PokerStars through PokerNews, sign up for a new account, make a deposit and earn 100 VPPs within the qualification windows for each freeroll;

Tuesday March 18 (Earn 100 VPPs from March 11 – 16)
Tuesday March 25 (Earn 100 VPPs from March 18 – 23)

Qualified players will be issued a ticket after the qualification window ends. This can be used to register for the tournament.

Join Titan Poker as they host their very own €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Freeroll on Wednesday March 19 at 13:30 EST. To enter, download Titan Poker through PokerNews, register a new account and make a deposit. Players must then earn one Titan Poker Point and use this to ‘buy-in’ to the freeroll. New players must meet all requirements at least 24 hours prior to the start of this freeroll.

Can’t make any of those dates? T6 Poker give you another chance at a €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Package on Thursday March 20 at 14:00 EST. To be eligible, download T6 Poker through PokerNews and sign up for a new account. Make a minimum €50 deposit and contribute at least €6 in rake to qualify. Should you qualify, you must then manually register for the freeroll. All entry requirements need to be completed at least 24 hours prior to the start of the freeroll.

Keep Friday March 21 at 13:00 EST locked into your calendars as Everest Poker host another €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Freeroll. To qualify, download Everest Poker through PokerNews, register a new account and make a deposit. Enter the bonus code AUSCUP3 after the tournament appears in the lobby to receive automatic registration into this freeroll.

Finally, win a €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Freeroll with CD Poker on Friday March 28 at 13:00 EST. Simply download CD Poker through PokerNews, sign up for a new account and make a deposit. Earn one CD Poker Point and use that to ‘buy-in’ to the freeroll. Players must fulfill all entry requirements and complete the registration process by the Wednesday before the freeroll.

Already have an existing account with the above online poker rooms? That’s fine! You can still compete provided you have signed up through PokerNews and completed all other entry requirements. Requirements for most rooms must be completed at least 24 hours prior to every freeroll. However, as always, check back at our freerolls page for full details on all freerolls mentioned here, as well as all the other fantastic promotions that lay ahead!

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In its comments, the ABA raised nine crucial points and urged “several changes or clarifications to the proposal to enable banks to execute some form of feasible program.” However a thorough reading shows that the ABA has little hope that the UIGEA is workable in its present form. “ABA believes that the proposal, in large part due to the nature of the statute itself, will fail to create a practical process for intercepting prohibited conduct that maintains an efficiently functioning payments system.” The above was shortly followed by a statement more damning: “(W)e believe that UIGEA will in the end catch more banks in a compliance trap and do greater damage to the competitiveness of the American payments system, than it will stop gambling enterprises from profiting on illegal wagering.”

The ABA noted that the UIGEA correctly made an attempt to exempt the US banking industry from the penalties called for within the UIGEA. However, the ABA’s earlier take on the situation differs from the simplified “blanket exemption” touted in stories this week regarding the dismissal of a lawsuit by the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gambling Association (iMEGA) against the US government. That lawsuit attenpted to block the implementation of the UIGEA altogether, and was dismissed, though with continuing appeals possible. The ABA saw three serious flaws with the UIGEA rules: “(1) the definition of unlawful Internet gambling in the Prohibition leaves the vague definition of the Act uncured and therefore renders compliance virtually impossible; (2) the intractable problem of identifying or intercepting cross-border gambling activities and tainted correspondent relationships has not been adequately solved by the proposal; and (3) the uncertain standard for knowledge that triggers blocking is too indefinite to be practically operative.”

The holes in the UIGEA’s approach and the vagueness of its language then led the ABA to comment as follows: “We maintain that the UIGEA is a fundamentally flawed response to those challenges.” The ABA then took the authors of the UIGEA to task for transferring police powers to the private banking industry, requiring them to work as deputies of sorts on behalf of the government. This was without even a mention of the “unfunded mandate” nature of the UIGEA itself. One of the most damning passages in the ABA response then followed, with the ABA noting that it was “saddled with this exceptional burden” due to the federal government’s own inadequacies. The harshest part of the passage reads thus:

“In other words, in the view of the drafters of the legislation, all the sophistication of the FBI, Secret Service, and other police computerized detection systems and investigative expertise devoted to fighting terrorism and financial crime are inadequate to the task of apprehending the unlawful gambling business or confiscating its revenues. ABA believes that punting this obligation to the participants in the U.S. payment system is an unprecedented delegation of governmental responsibility with no prospect of practical success in exchange for all the burden it imposes.”

The ABA’s response then went on to list nine specific points that need to be addressed. The first three points sought to strengthen beneficial aspects (“beneficial” from the viewpoint of the ABA) of the UIGEA, while the last six points highlighted “deficiencies that persist in the proposal that preclude effective implementation of the Act.” The nine ABA action points:

1. The exemption language in the proposed rule should be reinforced to underscore that all participants in the specified payment systems except those with a customer relationship with the Internet gambling business are exempt.

9. Financial Institutions should have a longer period to phase-in the new policies and procedures prior to the effective date.

Point #1 explored the conflicting language of the UIGEA regarding exemption from liability for the US banking industry. The ABA duly noted that problems exist in the case of a relationship between an “Internet gambling business” and an offshore bank; in this instance, the US bank loses its exempt status when dealing with the other, offshore bank, even though the US bank might lack information on which to identify the transaction. As the ABA response noted, “For all the reasons this is not feasible in a domestic banking transaction, such an arrangement is not feasible cross-border. Only the bank with the customer relationship with the Internet gambling business can practically access sufficient information to identify the circumstances giving rise to a judgment about a restricted transaction.”

It was when the ABA explained why the UIGEA won’t work that the language again grew sharper, as in Point #4, which was stated bluntly: “The Agencies need to cure the impossibly vague scope of what is meant by ‘unlawful Internet gambling.’” The ABA then noted the UIGEA’s refusal to adequately define the problem for itself: “The Prohibition does not specify which transactions qualify as ‘unlawful Internet gambling.’ Instead, the Prohibition looks to ‘underlying substantive State and Federal gambling laws and not . . . a general regulatory definition’ to determine the scope of what unlawful Internet gambling comprises. ABA believes that requiring banks to be arbiters of gambling laws for all states, as well as federal gambling laws, is infeasible and would place a crippling processing burden and unbounded litigation risk on the nation’s payments system participants.

The ABA also noted existing conflicts between the Department of Justice and other federal agencies regarding the correct interpretation of already existing laws, and essentially summed it up as bad law: “If the federal agencies themselves cannot agree on the law, what hope is there that banks can resolve these confounding legal issues?”

Of course, not only does the UIGEA not properly define the laws, it forces the banking industry to try base policy and judgment upon those inadequacies. As noted in the ABA response: “Given the different entities encompassed by the proposal as participants in the payments system who are deputized with this authority, the Prohibition seems effectively to require vigilante justice empowered by a vague and overbroad delegation of the government’s police powers.” In fact, the ABA found the UIGEA’s standing definition of “unlawful Internet gambling” to be so lacking that it all but dismissed the law as unworkable in its present form: “A unified, practically workable definition of ‘unlawful Internet gambling’ must be included in the Prohibition. This is such a keystone element of the Prohibition and is currently so thoroughly flawed that a workable rule cannot possibly be issued in final form without re-proposal.”

The ABA’s comments then exposed why expecting US banks to know everything about a foreign bank’s customers wouldn’t work, and also derided the UIGEA for expecting that foreign banks, in addition to domestic ones, would somehow become expert in not only US federal gambling laws, but the related laws of all 50 US states as well. It also assailed the UIGEA for its presumption that its own language should usurp that of foreign banks operating legally in their home countries.

Said the ABA, on this point: “For instance, if a British bank has policies and procedures to identify and block transactions which qualify as ‘unlawful Internet gambling’ in the US, but these same transactions are legal in the UK, the bank could be subject to litigation or enforcement actions in their own country.”

The ABA also noted that a list of unlawful Internet gambling businesses “might have some merit,” but that it wanted no part of the list’s creation. Said the ABA: “Of course, ownership and upkeep responsibilities for such a list cannot and must not fall on financial institutions. To place the onus for a list on financial institutions would only exacerbate the Act’s void-for-vagueness delegation flaw, converting it from impossible individual determinations of legality to impossible joint determinations of blacklisting.” The ABA also noted that a six-month period for implementation would be unworkable, in the event that some form of the rules were put into action; a 24-month period, at a minimum, would be more realistic.

In summary, the American Banking Association was not pleased with the requirements and mandates laid upon the banking industry with the passage of the UIGEA. Whether such strident opposition ultimately results in the abandonment or reworking of the UIGEA as a matter of practical law remains to be seen. In ending, the ABA noted this: “(G)iven that there are several points requiring change or clarification, including the essential component — a definition of what transactions “unlawful Internet gambling” encompasses — several revisions must be made and a new rule proposed for further comment. Even then, major, fundamental flaws must be cured before effective implementation of the UIGEA can even be contemplated.”

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However, iMEGA’s claims that implementation of the UIGEA would be a First Amendment, “free speech” violation for its members was held to be without merit, in part because iMEGA’s action identified no aggrieved parties by name, either as part of businesses offering online gambling or of aggrieved customers demanding the right to spend their income how and where they choose. Six different points were raised by iMEGA in the original complaint, and each was dismissed in turn by Judge Cooper. In dismissing one of the free-speech points, Judge Cooper noted that, “UIGEA does not have any adverse impact, much less a significant one, on the ability of the plaintiff and its members to express their views on Internet gambling.”

Also dismissed was the iMEGA argument that by passing the UIGEA, the US put itself in violation of its own World Trade Organization agreements. That argument was dismissed because such a challenge may be brought only by the government itself, not by any individual or private group.

In a footnote to the dismissal of one of iMEGA’s motions, a states-rights challenge based on the Tenth Amendment, Judge Cooper noted that “UIGEA exempts purely financial entities from criminal liability.”

iMEGA chairman Joe Brennan, Jr. expanded on that in a statement published on the iMEGA website in the wake of the decision. “Judge Cooper found that banks, credit card companies and other payment system instruments are exempt from criminal sanctions under UIGEA,” said Brennan, “significantly undercutting UIGEA’s enforcement mechanism. Her ruling echoes the growing consensus of opinion that UIGEA is a fundamentally flawed statute.”

However, the statement as issued by Cooper does not address the “overbroad” payment-blocking concerns that trouble the online industry regarding UIGEA, and in fact, Cooper specifically mentioned in her decision that the UIGEA in its current form was not overbroad. Her decision, though, could be construed as being narrow in scope, given its conclusion, which reads in part:

“The plaintiff’s claims express a fundamental disagreement with Congress’s judgment that Internet gambling should be controlled legislatively, and pose questions as to whether UIGEA, given its exceptions and conjectural enforcement problems, will be successful in accomplishing its desired ends. But it is not the Court’s role to pass on the wisdom of a Congressional act or speculative on its effectiveness.”

iMEGA’s official statement expressed pleasure over the granting on legal standing in the matter. iMEGA also announced tentative plans to appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. It also appears that the decision as rendered was the outcome iMEGA expected. Days prior to the release of Judge Cooper’s decision, iMEGA’s Ed Leyden commented on the pending decision to PokerNews as follows: “We remain hopeful that the government’s motion will be denied so that even if our own motion (for a prliminary injunction) is also denied, we’ll still be teed up to fight these vital issues of digital civil rights.”

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Full Tilt Poker hosts two freerolls which kick off on Monday March 3 and Monday March 10
at 14:00 EST. To enter, download Full Tilt Poker through PokerNews and register a new account. Players must make a deposit and earn 100 Full Tilt Poker Points between the specified time frames;

Monday March 3 (Earn 100 Full Tilt Poker Points from February 24 – March 2)
Monday March 10 (Earn 100 Full Tilt Poker Points from March 2 – March 9)

Qualified players must then click on the registration link in the tournament lobby and confirm their registration when prompted.

Following that, PokerStars launch two separate freerolls on Tuesday March 4 and Tuesday March 11 – both of which begin at 15:00 EST. These freerolls award the top two finishers with a €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Package each. That’s double your chances of winning! To be eligible, download PokerStars through PokerNews, register a new account and make a deposit. Players must then earn 100 VPPs within the qualification window specified before each freeroll;

Tuesday March 4 (Earn 100 VPPs between February 26 and March 2)
Tuesday March 11 (Earn 100 VPPs between March 4 and March 9)

Qualified players will be issued a ticket after the qualification window ends which is then used to register for the freeroll.

Join Titan Poker as they host their latest €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Freeroll on Wednesday March 5 at 13:30 EST. To enter, download Titan Poker through PokerNews, sign up for a new account and earn a single Titan Poker Point which can then be used to ‘buy-in’ to the freeroll. New players must meet all requirements at least 24 hours prior to the start of the freeroll.

Our generous friends at T6 Poker also host a freeroll on Thursday March 6 at 14:00 EST. To be eligible, simply download T6 Poker through PokerNews, register a new account, make a minimum €50 deposit and earn at least €6 in rake. Qualified players must then manually register for the freeroll and complete all requirements at least 24 hours prior to the freeroll.

Finally, Everest Poker give you another chance to win a fantastic €1,500 PokerNews Cup Austria Package on Friday March 7 at 13:00 EST. To qualify, download Everest Poker through PokerNews, sign up for a new account and make a deposit. Enter the bonus code AUSCUP2 after the tournament appears in the lobby to receive automatic registration to the freeroll.

Remember, requirements for most rooms must be fulfilled at least 24 hours prior to the start of every freeroll. If you already have an existing account with the above poker rooms, we’d still love for you to compete provided you have signed up through PokerNews and have completed all other entry requirements. Keep checking back at our freerolls page for further information plus details on all upcoming freerolls.

Good luck and maybe we’ll see you at the 2008 PokerNews Cup Austria!

pokernews.com