Rumors are circling that Sportsbook.com and Playersonly.com, two large U.S.-friendly online poker rooms are leaving the U.S. market.
This action is an apparent response to the U.S. Department of Justice’s seizure of three online poker rooms — PokerStars.com, FullTiltPoker.com and Absolute Poker — which are now off-limits to players from the United States.
While we are awaiting an official announcement from Sportsbook, rumors are circulating that this will be a relatively smooth transition for affiliates. While Sportsbook’s poker room will be closed to new traffic from U.S. players, it seems they will continue to service players who currently have accounts or who sign up for new accounts before May 1, 2011.
We’ve also heard that affiliates will continue to be paid revenue share on their past U.S. based referrals as well as new referrals from outside the United States.
This is a significant development in the drama surrounding the online poker community since April 15, 2011. Sources have suggested that other major online poker sites are planning to exit the U.S. market.
Stay tuned to the Casino Affiliate Programs blog for more information about this developing situation as we continue to explore what this means for affiliates.
How is this situation affecting your affiliate business? Let us know in the comments.