PurpleLounge No Longer Accepting US Business

The online casino and poker site Purple Lounge has closed its virtual doors to U.S. players and affiliates. Purple Lounge is based in the United Kingdom where online gambling such as poker is legal and regulated. Due to the high profile arrests of British executives David Carruthers (BetonSports) and Peter Dicks (Sportingbet) and the ambiguity surrounding current U.S. legislation, the Purple Lounge will no longer accept any bets from U.S. players.

Existing U.S. player accounts must be withdrawn over the next two weeks. Although current U.S. law only prohibits wagering on sporting events and not online casinos or poker, Louisiana and seven other states do have laws specifically targeting online gambling.

Purple Lounge Marketing Director Julia Wild called U.S. law "insufficiently clear" at both the state and federal level. Ms. Wild also said that "further clarification" of the law was needed in order to differentiate online poker and casinos from sports betting. Ms. Wild expressed condolences on behalf of Purple Lounge and cited concern for its players, affiliates and employees as the key reason for the decision.

Ms. Wild elaborated in an emailed statement to players and affiliates by saying, "Unfortunately, the recent arrest in New York of the chairman of one of our competitors on charges which could lead to up to 5 years hard labor in Louisiana and the potential for our players/affiliates to be arrested have forced our hand. We have a duty to our players to offer them a safe and legal place to play poker, we also have a duty of care to our affiliates who could fall foul of individual state laws and to our employees who may face imprisonment. While there is insufficient clarity of the laws in the USA we would be remiss to put any of these people at risk of what we agree is unjust legislation. Of course we intend to continue to lobby for online poker in the United States and to reopen our doors to our loyal players at the earliest opportunity."

See also:

Purple Lounge Poker Closes to US Players