Poker Site Cafrino Under Investigation

The online poker site, Cafrino, has come under investigation by US authorities. The site is aimed at players in the state of California, and allows players to win cash prizes by playing free online poker. US authorities have questioned the legality of the site.

California state Attorney General, Kamala Harris, released a statement saying that “playing for something of value is illegal”. The owners of the site, Sean Stravropoulos and Jonathan Aiwazian, however, see things differently, and believe that the site is in compliance with the law because players do not have to pay a subscription fee. The prizes up for grabs are paid for via advertising revenues.

Currently, the site offers “Spree roll tournaments”, for which the company has a patent pending, as well as traditional heads-up tournaments and single table tournaments. Players are separated according to their ability, with skilled players competing for high value prizes, and weaker players competing for smaller prizes. This means everyone has a chance to win something. Players do pay a penny to enter tournaments, however, which may be enough to count as “cash gaming” in the eyes of the law.

There hasn’t been a lot of information released about the investigation yet, however we’re sure more statements will be forthcoming. Hopefully, the site won’t get shut down. We’ll post more information as it’s released.

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