Mystery surrounds sale of seized online gambling domains

Making headlines across industry media over the weekend is a report that nine online gambling domains seized last year by the US Attorney’s Office in Baltimore, Maryland have been put up for sale.

Domains involved include:

•Doylesroom.com
•Funtimebingo.com
•Truepoker.com
•Beted.com
•Bookmaker.com
•2Betsdi.com
•Goldenarchcasino.com
•Betmaker.com
•Betgrandesports.com
•Betehorse.com

The reports are intriguing, because there is no indication whether the sale is being executed by organiser David Gzesh as an agent for the government, or whether he has acquired the domains and is reselling them.

The domains are currently registered to a Las Vegas company in which Gzesh is believed to be involved, US Poker Marketing Affiliates LLC.

Gzesh is a familiar figure at industry conferences and is a highly qualified lawyer. Over the years he has been involved in several roles in the industry and is credited with founding TruePoker.com (one of the domains on sale) and the Yatahay Network, since renamed Winning Poker Network.

Several of the domains were effectively abandoned by their true owners following the seizures, with the operators simply re-registering in international jurisdictions over which American enforcement authorities have no power, adopting suffixes such as .eu and .ag in moving away from dotcom vulnerability.

Biographical information on Gzesh includes the following:

“David Gzesh Law Offices specializing in Business Services in Las Vegas, NV ….provides poker and online gaming industry clients an understanding of their business issues and goals, drawn from experience for years spent as an online poker network operator and software provider. David also brings legal expertise from 20+ years’ experience advising both online and B&M gaming operators in a number of jurisdictions, both in the US and overseas. Elected in 2010 as a General Member of the International Masters of Gaming Law, and as a member of the State Bar of Nevada Section on Gaming Law, David provides an informed perspective on the re-emerging US online gaming market(s) and regulatory development.”

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