Statement posted on their webpage, October 4th:

“As the 4th largest online poker company we continue to welcome all Poker Players! AbsolutePoker.com is Absolutely confident in its ability to continue to offer US customers the very best in Online Poker with the fastest secure deposit and payout solutions, all new and existing customers should be 100% confident in playing with the very best www.AbsolutePoker.com.”

Importantly Absolute Poker is a privately held operation, which gives our business model more flexibility and creativity in operating that our publicly held counterparts don’t have. Furthermore, the Safe Ports Act passed by the US Congress on September 30th neither prohibits nor makes it illegal for any US customer to transact with AbsolutePoker.com and therefore customers experience at AbsolutePoker.com will no change. Our business continues to run as normal and our executive team expects to see the business to continue to grow in both the short and long term.

We are exploring all of our options with our existing payment processors and ensure any existing or new customer that your funds are safe and secure. Indications are that many of our payment providers will be unaffected by this law and their business will also be able to operate uninterrupted and unimpeded.

We are confident that our business, and that of our partners and suppliers, will be unaffected because while the U.S. Congress efforts potentially could block transactions conducted within the U.S. banking system, many of our payment providers transactions are done within the framework of the international banking system, which the U.S. Congress has no control over.

We will have continued updates and assessments of this situation, but we are confident again, that you will be able to continue to enjoy all of the offerings at AbsolutePoker.com as you always have. We look forward to having you as a customer, and being a part of our site as we grow and experience new heights in the years to come.

Statement e-mailed to us when asked, on October 5:

Thank you for your question. We are aware of the recent Internet gambling legislation passed by the U.S. This bill still has to be passed by the executive branch of government before it is enacted into law.

Regardless of the outcome this time, the online gambling industry will continue to flourish and Bodog.com will remain at the front and center of this digital entertainment industry for years to come.

You should take comfort in knowing that Bodog.com is well situated to adapt to any change in the legislative environment. Bodog.com considers online gambling to be legal under international law and complies with the laws within all of its jurisdictions where it carries out its operations.

We would encourage you to consult a legal expert to ensure that you are properly informed about local, state and federal laws with respect to online gambling.

You may care to know that Bodog.com has been in business for more than 10 years and was the first online gambling operation licensed in Costa Rica. Bodog.com is now also licensed in Kahnawake and by the government of the United Kingdom.

Bodog.com is committed to openness and transparency, and we thank you for taking the time to write to us. Should you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.

Our highest priority is to offer you a safe and enjoyable wagering environment.

Statement from Full Tilt - emailed to all players on October 5:

Full Tilt Poker is here to stay!

As an online poker player, you have probably heard about the new legislation passed by the U.S. Congress earlier this week that attempts to prevent you from being able to transfer money to online gaming sites.

While this new law has prompted some sites to announce plans to abandon the U.S. market in coming days, we assure you that Full Tilt Poker will continue to provide all of its players - both inside and outside of the United States - with a full complement of real money ring games and tournaments for their enjoyment.

After consultation with numerous legal experts in this field, we want to make you aware of the following:

* Legal

The new U.S. legislation does not in any way attempt to criminalize the act of you playing online poker. By playing online at Full Tilt Poker, you are not breaking any U.S. Federal laws.

* Full Access

The passage of the new Internet Gaming law will not have any impact on your day-to-day experience at Full Tilt Poker. We will provide all of our players, everywhere in the world, with full access to all of our games and tournaments.

* Easy Deposits and Withdrawals

We will continue to provide our players with all of the safe, secure and convenient methods for transferring money to and from the site. In fact, in recent discussions with our payment processors, we have been assured that this new law will have no immediate impact on their day-to-day business. And as always, any monies that you have on deposit with Full Tilt Poker remain completely safe and secure.

Furthermore, we firmly believe that online poker is not encompassed by this new legislation. In any event, we will continue to lobby for an express carve-out for online poker and for your right to play a truly American game from the privacy of your own home and computer.

We are excited about the future here at Full Tilt Poker and in the coming weeks and months, we plan to roll out many new features designed to enhance your online poker experience.

We appreciate your loyalty to our site and, in turn, want you to know that we will remain loyal to our valued players in the United States and throughout the world.

We look forward to seeing you at the table.

Press Release from 888.com/Pacific Poker released on October 2nd:

LONDON (AFX) - Internet gaming company 888 Holdings PLC confirmed it has indefinitely suspended business from US customers, following a move by US congress to outlaw online gambling.

888 issued a statement after the US congress unexpectedly passed a bill at the weekend which will make unlawful the receipt by a gambling business of proceeds or monies in connection with unlawful internet gambling.

The legislation is expected to be signed into law by President Bush within the next two weeks, and will become effective immediately thereafter.

The Act requires the Secretary of Treasury, within 270 days, to issue regulations requiring financial institutions to block transactions in connection with internet gaming.

'In the light of these considerations the board has concluded that it is appropriate to suspend participation by US based customers in activities covered by the legislation,' 888 said. The company will implement this suspension immediately upon the legislation taking effect and the suspension will continue for so long as the legal situation remains the same.

888 said it will 'continue to seek clarification of the overall US legal position to determine whether and to what extent, if any, resumption of participation by US customers is feasible', but stressed that, at present, 'no assurance can be given that this will be possible'. 888 vowed to 'continue and develop those aspects of its US business which are not affected by relevant legislation'.

In the six months to end June, revenues from non-US players amounted to approximately 48 pct of the group's net gaming revenue and in the second quarter of 2006 approximately 68 pct of new customers were non-US.

'The board believes the company is well placed to achieve further growth outside the US and will continue to focus its attention on growth in non US markets,' 888 said.

888 said a significant proportion of the group's cost base is variable and relates directly to the level of activity. It warned it will review its fixed cost base in the light of the suspension of US business and this may result in charges being taken in this year's results. 888 said that, while suspension of US activities will have a material adverse impact on results for this year and beyond, it has significant cash resources which are 'more than adequate to continue its operations and further develop its business taking account of sums required to cover return of deposits to US customers and the dividend payment due to be made to shareholders on Oct 31'.

Unfortunately, on Friday October 13th President Bush is expected to sign into law the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. The legislation is designed to restrict Americans from being able to fund their online poker accounts and in doing so to prevent Americans from participating in one of their national past times.

Paradise Poker, as part of the SportingBet PLC group of companies, is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange and is obligated to act in accordance with the new legislation. After much deliberation, our Legal Team has advised that in order to comply with the new legislation Paradise Poker will be required to stop accepting deposits from all US players. In addition we will no longer be able to offer US players the ability to transfer funds to each other using the ‘Send Money To Player’ function or to transfer funds to Sportsbook.com.

Please be assured that all US customers will continue to be able to access their accounts and submit cashout requests as normal. Although we will no longer be able to accept additional deposits, players will continue to be able to play at our real money tables with the funds they already have on deposit at Paradise until November 13th 2006. The only players that will not be able to continue playing at our real money tables are players located in one of the following states, where some form of online gambling legislation already exists:

Utah
Hawaii
Michigan
Indiana
Oregon
Nevada
Washington
Illinois
Louisiana
South Dakota

Please note that all players will no longer have access to our casino products or sports betting products. Any Paradise Poker players that have open bets at Sportsbook.com will have the bets cancelled and the funds, along with any other funds held at Sportsbook, transferred back to Paradise Poker. The funds will be transferred back to Paradise Poker within 12 hours.

We very much regret the unfortunate environment in the United States that has prompted us to take these steps. Should there be any positive changes regarding the legal landscape, we will certainly inform players immediately.

For those interested, we recommend visiting http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org/ , a group that has been organized to represent the rights and interests of American poker players.

We thank you very much for your patronage over the years and remain hopeful that the day will come when the U.S. will join much of the rest of the world in recognizing the sense behind regulating, rather than the prohibiting online poker

Kris from Poker.com confirmed to us that they are accepting US players.

PartyGaming Statement - October 3:

On 30 September 2006, the United States Congress passed The Safe Port Act. That measure also contained certain provisions known as the ‘Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006’ that will affect the processing of payments between US customers and online gaming companies, including PartyGaming, that are publicly traded and licensed and regulated in respected jurisdictions.

The Act is expected to be signed into law by President Bush within the next two weeks. If signed into law, it will immediately make unlawful the receipt by a gambling business of proceeds or monies in connection with unlawful internet gambling. The Act does not clarify the definition of unlawful gambling. However, as the first piece of Federal legislation dealing explicitly with internet gaming, it does make clear that the US government intends to stop the flow of funds from Americans to online gaming operators through criminal sanction. The Act also asserts that, under US law, a wager must be permitted under the laws both of the customer’s place of residence and that of the operator.

After taking extensive legal advice, the Board of PartyGaming Plc has concluded that the new legislation, if signed into law, will make it practically impossible to provide US residents with access to its real money poker and other real money gaming sites. As a result of this development, the Board of PartyGaming has determined that if the President signs the Act into law, the Company will suspend all real money gaming business with US residents, and such suspension will continue indefinitely, subject to clarification of the interpretation and enforcement of US law and the impact on financial institutions of this and other related legislation. Access to PartyGaming's online gaming sites for the Group's US free play customers will be unaffected. Access for all of PartyGaming’s non-US customers will also be unaffected.

Statement on website - October 2:

Planet Poker is located and operated in Curacao which is part of the Netherlands Antilles. Planet Poker does not have ownership or operations in the USA. Planet Poker has a fully authorized gaming operation license issued by the Curacao government. All aspects of operations and business conduct are endorsed and sanctioned by the Curacao government. Any bets placed by you are received and processed by Planet Poker in Curacao where accepting your bet is fully legal under Planet Poker's license. Customer records are held confidentially by Planet Poker, not the Curacao government.

On 30 September 2006, as part of approving the Safe Port Act, the U.S. Congress passed an act relating to internet gambling. Analysts report that when this act is signed by the President, changes will be enforced on the banking community to restrict financial transactions with internet gaming companies. It is unclear at this point how this new law may affect the banking organizations but financial processors are reporting that they anticipate having 270 days to seek clarification on the interpretation of the law.

The good news is that the legal community is reporting that the law does not target individuals and does not make it illegal for individuals to participate in online gaming. Additionally, with poker being identified as a game of skill, many legal experts feel that there is a reasonable chance that poker may eventually be excluded from the new law.

As always, your funds are secure and guaranteed with Planet Poker and until the banking community starts to understand the impact of the new law over the next several months it is business as usual. Planet Poker will ensure that its customers continue to receive the high quality of financial service that they have enjoyed for the past 7 years. You can rest assured that Planet Poker will be talking steps to make sure you have access to the site and be able to make deposits and withdrawals on a regular basis. Good luck at the tables!

As you are probably aware, the United States Congress recently enacted the Safe Port Act which contains provisions relating to Internet gambling.

PokerStars has received extensive expert advice from within and outside the U.S. which concluded that these provisions do not alter the U.S. legal situation with respect to online poker. Furthermore it is important to emphasize that the Act does not in any way prohibit you from playing online poker.

Therefore, our business continues as before - open to players worldwide including the US. You may play on our site as you did prior to the Act.

PokerStars believes that poker is a game of skill enjoyed by millions of players and we remain committed to providing you a safe and fun environment in which to play. We value your loyalty to PokerStars, and look forward to continuing to serve you with the best online poker experience, as we have for the past five years, six billion hands, and 40 million tournaments.

PokerStars Management

We are astonished and dismayed by the United States government's misguided attempts to regulate the recreational activities of its citizens and its apparent belief that the best use of federal security personnel is in preventing ordinary people from playing their favorite games. We know that poker is a game of skill with a uniquely American history and that the current law will ultimately be overturned. Nothing in the bill prohibits players from playing online. Nevertheless, the government has acted and in passing the Safe Ports Act and with the President's signature, we too, have acted.

As all games players know, some key actors such as Party Gaming and the Cryptologic network have abandoned the market and their U.S. customers. Similarly, Firepay has made a similar decision to close shop. NETeller and several leading poker rooms see the U. S. government's actions as an opportunity to refine their brand and focus their efforts.

SkillGames was founded as a Backgammon club 11 years ago and has evolved into a poker network and backgammon club. We have always sought to provide the optimal customer experience. Truly we came for the games and stayed for the friendships.

We see our partners as colleagues and our customers as friends and have sought a long term strategy that embraces their collective needs. We believe, absolutely, that Backgammon and Poker are games of skill and will be ultimately recognized as such.

For us, business will continue as usual with special events to thank our customers for their loyalty over the years. United States customers and those from all over the world are welcome and appreciated.

Statement from True Poker CEO - October 3rd:

Can I make a Deposit to TruePoker from the United States ?

Congress passed the UIGE Act of 2006, which covers deposits made by US players to certain types of sites. Our read is that Act covers only sites which offer Sports Betting or Casino type games where you bet against the Site itself.

We are not going to be breaking any laws, we believe this Act does not apply to sites not in "the business of betting or wagering", which we are not.

We will need to see what develops in the payments processing industry over the next few weeks with respect to your ability to send money, but TruePoker's poker operations will continue for US players.

Summary:

TruePoker does NOT make or accept bets or wagers in which it has any stake in the outcome. So, our games and tournaments, and your deposits, are not covered by this UIGE Act of 2006.

TruePoker does not have a stake in the outcome of the games or tournaments we offer, in the US or anywhere else. (We do not offer casino games or sports betting, and so have no stake in the outcome and are not in the "business of betting or wagering")

Business Decisions:

Certain sites, such as Party and Pacific, have decided to abandon the US poker market as a busness decision. We view our commitment to our customes a bit differently. The Act does not outlaw playing poker on the Internet from the US, period. We certainly will accept deposits and new accounts as long as we can do so. We see NO reason to cut off play in any event under this Act.

As you do, We await developments in the payments processing industry, but it is business as usual for Truepoker's poker operations.

Official statement from WSEX/WPEX General Manager:

The Congress of the United States passed a bill outlawing the ACCEPTANCE of financial transactions for ILLEGAL Internet gambling.

World Sports Exchange, WSEX.com, and all of its sister companies are LEGAL and licensed businesses regulated by the Gaming Commission of Antigua and Barbuda. We are wholly located in Antigua and do no business or run any part of our operation on US soil. We do not assert any legal opinion of gaming in your jurisdiction, only Antigua and Barbuda.

The World Trade Organization, the WTO, has recognized the right of Antiguan companies to be in this business and has instructed the United States to stop trying to block US residents from playing at Antiguan operations.

Nothing in the bill criminalizes placing a bet or sending money to or receiving money from an offshore gambling business.

The bill if signed into law by the President gives the banking regulators 270 days, 9 months, to figure out how to enforce it. It puts the burden of enforcing the law on the US banking system. Most experts believe they will not be able to get in done in that time, and many believe whatever system they come up with will not work.

We strongly suggest that our players get set up with alternative payment systems.

WSEX has always and will continue to fight for the players’ rights to spend their gambling dollars as they see fit, not just on US state sanctioned state lotteries or other outlets where the US government gets a piece of the action.

Official statement released October 3rd:

On Friday, 29 September, a bill that will ban Internet gambling payment processing in the United States was added to another proposed bill on national security, which most likely soon will be passed in its entirety.

As the bill on banned Internet gambling payment processing services in the United States turns into formal law, Boss Media AB will immediately take action to block American players resident in the United States from accessing any such services and software provided by Boss Media.

Official statement released October 2nd:

CryptoLogic Inc. (TSX:CRY.TO - News)(NASDAQ:CRYP - News)(London:CRP.L - News), a leading software developer to the global Internet gaming industry, announced that effective immediately licensees of WagerLogic Limited, the company's licensing subsidiary, will not take wagers from U.S.-based players. This is a result of new legislation expected to be signed today by President Bush that prohibits financial transaction processing in the U.S. online gaming market.

On 30 September 2006 the US Senate passed the SAFE Port Act which also contains a section referred to as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. The new act primarily affects online payment transactions for games of chance, which have been deemed unlawful under US American law, and aims to prevent these by threatening severe punishment, court sanctions and regulatory action. This statute adds a new subchapter to Chapter 53 of the United States Code stating that online games of chance are primarily financed through credit card payments and money transfers and that new enforcement tools have become necessary for the Internet. Not only sports bets, but also games of chance and lotteries, are affected by the bet or wager definition. The law makes payment transactions related to unlawful online games of chance virtually impossible, listing all payment options affected in detail as is customary for US legislation. In addition, § 5367 also contains a provision about the liability of any company or person involved in such transactions. This also applies to operations owned or controlled by someone who accepts unlawful bets and wagers.

Ongame, one of the companies in the bwin Group is also affected by the bill which was signed into law today by President George W. Bush.

bwin regrets that the US has taken this step which will make it virtually impossible for listed, strictly regulated and transparent operators to offer real money entertainment to US customers. bwin is doubtful whether US authorities will be able to achieve their stated goals - protection of minors and the prevention of gaming addiction - by introducing such legislation. Past experience with restrictive measures to prevent the abuse of alcohol has shown that such prohibition did not have the desired effect, merely driving consumers underground and contributing to the rapid growth of an entirely unregulated black market. The online gaming industry is unanimous in its view that the creation of forward-looking regulation can more effectively address issues such as consumer protection, the protection of minors, the prevention of gaming addiction, or the prevention of money laundering. Such a policy, if properly monitored by the authorities, would be much more effective than this general ban.

Following an in-depth analysis of the situation and extensive legal consultation, bwin has decided to comply with the new legislation and will no longer accept any new US-resident customers for its real money gaming products, effective immediately. The company is working on technical arrangements that will prevent existing customers from accessing its real money games. Until further notice, bwin will only be offering a play money line-up to the US market. The greatly increased risk of prosecution by the US authorities, the considerable pressure on banks and payment providers coupled with the requirements for publicly listed companies leave the company no other option.

For the year 2006 the Ongame customer base also includes some 177,000 active real money customers not resident in the US. In addition, the majority of customers in Ongame's poker network are from Europe. In Q2 2006, the former Ongame customer portfolio generated gross gaming revenue of EUR 29.0 million. EUR 9.3 million or 32 percent of the gross gaming revenue were generated from customers not resident in the US. Cumulative gross gaming revenue of the bwin group amounted to EUR 94.3 million in Q2 2006; as leading provider of online gaming entertainment in continental Europe, bwin generated 79 percent of its gross gaming revenue through customers not living in the US in Q2 2006.

bwin customers not resident in the USA are not affected at all by these legislative changes in the United States, and can continue to enjoy the full range of bwin products.

The bwin Group has over 10 million registered customers (including 7 million play money customers) in over 20 core target markets. Operating under international and regional licences in countries like Gibraltar, Kahnawake (Canada), Belize and Germany, Italy, Mexico, Austria and the United Kingdom, the Group has set itself the goal of becoming the number one address for sports betting, games and entertainment via digital distribution channels. The Group offers sports betting, poker, casino games and soft games, as well as audio and video streams on top sporting events like, for example, the German Bundesliga. The parent company bwin Interactive Entertainment AG has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since March 2000 (ID code BWIN, Reuters ID code BWIN.VI). Further information about the Company can be found on its investor relations website at www.bwin.ag.