On April 15, 2011 The United States Department of Justice filed a federal criminal case indicting the founders of the three largest onlne poker companies along with a handful of their associates.
The indictments, quickly dubbed “Black Friday” by the poker community, came as a shock to a large number of Americans — estimated variously at between 1.3 million and 15 million — who played poker online for real money. American players went from bragging about their winnings and bemoaning their bad beats to contemplating an uncertain future that would deprive some of them of their income.