Reports on internet poker media dating back to September 20, along with exchanges on the twoplustwo forum indicate that a major Russian internet service provider, Beeline, has blocked the Pokerstars dotcom domain in compliance with Russian government directives aimed at halting illegal online gambling.
Back in November last year the Russian Supreme Court placed the responsibility for complying with domain-blocking orders from the government on ISPs, although the Pokerstars barring is the first known occasion on which this has been applied.
The Beeline notification on attempted access to Pokerstars confirms the domain has been blocked on the orders of the public authorities, whilst the ISP’s website notes that Pokerstars has been blocked in compliance with local legislation requiring service providers to restrict access to information prohibited for distribution by court order or public authority.