ESPN cancels all poker programming following Feds shutdown of websites

Wow. When I mentioned yesterday, in a post on the far-reaching implications of the FBI shutting down the three largest online poker outlets in the world, that the crackdown would have major economic ramifications, I really had no inkling that ESPN would perform an abortion on everything poker-related it does, but it has. Where will we all go to get our fill of Norman Chad’s witticisms now?

Reports Bloomberg:

Walt Disney Co. (DIS)’s ESPN sports cable channel will remove poker advertising and programming after the U.S. indicted gambling websites that sponsor televised tournaments and froze their bank accounts.

“We are aware of the indictment only through what has been announced publicly,” Bristol, Connecticut-based ESPN said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. “For the immediate future, we are making efforts to remove related advertising and programming pending further review.”

You’d have to assume that NBC’s poker franchises will likely meet the same fate. Again, you may want to consider extracting your cash from online gambling websites while you still can. Meanwhile, for those interested in all of this going forward, the Twitter feed of ESPN.com poker editor Andrew Feldman might be a good source of information.

As you might expect, our comrades over at With Leather are mildly dismayed by all of this, to say the least. And Poker Cat, we imagine, is downright pissed.

(Poker Cat image via)