When the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act passed in 2006, many poker fanatics in the United States were shut off from the online poker community. Austria-based PlayPing.com is looking to change that.
The Web 2.0 social network boasts many of the same features found on MySpace or Facebook along with access to a 348-station music channel.
"Some time ago we realized the need for a gambling community setup that goes beyond the sole functionality of an ordinary forum," said Heinz Hoja, founder of PlayPing.com, in a prepared statement. "When President Bush signed the new law on online gambling, which outlawed financial transactions for online gambling in games of chance, we knew then that our time had come.
"We want PlayPing.com to be the virtual place where U.S. poker players mingle, chat, exchange information or individually express themselves to the fullest in these difficult times."