The Facebook-facing poker site’s interest might seem reasonable in light of the Department of Justice’s recent re-interpretation of the 1961 Wire Act, limiting the scope of its prohibitions to sports betting. But there is also a more cynical interpretation of Zynga’s announcement.

With its stock price languishing after its initial public offering, Zynga needed a growth storyline that shareholders might believe. I could write more about why Zynga’s announcement may be more of a semi-bluff than a made hand, but an online gaming insider has done that already. Bill Rini asks Zynga Ready For Real Money Gaming or Trying to Hide Failures? 

I thought so, too … and maybe that’s why few seem to be recognizing the historic happenings right here, right now, with sports betting in Nevada. Check out the new TV commercials — seen on the local ABC affiliate before the UT-Tech game — for the first ever legal wagering app in the United States, moral opposition be damned:

We knew the release of “Leroy’s App” might be kinda a big deal … and the CEO of Leroy’s parent company, American Wagering, Inc., spells out pretty clearly their intent to have their finger on every “online” sports bet in the country with “interstate sports betting networks, phone betting, and real-time handheld devices”:

Yikes, fairly dramatic … but a 31-year gestation period for online sports betting in America? That’s not so ridiculous when you consider the foundation of all opposition to “online gambling” traces back the Wire Act of 1961, made law of the land 49 years ago. Forget Harry Reid health care … it takes a long time for the kinda change we can believe in (in Nevada).

With Leroy’s fully legal online sports betting now marketing itself en masse — a development we hardly heard a whisper about until shortly after removal of sports betting from the Frank bill — you gotta think it’s only a matter of time before Cantor Gaming gets approval to take their “real-time handheld devices” (pimped by Doyle Brunson) beyond a casino property’s firewalls.

Even the bankruptcy-challenged Station Casinos has a fully legal online sports betting option — just no app yet. Haven’t figured out how long they’ve had this, but they apparently just launched a program allowing you, from home or wherever, to convert slot machine points into real-money sports wagers.

Who says sports betting won’t be part of legal online gambling in America? Seems it kinda-sorta already is, and is just being set up to ensure Vegas won’t lose out to bookies in London or New Jersey.

Pokerstars has confirmed with its players that indeed, some payout funds have been frozen in American banks — but they’ve credited back affected monies with a 10 percent inconvenience bonus and an invitation to try again, Gambling911 reports.

If you wish to resubmit your cashout request, you can do so from our Cashier by selecting the check option (your new check will be issued on a different account and can be deposited as normal) or wire transfer (only available for amounts greater than [$2,500]).

But while Stars’ “take care of the player first” approach may be admirable, wiring money through a new financier may just be a temporary solution to eCheck problems affecting thousands of players — a little game of financial cat and mouse (+ good-will PR) while a bigger, costlier legal battle takes shape.

Under advisement from the DOJ agent, a federal prosecutor in New York’s Southern District apparently got a magistrate to sign off on seizure orders last week for multiple American bank accounts connected to PokerStars payouts. The court also issued subpoenas (warrants?) for two individuals to appear before a grand jury on June 18.

I haven’t seen the legal documents yet, but supposedly they allege the seized monies are likely to be proceeds from unlawful gambling — not according to the 2006 UIGEA, mind you, but rather … you guessed it … the 1961 Wire Act.

It’s still not clear to me who exactly’s on trial yet, but the Fed’s actions at this point seem to most immediately be targeting the banks and or the Neteller alternative payment processors. Supposedly $19 million earmarked as payouts (and perhaps WSOP buy-ins) from at least one major online poker site was frozen at banks in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona. This either followed or coincided with the freezing of $14 million that Wells Fargo was holding for player cashouts.

At least one of the subjects subpoenaed by (to?) the grand jury is an officer with Allied Systems, an online credit card processing company.

We’ll let you know more as we find it out — particularly as it might affect the WSOP. In the meantime, legal teams from around the online poker industry are considering challenging the legality of the fund seizures, and supposedly the PPA plans to enter the courtroom fray on behalf of its potentially affected members if a case moves forward.

The state of Minnesota has decided to use the 1961 Federal Wire Act to target the online gaming industry, at the very same time Representative Barney Frank has decided to target the UIGEA for repeal! All this and a friendly warning for players and webmasters.

From the Financial Times: Party Poker co-founder Anurag Dikshit will appear in the Southern District Court of New York Tuesday to plead guilty to violating the Wire Act, pay a $300,000,000 fine and cooperate with the Department of Justice in the hopes of avoiding a 2-year jail sentence.

Dikshit currently owns 27% of Party Gaming, but it appears he won’t have to divest his holdings in Party after pleading guilty. Ruth Parasol and Russ DeLeon, who also co-founded Party Poker, don’t appear to be near any type of settlement with the US government. Party Gaming has been negotiating with the Department of Justice for some time now; could this mean their eventual return to the US if and when Internet gaming is regulated?

More on this developing story later…

UPDATE: Party Gaming has released their own press release stating that they are still in final negotiations with the US Dept. of Justice in terms of a settlement, and that they will pay a substantially lower amount to the US government than Dikshit. At the time of this update, they’re up over 25% in trading today.

5pm UPDATE: Dikshit has entered his plea, and is free on a $15m bond, which limits him to travel within the European Union, India and New York. He has also already paid $100,000,000 with another payment due in 3 months, and the rest by September. Also, he’s scheduled for sentencing December 16, 2010. Further details here.