On Tuesday, the United States Department of Justice filed an amended Black Friday complaint that labeled Full Tilt Poker a “global Ponzi scheme” and called out Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, and Rafe Furst. The allegations have sparked calls for regulated online poker from numerous industry officials and players alike as Congress continues to seek new sources of revenue for a record-setting budget deficit.

Chairman of U.S. Digital Gaming Richard Bronson was among those pointing out the need for regulation of internet gambling in the wake of the Ponzi scheme accusation. If you’re not familiar with Bronson, he’s the former Director of Mirage Resorts and is the co-founder of U.S. Digital Gaming.

Bronson commented in a press release sent out on Wednesday, “These investigations are the direct result of an unregulated environment that has become a breeding ground for dishonest, unaccountable, criminal activity as illegal operators continue to prey on U.S. players knowing they are completely unprotected from these types of rogue operations. Until we create a proper and transparent industry, we should expect more and more headlines like this from a handful of bad apples that are impacting the entire bushel of the industry.”

The DOJ alleges that Full Tilt Poker paid its executives and pros $443 million over the last four years and owed players $390 million. Full Tilt’s Ray Bitar was allegedly paid $41 million, while Lederer took in $42 million. Also purportedly profiting were Ferguson ($85 million, $25 million of which was paid) and Rafe Furst ($11 million). All along, the site reportedly told customers that their funds were separated from operating capital, but apparently this was not the case.

Also tossing in his two cents on Tuesday was Frank Fahrenkopf (pictured), President and CEO of the American Gaming Association (AGA). He articulated, “I have two simple questions: ‘How much and for how long?’ How much money that we don’t know about is being swindled from U.S. consumers and how long will it take before we change laws to protect those consumers?”

Fahrenkopf echoed Bronson in saying, “The type of illegal activity the DOJ is accusing Full Tilt Poker of will continue to happen in the absence of the same tough, stringent regulations and enforcement that successfully govern brick-and-mortar casinos.” The AGA is rumored to be introducing its own internet gambling bill later this year, although a timeline for its introduction and the details of its composition aren’t known.

Also pushing for regulation was the Poker Players Alliance (PPA). Read more about the PPA’s response, which PocketFives.com published on Tuesday.

In an article outlining the DOJ’s claimsagainst Full Tilt that appeared on PocketFives.com, posters were quick to point out that the situation could have been averted if proper regulatory measures were in place. One reader wrote, “More proof of the need for a regulated framework for the industry… Because when it isn’t, a mess like this is created.” Also responding on Tuesday was Full Tilt pro Tom Dwan (pictured).

Other PocketFivers sounded off in a lively thread in the Poker Sites forum. One poster wrote that in order to service the American market, Full Tilt had no choice but to operate in a gray area: “Laws made it difficult to transfer money to the website and back in America, leading the company to work a gray area.”

Finally, another poster on PocketFives.com stressed caution, noting that the Ponzi scheme label is simply an allegation by the DOJ: “Can we all remember that these are just government accusations at this point? For a forum that likes to shit on cops and hates government, we seem to be treating these accusations as facts. Not saying they aren’t right, just saying we don’t know the whole story yet.”

We’ll keep you posted on the latest as the story continues to unfold.