The Seals with Clubs website was initially promoted as the biggest Bitcoin online poker website in the world and had a strong player base. The website initially went offline during the middle of February and players were asked to be patient. While no information was given for the downtime, rumors initially suggested that hackers had targeted the Seals with Clubs website and player data might have been compromised.

Towards the end of February, the website released a statement informing players that the owners had decided to shutdown the website in the best interest of the players. Players were asked to stop making deposits and to withdraw their balances at the earliest. No reason was given for the sudden shutdown and players were surprised, and many were angry at the decision.

The chairman of Seals with Clubs, Bryon Micon later posted a video on YouTube and informed viewers that his home was raided on the 12th of Feb by the Nevada Gaming Control Board and that 10 officers with machine guns had burst into his home and put him in handcuffs. Micon expressed his shock and displeasure as both his wife and daughter was scared by the action. Micon was not arrested nor was he given any clear explanation of what he was being targeted for. Authorities seized a number of electronic devices from his premises including his laptop.

Since Micon was not detailed, he wasted no time in immediately relocating his family to the Caribbean island of Antigua and also decided to launch a second version of Seals with Clubs under a new domain called SealsWithClubs.eu.

Micon decided to leave the U.S. because he felt that it was not in the best interests of his family to be subjected to such treatment. Micon recently took to Twitter to express his frustration. He tweeted “I’m well aware that I’m a free man. It’s unfortunate how if you want to work on the latest Internet poker technology, which [in my opinion] must involve Bitcoin, now they point guns at you.”