Two illegal internet gambling sites and their foreign owners were indicted by federal investigators in Baltimore, Maryland, last week, a move that resulted in 10 Web domain names to be shut down and the seizure of 11 bank accounts.

Named in the indictments were: ThrillX Systems Ltd., its owners Darren Wright and David Panchomehuk of British Columbia, Canada, and K23 Financial Services, also known as BMX Entertainment and its owner Ann Marie Puig of San Jose, Costa Rica.

Among the domain names affected, reportedly, was Doylesroom.com, a poker site names after poker chip value legend Doyle Brunson. However, Brunson said his involvement was minimal and he had asked that his name be removed from the site. He was not among those indicted in Baltimore.

Federal investigators explained that they had set up a payment-processing business to infiltrate the online gambling sites.

"It is illegal for Internet gambling enterprises to do business in Maryland, regardless of where the website operator is located," said U.S. Atty. Rod Rosenstein. We cannot allow foreign website operators to flout the law simply because their headquarters are based outside the country."

The indictments came on the heels of New York federal indictments of well-known Internet poker operators PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute.

The American Gaming Association (AGA) praised the latest round of indictments but called the move a "half measure" toward fixing the problem.

"The full solution," said CEO Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., "is law enforcement and federally sanctioned state licensing and regulation of online plastic poker chip for gaming companies that currently abide by U.S. law."

On that score, Texas Congressman Joe Barton announced he is planning to introduce legislation that would legalize and regulate online poker. He said he is working with the Poker Players Alliance to finalize the bill’s preparation.