Poker Player Dan Shak Reaches Settlement in Illegal Futures Trading 'Spoofing' Case

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2022 filed a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada against high stakes poker player Daniel Shak of Las Vegas, Nevada.

A the time, he was charged with spoofing and engaging in a manipulative and deceptive scheme in the gold and silver futures markets.

The CFTC sought civil monetary penalties, disgorgement, trading bans, and a permanent injunction.

“These charges demonstrate once again that the CFTC will vigorously prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, misconduct that has the potential to undermine the integrity of our markets,” said CFTC Acting Division of Enforcement Director Gretchen Lowe.

The complaint alleges that from February 2015 through March 2018, Shak repeatedly engaged in manipulative or deceptive acts and practices by spoofing—bidding or offering with the intent to cancel the bid or offer before execution—while placing orders for and trading gold and silver futures contracts on the Commodity Exchange, Inc. On hundreds of occasions, Shak entered large orders for gold or silver futures that he intended to cancel before execution, while placing orders on the opposite side of the gold or silver futures market.

On Thursday, a settlement with the CFTC was reported by Poker News, which reached out to Shak for comment.

"While I am confident I could have prevailed at trial, I have concluded the right decision for my family and me is to resolve this matter with no admission of wrongdoing and without the cost, delay, and distraction of protracted litigation," Shak told Poker News. "As part of finalizing the settlement, the CFTC required that I not deny their allegations, but I also do not admit them. I was an active trader making millions of trades per year, and the CFTC’s allegations relate to a small fraction of trades that allegedly occurred from 2015 to 2018.

"After 45 years as a member in good standing on the exchanges, and having retired nearly two years ago, now is the right time to put this matter behind me, pursue other opportunities, and avoid litigation costs that would far exceed the fine I am paying," Shak said.

Shak has won $7,400,000 in live career tournaments since 2014, with $709,290 coming from cashes at the WSOP.

- Nagesh Rath, Gambling911.com