PokerStars Arquired FullTilt Poker
RakebackSafe.com News August 01 - 2012Finally there are some good news for players with money locked up at Fulltilt Poker! It has just been announced by the department of justice (DoJ) that PokerStars has arquired FullTilt Poker!
The deal included that Full Tilt forfeited all of its assets to the DOJ to settle its case. PokerStars will pay $731 Million to settle with DoJ´s civil charges, to arquire FullTilt Poker, and to repay player funds.
Out of the $731 Million around $184 million will be used to reimburse players outside of the U.S. These money will be made available with no restrictions within 90 days according to the settlement and a statement made by PokerStars. The rest of the money, $547 Million will be forfeited to the U.S. government and some of them will be used for reimbursement of U.S. players who will have to submit a "petition for remission" with the U.S. DOJ in order to get paid.
PokerStars will reopen and run Full Tilt Poker as a separate brand within 90 days, but FullTilt will not reopen in the regulated markets in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy, and Spain, as they have no license in these countries yet. Players from these countires might be able to get their funds transfered to their PokerStars account, as PokerStars announced they are working on making inter account transfers available between the sites.
The criminal proceedings against former CEO Ray Bitar and former processing chief Nelson Burtnick will continue. As will civil proceedings against Bitar, Howard Lederer, Rafael Furst and Chris Ferguson. Additionally, none of these individuals can be hired by PokerStars according to the settlement with the department of justice.
PokerStars made a press release, here are some quotes:
"We plan to re-open the Full Tilt site and, most importantly, we will make available all funds for players outside the U.S. within 90 days of the formal close of the deal, which will occur in the next seven days. The money paid to the US Government will in part be used to reimburse former Full Tilt Poker customers in the United States, through a remission process to be administered by the Department of Justice."
"We have admitted to no wrong-doing with regard to our past U.S. operations and can now focus all of our energy and resources on advancing our global business, which now includes operating Full Tilt Poker."
"Our settlement acknowledges that both PokerStars and Full Tilt are eligible to apply for a license in the U.S. to offer real money poker when states or the federal government offer such an opportunity."
Full Tilt Poker´s website also has a statement:
"As part of its agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), PokerStars has obtained the assets of Full Tilt Poker, and will use these assets to re-launch the Full Tilt Poker site. PokerStars has also committed to the full reimbursement of funds owed to Full Tilt Poker customers outside the United States within 90 days of formal closing of the deal, which will occur within seven days. United States Full Tilt Poker players will be dealt with by the U.S. government."
The Department of Justice (DoJ) also made a statement:
"Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said:
“We are pleased to announce these settlements by Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, which allow us to quickly get significant compensation into the victim players’ hands."
"Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that the United States has entered into settlement agreements with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker - two of three online poker companies sued by the U.S. in a money laundering and forfeiture complaint that was originally filed in April 2012 - that were approved today by U.S. District Judge Leonard B. Sand. Under the terms of the settlement with Full Tilt Poker (“Full Tilt”), the company agreed to forfeit virtually all of its assets (the “Forfeited Full Tilt Assets”) to the U.S. to fully resolve the charges in the complaint. Under the terms of the settlement with PokerStars, the company agreed to forfeit $547 Million to the U.S. and to reimburse the approximately $184 million owed by Full Tilt to foreign players, in order to fully resolve the allegations in the complaint. The settlement further provides that PokerStars will acquire the Forfeited Full Tilt Assets from the Government. Full Tilt’s U.S. fraud victims will be able to seek compensation for their losses from the Department of Justice from the $547 million forfeited by PokerStars."
Read the full statement made by the department of justice (DoJ): Click Here
Our Thoughts!
In the short term it´s great news that Poker Stars "purchased" Full Tilt Poker since all players will finally get their money back, and some trust can be rebuilt in the poker industry. But, in the long run many other factors have to be considered, here at RakebackSafe.com we are not sure how great this deal will be for players in the future. Had it been another company settling with FBI/DoJ there would have been more competition, which is always good for players. Now PokerStars own pretty much everything and have no real competition so to speak, now they can do what they like. For example: PokerStars don´t like rakeback, so it´s very likely that the new Full Tilt Poker is not going to offer rakeback, they will make a VIP point program instead, and most likely they will not even pay rakeback to existing players with 27% rakeback deals. They have too much power now and will do as they please!
Related Full Tilt Posts:
- FullTilt Poker Might Be Back Online Soon
- Doj Statement Regarding FullTilt Player Funds
- Full Tilt License Revoked
- Fulltilt The DoJ and AGCC Hearing
- Fulltilt Poker Offline And Gambling License Suspended
- FullTilt, UB, AP And Pokerstars Domains Seized By FBI - Black Friday
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