In what has been a whirlwind last couple of days for online poker, PokerStars officially announced via their corporate blog that a deal has indeed been finalized regarding the sale of Full Tilt Poker and it’s repayment of frozen funds USA and R.O.W. players.
Wendeen Eolis of Poker Player Newspaper first reported the story over the weekend, concluding that the deal would also see Full Tilt Poker re-open their software for real money play by the end of the year. This was confirmed via PokerStars’ official blog earlier this afternoon, with Eric Hollreiser saying:
“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.”
The press release from PokerStars is undoubtedly great news for the poker community, especially to those who had money locked away in Full Tilt Poker since the “Black Friday” crackdown on 4 of the largest USA-facing poker websites. As of April 15th, 2011, there is $390 million in player funds that have been frozen in Full Tilt. A large percentage of that money belongs to USA players.
The deal reveals that players outside of the United States will be paid within 90 days of a “formal close” to the deal, which should occur over the next week. PokerStars also goes on to say that USA players will also be repaid through a process that the Department of Justice will be handling throughout the next few weeks.
In what is probably the most stunning part of the announcement that was struck between Stars and the DOJ is that PokerStars has admitted to no wrongdoing during the time in which it was accepting USA players post-UIGEA. In addition, PokerStars and Full Tilt will still be allowed to apply for online gaming licenses in the future in the United States, signifying a return of the two biggest powerhouses in online poker could be on the horizon if UIGEA is ever repealed or online gambling starts getting regulated on a state-to-state basis.
In total, PokerStars will pay $731 million to the United States Department of Justice to settle all the charges that were brought against them last year during “Black Friday,” with $514 million going towards the repayment of ALL players who had money locked away in Full Tilt Poker and the other $217 million going to the USA government.
Read the full Press Release here: PokerStars Settles with DOJ Regarding Full Tilt Poker
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