Full Tilt Poker used to be the second largest and most popular online poker room in the entire world. Which is why quite a number of people were in shock when the news came late in June of this year that FTP’s license had been suspended.
Full Tilt Poker faced charges for allegedly being involved in bank and wire fraud, and money laundering. The Alderney Gambling Control Commission or AGCC shut down FTP’s website putting all of $390 million of their players’ accounts on hold worldwide. This generated quite a buzz among American players who had substantial amounts invested in their Full Tilt Poker accounts. Apparently, a great number of the players actually depended on poker for their income, or part of it at least.
The difference between PokerStars (also indicted) and full tilt is that the former handled this crisis promptly and efficiently, keeping their licences and most of their non-US players. By the way you can use a PokerStars marketing code when you register at PokerStars so that you get a 100% bonus applicable to your first three deposits. Full Tilt on the other hand is for all intent and purpose bankrupt as the owners played roulette with the cash flow so to speak.
Rumors have been going around for months about certain European investors who were planning on purchasing Full Tilt Poker and reimbursing each and every one of their players. However, none were really confirmed until recently. On November 1, FTP CEO Ray Bitar sent out emails to all shareholders informing them of the good news.
The US Department of Justice collaborated with Groupe Bernard Taipe Corporation and came up with a deal: GBT would purchase FTP for $ 80 million. GBT would make sure that all international players would get repaid, which would cost them around $ 240 million, and the US Department of Justice would pay $ 150 million to all the US players of FTP. American players are still concerned with the Department of Justice’s plan as it is still unclear whether they would be fully reimbursed or not. Although no steps has yet been taken in terms of actual reimbursement, this news can still be considered great progress. All players worldwide just need to wait a bit more patiently.
With the new inflow of cash from GBT, plans are being made to have their license restored. The goal is to revive Full Tilt Poker and remake it once again into a legitimate online poker room. The challenge, experts believe, is getting back the player base it once had. For now though, it looks like Full Tilt Poker is all set for a recovery.
A nice coup that apparently Bernard Tapie made is that the new Full Tilt site will not be barred from reentering the US market if online poker becomes legalized in the USA. This is an option that PokerStars will probably not have.