Home / Poker News November 2008 / Legal agreement reached in UB cheating scandal
Legal agreement reached in UB cheating scandal
Posted by: James Carter. - Sun, 2008-11-09 12:45
It’s been quite a while since the cheating scandal that hit Ultimate Bet dealt another blow to the credibility and reliability of the online poker industry. It is good to see though that matters are beginning to settle, and players who had to suffer as a result of the cheating are being refunded. The biggest obstacle in the path of amiable settlement had been the unresolved issues between Excapsa, the seller of the site, and Blast Off Limited, the buyer, who has maintained through its owner – Joe Tokwiro Norton, that it had no knowledge it had acquired unfair software.
The dispute between the above named two entities has been resolved through an in-court settlement however exact details of the agreement are still unknown.
Excapsa has already made payments worth $6.1 million towards Blast Off, money which had been used to reimburse players who suffered damages as a result of fraudulent activity. It will apparently deliver another $15 million payment towards the same end, money which will come from Excapsa’s shareholders. It will also cover the $1.5 million fine the Kahnawake Gaming Commission has charged the site for the breaching of fair play policies which the KGC had guaranteed as supervising authority.
Word has it however that the damages sought by Blast Off in its legal dispute with Excapsa total around $81.4 million, as damages done to the Ultimate Bet brand name are estimated to be around $46 million, and Joe Tokwiro also sought $5 million in damages brought to his personal reputation.
The weapon that Blast Off used against Excapsa in the dispute was the stopping of the $130 million payment it owed the group for the acquisition of Ultimate Bet.
Being faced with the loss of the $109 million (Blast Off had already paid Excapsa $21 million of the agreed selling price), and a seizure of Excapsa’s existing $36 million funds, at the advice of the court-appointed liquidator, the shareholders decided to seek a settlement in the matter, despite their claim that they were not aware they were selling Blast Off corrupted software. What this settlement means to the damaged parties is that Blast Off will be able to resume player reimbursements, thus putting a positive twist on the whole scandal.
