Home / Poker News October 2011 / PPA Representatives in talks with the DoJ
PPA Representatives in talks with the DoJ
Posted by: Randy Williams - Sat, 2011-10-08 10:14
Representatives of the PPA have apparently engaged in a dialog with the DoJ, aiming to facilitate the return of funds to US players in the Full Tilt Poker case. The talks have taken place before the acquisition announcement regarding the Bernard Tapie Group’s intentions was made. It is currently well known that the Tapie acquisition hinges on a favorable resolution of the Full Tilt Poker case with the DoJ. In fact, representatives of the French business group are said to be talking to the DoJ already.
What the Group is apparently aiming for, is the restitution of some of the funds previously seized by the DoJ from Full Tilt Poker to the company, in exchange for guarantees that players would be repaid in full.
According to John Pappas, the PPA’s executive director, the Alliance’s discussions with the DoJ have been successful in having players cataloged as victims in the case, thus entitling them to reimbursements from the seized funds.
The PPA has also assured the DoJ of its cooperation in obtaining guarantees from the Bernard Tapie Group that the funds that are potentially returned to the new owners will indeed be used to repay players.
According to the reasoning of the Alliance, settling the court case regarding the Full Tilt victims and compensating them would represent a bureaucratic nightmare for the government, and it would take years to complete the paperwork alone.
Therefore, it would probably make sense for the DoJ to allow Full Tilt’s new owners to repay their players out of the funds originally seized from the site’s coffers.
Full Tilt Poker has been active on a different front as well: Alliance representatives have been educating debt super committee members, trying to position online poker as a potential source of revenue for the government, which – if legalized and regulated – could help reduce the budget deficit.
According to the PPA, the response from various committee members has been quite encouraging.
