Home / Poker News August 2012 / What Exactly Does PokerStars’ acquisition of Full Tilt Mean?
What Exactly Does PokerStars’ acquisition of Full Tilt Mean?
Posted by: James Carter. - Wed, 2012-08-01 15:39
Players received the news of PokerStars’ settlement with the DoJ with joy yesterday, as it became clear for the first time in the last 15 months that they would actually get to cash out the monies they had stuck at Full Tilt Poker. The settlement entails much more beyond that though. What exactly does the settlement mean for the poker industry in general and for the US poker player in particular? Here are a few of the most burning questions answered in brief.
How exactly will US players recover their monies? We have indeed detailed how non-US players would be paid but not how Americans would be reimbursed. The money that
PokerStars will forfeit to the US Government will be used for this purpose. The DoJ will be the entity responsible for the administration of the remission process.
Will Full Tilt Poker’s player accounts be merged with PokerStars, or will Full Tilt exist as a separate entity? Apparently, PokerStars plan to re-launch the Full Tilt brand as a separate entity in most markets. Whether or not the idea is a good one (after all, it’s not like the Full Tilt brand inspires a whole lot of trust these days), only time will tell.
Is there any chance that Full Tilt will return to the US in the future? Apparently, there is at least a theoretical one. The settlement has allowed PokerStars to operate in the US once
online poker is legalized and properly regulated. Whether or not it will make any sense for PokerStars to bring the Full Tilt brand back to the US is a different question.
How does the settlement affect those accused individually, like Lederer, Furst and Ferguson? The settlement makes it pretty clear that it doesn’t concern the charges brought against the above said individuals in any way. They are all still indicted and they will all have their day in court. The entities against which charges were dropped through the settlement were all corporate ones.
