This story is sponsored by PokerStars
Real-money games on FullTiltPoker.com went live on schedule today, as per the terms of new owner PokerStars’ US$731m civil settlement deal with the US Department of Justice.
Players in open dot.com markets – excluding the US and a number of Europe’s regulated dot.country territories – were able to sit down at cash games tables from midday, as well as withdraw funds and transfer balances between their accounts and a “paired” PokerStars account.
Four new 30-second TV adverts, shot in Full Tilt’s trademark black and white and featuring Full Tilt’s new “The Professionals” line-up of Gus Hansen, Tom Dwan and Viktor Blom, also went to air today.
Stars agreed to make US$184m available for withdrawal by non-US players of Full Tilt within 90 days of closing its transaction with the US Department of Justice in August, this being the total amount of funds these players had on the site when it was shut down by its regulator in the Channel Islands last year.
With PokerStars having taken the decision not to operate Full Tilt in regulated dot.country markets in Europe – Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Denmark and Estonia – the operator has made funds available to ex Full Tilt players in these territories available via the locally licensed PokerStars websites.
PokerStars has however yet to finalise arrangements with Italian regulator AAMS for the reimbursement of players in Italy, due to Full Tilt not having received its licence at the time it went out of business, despite having obtained technical approval.
The world’s leading poker room paid an initial US$225m to the US government to acquire the assets and liabilities of Full Tilt, under the terms of the deal announced on 31 July, and will make further staggered forfeiture payments of US$125m, US$100m and US$97m within three years to settle the US government’s civil case brought against it last year.
US players left out of pocket when former world No 2 room Full Tilt was shut down by regulator the Alderney Gambling Control Commission last June - expected by US authorities to amount to around US$150m – will be able to apply for compensation from the US DOJ out of the monies forfeited by PokerStars.
Article editted by Stephen Carter
