Contradictions between the U.S. DoJ and Full Tilt Poker

While Full Tilt Poker players from the US are starting to get antsy waiting to withdraw their funds from their poker accounts it doesn’t seem like it will happen any time soon. The press releases from the US DoJ and Full Tilt Poker are full of contradictions.

Mean while Full Tilt Poker players outside the US are reporting problems withdrawing funds using the popular MoneyBookers ewallet. One player from the Netherlands was offering to trade $50k on Full Tilt Poker for $40k on Moneybookers.

With the WSOP just a few weeks away, players are desperate to get their hands on their money so that they can make their summer plans for Las Vegas. Pokerstars, another online poker site that was indicted by the US, began processing withdrawals yesterday. You can find more information here.

Here are the latest statements by the DoJ and Full Tilt Poker

From the US DoJ:
No individual player accounts were ever frozen or restrained,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in the press release. “Each implicated poker company has at all times been free to reimburse any player’s deposited funds. In fact, this Office expects the companies to return the money that U.S. players entrusted to them, and we will work with the poker companies to facilitate the return of funds to players.”

From Full Tilt Poker:
“Unfortunately, there remain significant practical and legal impediments to returning funds to players in the immediate future,” reads a press release from Full Tilt Poker. “As a result of the recent enforcement action, there exists no authorized U.S. payment channel through which to make refunds; Full Tilt Poker has no accounting of the millions of dollars of player funds that were seized by the government; and the government has not agreed to permit any of the seized player funds to be returned to the players.”