It seems that there could potentially be good news on the horizon for Full Tilt Poker, the Groupe Bernard Tapie, online poker players, and fans of the game in general. The two sides in the potential sale of the massive online poker site have gone back and forth for months now, but it could be winding down, pending an agreement with the US Department of Justice. There has been a potential deal set, and while we haven’t finished the deal just yet, this is much farther than anything we’ve come close to in the past.
This sale of the site is set for $80 million in the new deal, which was reported by the Groupe Bernard Tapie’s attorney Benham Dayanim, and it would mean that the group would release claims to the assets which were seized by the DOJ. The first thing that needs to be considered before any final movements are done, is getting the online poker site re-licensed. The issue with this is that the site was originally with the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC), who has revoked their license currently; and their secondary license was through the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, who must have a primary license along with it.
With the good news for everyone, comes the unfortunate bad news as well. This starts with the fact that it may not benefit American players nearly as much as they were hoping. The issues could come from players getting paid back, because with this deal the repayment of US poker players will have to come from the Department of Justice. In order to have any shot at getting your funds back, players are going to have to apply to get them, and it’s uncertain as to how well it will all work out in the end. On top of that, the international players may have a tough time getting repaid as well. This is because it has been said that the site will still owe $390 million, and even with the $150 million that the DOJ is supposed to handle in this new deal; they would still owe around $240 million, which is a pretty penny in terms of having to pay everyone back.
All in all, it’s looking like the potential is growing, so we should stay optimistic for the potential return of Full Tilt Poker to the online poker world.