Money Frozen, Criminal Charges a Fate of Poker in America

Last year, the online poker sites in United States experienced the horror of seeing one of the major industry players, Full Tilt Poker, shot down by the government and the players’ money frozen as in Fidel Castro’s Cuba after the revolution.

Moreover, the executives of the poker site have been charged under the American gambling laws with money laundering and bank fraud. Apparently, the players who deposited money with the site had their transactions marked as purchases of golf balls and flowers to hide the true reason, the online gambling, which is still illegal in the Land of the Free.

Since Full Tilt happened to be a well known online poker destination, it still may be a desirable property to acquire. As reported, French investors were looking to purchase Full Tilt until the Department of Justice seemingly killed the deal with demands requesting that for the transaction to go through, the purchaser needs to repay the poker site members any money gone as a result of a shot down, and to do so within 90 days of the acquisition.

Recent rumors related to online casinos in United States discuss Poker Stars attempt to purchase Full Tilt after the negotiations with the French have broken up. The purchase and the restoration of money to the poker players would require a payment in the neighborhood of $750 million. Alone, the balances due to the poker players exceed $300 million.

As nothing has been finalized, the industry insiders and Full Tilt Poker members are eagerly awaiting further news. Large sums are at stake. We do worry that Full Tilt Poker image has been demolished irreversibly and the site may not recover. Why not build a new poker site from scratch?