Full Tilt Players could see refund
Groupe Bernard Taipe (GBT) recently attempted to purchase Full Tilt Poker, but this attempt failed and prevented any resolution coming about. Despite the inability to purchase, they GBT had announced that they were interested in creating their own new poker site using the money which was planned for investment in Full Tilt Poker.
In an email from GBT to G-Poker which was leaked to the public earlier this week, GBT had claimed that they would be offering refunds to all of the Full Tilt Poker plays who had still not received any notification of change in their frozen accounts and are waiting for repayment. This reimbursement does come at a bit of a cost, where players who are repaid must agree to play the game on their site.
“It’s unlikely this email was ‘accidentally’ leaked,” stated G-poker spokesman Jeremy Taylor. “This news will generate positive interest in GBT’s proposed site. But what puzzles everyone is why public companies like 888 or Bwin.Party didn’t try to acquire Full Tilt Poker, as its database will be invaluable once the U.S. permits online poker. Both 888 Poker and Party Poker are set to begin operating in the U.S. once online poker is legalized — in fact, they’ve already reached agreements to that end with reputable casinos in Vegas. Perhaps they believe this position is strong enough to dominate the future U.S. online poker market even without Full Tilt’s database.”
“888 Poker recently partnered with Caesars Entertainment,” Taylor added. “Re-entering the U.S. market with Caesars will be a big boost for 888, and I bet Caesars’ player database outshines Full Tilt’s. Meanwhile, online poker is still legal in Canada and 888’s stable reputation and ground-breaking Poker 6 platform is attracting players from other sites that find it hard to compete with 888 — another reason 888 doesn’t need to invest in a sinking ship like Full Tilt Poker.”
“Party Poker is on a similar path, partnering with MGM and Boyd Gaming. Party Poker is also strategically positioned for when online gaming legislation occurs,” Taylor also said.
“Our Canadian readers understand these developments,” Taylor continued. “Canadian online poker players prefer competition with Americans, and because 888 Poker and Party Poker will be the first to welcome American players back, Canadians want to be ahead of the game by having an account with these sites.”
America Online Poker has been banned and is still currently being considered for re-introduction as a result of the Department of Justice memo earlier this year. Many politicians have been attempting to push forward the legalization of online poker, citing the economic benefits that it can have, as well as wanting to reimburse those who were affected the worst by the closing of several poker sites and freezing of accounts.
Source: MarketWatch