wildspoke 2 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Just saw this on Bloomberg:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-20/o...html?cmpid=yhooTwo online poker companies whose founders face charges of illegal gambling reached agreements with the U.S. Justice Department that will ease the return of money to players.PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker entered into domain-name use agreements, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan said today in a statement. The agreements allow the companies to use their websites “to facilitate the withdrawal of U.S. players’ funds held in account with the companies.”Bharara announced an indictment against the founders of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker last week, alleging the three companies circumvented a 2006 federal law barring banks from processing payments to offshore gambling websites. All three are based outside the U.S. and are the leading online poker sites doing business with U.S. customers, according to prosecutors.People lost access to their accounts when U.S. authorities seized five Internet domain names and froze about 76 bank accounts in 14 countries that allegedly belong to the online poker companies, Kelly Langmesser, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s New York office, said April 18.“No individual player accounts were ever frozen or restrained, and each implicated poker company has at all times been free to reimburse any player’s deposited funds,” Bharara said in the statement. “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.”ARTICLE CONTINUED AT LINK ABOVE Link to post Share on other sites
FCP Bob 1,312 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 It was already posted in the main thread but this is worth it's own thread.Here's the link to the DOJ Press Release.http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressrelea...greementspr.pdf Link to post Share on other sites
Pot Odds RAC 23 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Someone posted the following @ 2+2: "Full Tilt Poker™ is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to regain the use of its worldwide domain name, www.fulltiltpoker.com."Although players in the United States will not be permitted to engage in real-money play, the agreement expressly allows for real-money play outside of the United States."In addition, the agreement represents an important first step towards returning funds to U.S. players because it allows Full Tilt Poker to utilize its domain to facilitate the withdrawal of player funds. But, unfortunately, there remain significant practical and legal impediments to returning funds to players in the immediate future. 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.Read more: http://www.pokernews.com/news/2011/04/full...-safe-10249.htm Link to post Share on other sites
Mercury69 3 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 I think it's awesome...that a guy named Preet Bharara is the name of the US Attorney and not someone named Steve "The Derminator" Morgan (he had a skin condition in high school, but never let it get in the way of doing his job with zeal and much success). Link to post Share on other sites
FCP Bob 1,312 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Link to updated pokerstars cashout FAQhttp://www.pokerstars.com/usaplayers/faq/ Link to post Share on other sites
FCP Bob 1,312 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Since some people may not be able to see the Poker Stars FAQ yet because of dns propagation I'll copy the parts of most immediate interest.What will happen to my account balance?Your account balance is completely safe. You will be allowed to cash out your balance. PokerStars has reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice that will allow players to cash out as soon as a suitable processor is found. This publically available agreement includes assurances from the DOJ that player cashouts can be processed safely. Cashouts for US residents are expected to be available within several weeks. The Cash Out option in the PokerStars Cashier will temporarily be unavailable, to allow us to prepare the technical solutions and formulate the plan and processes required to allow you to cash out your balance. We will notify all US players as soon as the cashier is available to allow you to proceed to cash out. Providing you with the facility to cash out is our top priority right now, and hopefully all US players will be able to cash out via the PokerStars Cashier in the near future.What will happen to my cashouts that have already been requested?These cashouts will be reversed and refunded to your account to allow you to Cash Out properly in the near future. Can I transfer my funds to another player?US residents will not be able to send or receive transfers.What will happen to my tournament tickets and T$?All pending tournament tickets and T$ balances will be converted to an appropriate cash value and added to your existing balance. This process may take some time to complete, but we plan to complete all conversions over the next few days. We appreciate your patience.What will happen to my FPPs?PokerStars is currently reviewing options for redemption of FPPs by US residents. More information will be available in the coming days and weeks.What will happen to real money tournaments that I am currently playing in, or the ones I am already registered in for the future?All players have been unregistered from future events, and the buy-in amounts (if any) returned to their account Link to post Share on other sites
gatortom64 1 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 I don;t have a lot on Stars. Trying to decide if I want to cash out or leave it there to chat on the rail. Link to post Share on other sites
king_tanner 84 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Providing you with the facility to cash out is our top priority right now, and hopefully all US players will be able to cash out via the PokerStars Cashier in the near future.weeeeeeeeeeeee I might get my moneyUS residents will not be able to send or receive transfers.sigggghhhhh no more sports betting, survivor pool, and most importantly NO MORE 4.40 CHALLENGE! waaaaaa Link to post Share on other sites
BaseJester 1 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 “No individual player accounts were ever frozen or restrained, and each implicated poker company has at all times been free to reimburse any player’s deposited funds,” Bharara said in the statement.Right, they were always free to return the funds as long as they didn't use any financial institutions. For instance, Fult Tilt was free to send me a 10-wheeler full of beaver pelts.“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.”I'm not assured by this language that I will be able to withdraw winnings. Link to post Share on other sites
Shark527 0 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I want my $235.61, maybe I was a little quick to hit the withdrawal button two days ago. Link to post Share on other sites
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