News

Wednesday, 06 July 2011 08:01

The fallout from Black Friday's US indictments of three online poker rooms has finally been felt by Full Tilt Poker, which has now suspended its worldwide operations.

When the three major US online poker websites were handed indictments from the New York Attorney General's Office, things suddenly looked grim for online poker players who suddenly found themselves with no place to play. 

Ironically, it wasn't the actual indictment from the US Dept of Justice that delivered the final knock out punch that floored the world's biggest online poker room. It was the suspension of all Full Tilt Poker's operating licences by their licensing authority, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC). The commission had been carrying out its own investigations into the business practices of the poker room since the 15th of April's shock legal action in the United States. The AGCC concluded those investigations a few days ago and its findings were serious enough to force them to make the decision to cut off the Poker room's legal ability to trade.

The Full Tilt website is down and displaying a notice that informs visitors that maintenance is in progress and players should check back at a later time, although no one really believes that for a minute. With its servers now down, the site is unavailable from anywhere in the world and not just the United States.

The license suspension from the AGCC has come at the worst possible time for the Full Tilt executives, who were actively negotiating with a financier for a way to repay deposits to its US members. There is a general sense of resignation from players talking in the online forums, as well as concern as to whether players will get their deposits back. According to a spokesperson from Full Tilt, there will be announcements made periodically to keep players updated.

It is interesting to see that the other two online poker operators involved in Black Friday's indictments are faring better than their main rival. PokerStars and the smaller Absolute Poker are both still able to operate outside the United States and are not under any threat of closure. PokerStars is licensed in the Isle of Mann and the Licensing Commission there has stated that the worldwide licensing for PokerStars is intact and their operations full comply with all of their licensing requirements. Players have been assured that their money is safe in their accounts and is available for use or for withdrawal at all times. Traffic has reportedly increased for the PokerStars website by 5 percent following the suspension of Full Tilt Poker's operations.