Full Tilt Poker agreement reached

There's been welcome news this week for Full Tilt Poker players who still waiting for their funds to be paid back – the United States Department of Justice has reached an agreement to sell the company's assets to a French investment firm.

In a deal worth $80 million, Groupe Bernard Tapie (GBT) will purchase Full Tilt from the Department of Justice after the US Government seized its assets back in April this year. Although yet to be confirmed, it is widely believed that the deal has made provisions for the many Full Tilt Poker players who were unwittingly involved in the DOJ indictments and now have their deposits stuck in no-mans land. GBR will have responsibility for paying back non-US players whilst the Department of Justice will deal with players inside the US. Approximately $150 million is outstanding and players will have to apply for compensation via the DOJ.

Whilst legal proceedings will still go ahead against individuals named in the indictments including Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Ray Bitar, the Department of Justice has made some concessions in the deal. It has agreed to drop the civil forfeiture proceedings against Full Tilt Poker, which removes liability from the company's shareholders.

All that remains now is for the Full Tilt companies to agree to the deal. It is understood that there will be no real objection to the deal, which provides a solution to both the civil forfeiture proceedings and players receiving back their funds.

The Department of Justice has declined to comment on the story but according to Full Tilt Poker's legal team, this is to be expected whilst the US Government works on the logistics of actually acquiring Full Tilt's assets before selling them on.