In a statement made recently, Groupe Bernard Tapie declared that it has signed an acquisition deal with Full Tilt Poker. The poker room’s players, who are yet to receive their money back from Full Tilt, will be happy to hear that by virtue of the recent deal, the investor will provide all players with funds that the poker room owed to them.

The French investor claims to have expertise in dealing with reviving firms going through financial losses. As stated by Tapie, it had taken the responsibility of reviving 40 such companies before and carried it through successfully. However, the investment firm is quite skeptical about Full Tilt Poker. According to Groupe, the task is likely to be challenging. It is not only financial crisis which the company is facing, but also serious legal issues.

Tapie on Full Tilt’s Position

The French investor spells out that its first step will be to negotiate with the US Department of Justice to reach a resolution favorable for Full Tilt. However, the legal charges brought against Full Tilt’s founder, Raymond Bitar, makes the case complicated. The US Attorney, Preet Bharara filed a case against Bitar, with charges of conducting illegal business.

Legal Scenario

Full Tilt Poker’s gaming license was taken away by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a consequence of the charges brought against the poker room. The day on which it happened, is referred to as ‘Black Friday’, in the online gambling industry. The company also had its bank accounts frozen. It has been alleged that Full Tilt worked with payment processors (third party) with the motive of deceiving the financial authorities of the United States. Prosecution claims that the poker room had gone to the extent of laundering funds illegally from American customers.

The site was shut down, following which the company claimed that it was not capable of paying back its patrons. The amount of money which the company owes to its former players is much more than what the company can pay back. The poker room justified its financial state on August 30 in a statement. According to this, Full Tilt was robbed by one of its payment processors. The company suffered a loss of $42 million, as a result. In addition, the US government seized $42 million from the company. As a consequence of this, Full Tilt landed in a severe financial crisis.

The situation got even more complicated with the poker site and its operations being called a ‘Ponzi scheme’ by Preet Bharara. Denying the accusations, Full Tilt’s lawyer claimed that it is unfair to use terms like Ponzi scheme.

Casino Industry on Legalization of Online Gambling

The casino industry is in support of online poker being legalized in the US. The regulatory bodies can look into the bets taken by online gambling firms, to make sure that operations are carried out according to set terms.

The president of Las Vegas Sands Corp stated that there are little chances of the federal law approving online gambling regulations. However, if it does, online casinos too – where players gamble on games like online roulette – stand to benefit. These sites can then be accessed by players from systems at state levels. Such systems are not open for non-residents of the country.