Review of the Year: Black Friday
eGR looks at the 10 biggest talking points of 2011.
The phrase ‘game-changer’ is much overused in this industry, but it certainly applies to the events of 15 April 2011. Principals of the three largest US-facing online poker sites were indicted by the United States Department of Justice, a multi-billion civil complaint was launched, and eight months later only PokerStars has shown even shoots of recovery.
While Absolute Poker parent company Blanca Games has remained on the periphery despite rumblings of insolvency and a more-than-95% year-on-year reduction in liquidity, the year’s big story has been the third of the afflicted sites, Full Tilt Poker.
It had continued to serve rest of the world customers after Black Friday forced it out of the US market, but that ended when eGR exclusively reported the suspension of its operating licences by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission in June and ARJEL in July.
Out of action ever since, the next major blow came on 20 September when Full Tilt software company Tiltware’s board members were accused of misappropriating hundreds of millions of dollars in player funds: within a fortnight “ and amid Ponzi allegations from US Attorney Preet Bharara “ three of the licences suspended in June by the AGCC were revoked.
However, when all looked lost to some, there were signs that the operator “ formerly the world’s second largest poker site “ could be brought back from the dead.
Interests arrived from Groupe Bernard Tapie on 30 September, with the French consortium inking an agreement with the DoJ in mid-November, but not before more than 180 staff were laid off by Full Tilt subsidiary Pocket Kings just days later.
The fallout extends further, as the AGCC, following an internal review of its activities leading up to the revocations, has called on former UK Gambling Commission chair Peter Dean to head an external investigation, the results of which should be submitted before the end of March next year.
As it stands, a US$80m acquisition deal is in place, awaiting an agreement between Full Tilt and GBT to be finalised, but there also remains some optimism that the operator could return “ albeit probably not to the US market “ at some point in 2012.
The key moments:
PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker principals indicted
Full Tilt Poker licences suspended by AGCC
Tiltware board members accused of receiving hundreds of millions in player funds
Three of Full Tilt’s four Alderney licences revoked
Groupe Bernard Tapie ‘signs DoJ deal’ to buy Full Tilt Poker