Just a day after Full Tilt Poker had its licenses revoked by a British gaming commission, there are signs the online gaming site that's been accused of running a Ponzi scam could be up and running again. IF.
Earlier on Friday, The Bernard Tapie Group said in a statement attriubuted to its managing director, Laurent Tapie, onPokerStrategy.com that the group signed an agreement with FTP's board to buy the company and all its assets. The big IF in the statement is that the acquisition hinges on whether FTP can resolve its issues with the U.S. Justice Department, which has accused the poker website of running a Ponzi scheme. FTP has denied the allegations.
The Tapie statement says: This agreement, which includes the repayment of Full Tilt Poker’s world-wide players in full, is subject to several conditions; the first of which is a favorable resolution with the United States Department of Justice. Discussions with the United States Department of Justice will begin immediately.
On Thursday, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission revoked the licenses of FTP because it "emerged that FTP had fundamentally misled AGCC about their operational integrity by continuously reporting as liquid funds balances that had been covertly seized or restrained by US authorities, or that were otherwise not actually available to the operator."
The Channel Islands-based AGCC noted that its move does not prevent Full Tilt from reactivating its business under new ownership.
Later Thursday, FTP said it remained committed to repaying its players in full.
Laurent Tapie is the son of French tycoon Bernard Tapie, whose company is famed for coming to the rescue of financially strapped companies, including Adidas. Tapie senior did six months in jail in 1997 for his role in a soccer scandal involviong bribing a team in 1993 to throw a game against his team Olympique Marseilles.