Full Tilt Poker Reportedly Sold To French Investment Group

Coming on the heels of the revocation of their gaming license by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission on Thursday, the inactive online site Full Tilt Poker reported Friday afternoon that a deal has been struck to sell the beleaguered company to a French investment group.

PokerStrategy.com broke the news yesterday in a statement from Full Tilt. In that statement, Full Tilt Poker said that the French investment organization Groupe Bernard Tapie had signed “an exclusive agreement” with the current board of directors to acquire the company and its assets. The potential purchase, which was alluded to during hearings at the AGCC in September and offered as a reason for the Full Tilt license to not be revoked, will allow the company to pay off players worldwide who want their money and, in particularly, in the United States, where the company is facing several legal hurdles. There are a few caveats to the deal, however.

The first hurdle would be a settlement of the current legal situation in the United States. This may be a bit difficult as there are several layers that the new French ownership would have to close to move forward with the sale. Along with paying American players, there would have to be negotiations with the U. S. Department of Justice to close the current legal case, something that prosecutors may not be willing to do. In addition to the closure of those suits, there would probably be a fine against the company; using the example of Anurag Dikshit’s involvement with PartyPoker from a suit in 2008, the fine could total up to $300 million.

The managing director of Groupe Bernard Tapie, Laurent Tapie, stated in an interview with iGaming France that he “wouldn’t have undertaken such a project if he didn’t believe in its potential.” Tapie cited the technology of the company (i.e., its software) and its formerly pristine reputation as reasons to purchase Full Tilt. “I believe we have the tools necessary to once again make the site one of the leaders in the industry,” Tapie stated to iGaming France.

When the site would make a comeback has been a question that players have asked. Tapie said in the iGaming France interview that it could be as soon as January of next year, although there are several hoops to jump through. One of those could be getting an e-gaming license, which could prove problematic for the new ownership.

The namesake of the French group, Bernard Tapie (Laurent’s father), has a checkered past in both the sporting arena and in French politics. In 1995, Bernard was sentenced to two years in prison for fixing a soccer match that the team he owned at the time, Olympique de Marseille, participated in. Bernard Tapie was a popular figure in French politics before he had to file for bankruptcy (France has a law that prevents elected officials from serving if they have filed for bankruptcy) for the very investment group that his son is using to buy Full Tilt. He has also been prosecuted for tax evasion and tax fraud for his involvement in the ownership of the shoe company Adidas in 1993.

Although the elder Tapie has been able to emerge from his scandals, they may have an effect on any regulatory body that will look to license Full Tilt Poker under his company’s name. These regulatory bodies – if they follow the regulatory mode of such land based organizations as the Nevada Gaming Commission – will question if Bernard Tapie is still a part of the organization and, as such, is potentially a “criminal element.” The regulatory bodies will also have to ensure the Groupe Bernard Tapie has the funds, which could total well over $750 million, to resurrect Full Tilt and make it a solvent company once again.

Although Full Tilt has new ownership in Groupe Bernard Tapie, it is plainly evident that there is still a long road ahead for the embattled online poker site before it could ever be reactivated.