On Tuesday, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) and the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission issued statements regarding the April 15th indictments of the owners of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker in the U.S.
In news that shook up the online poker world last week, 11 people were indicted by a Federal grand jury on charges of bank fraud, money laundering, and violating gambling laws on what is being called “Black Friday.” Among those indicted were site founders Isai Scheinberg (PokerStars), Ray Bitar (Full Tilt Poker), and Scott Tom (Absolute Poker).
The FBI seized the companies’ domain names and the sites decided to shut their doors to U.S. customers shortly thereafter. Days later, the regulatory bodies that license and regulate Absolute Poker and PokerStars spoke out about the recent developments.
The KGC, located in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake just outside Montreal, Quebec, issues a primary gaming license to Absolute Poker and said it is “reviewing the indictments issued on April 15, 2011 by the Southern District of New York” against the three online poker companies.
It continued, “The KGC’s principal concern is that players are not adversely affected by the actions taken by U.S. authorities. The KGC is presently engaged in discussions with its licensee concerning the status of player accounts. Upon completion of its review, the KGC will determine what steps may be required and will issue a further statement at that time.”
The Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission also released a statement with regards to PokerStars: “Following developments on Friday 15th April, the Commission is aware of documentation issued by authorities in the USA which makes allegations against PokerStars and some of its personnel. While we are discussing the matter on an ongoing basis with PokerStars and watching developments, we can confirm that PokerStars’ licensing status in the Isle of Man remains unchanged.”
The Commission summarized, “We are aware that PokerStars has suspended the availability of cash-play games in the USA and we are currently endeavoring to ensure that any player who wishes to withdraw money from their account can do so.”
Like its regulatory body, PokerStars has also assured players that their money is safe. It said via Twitter, “Please be assured, players balances are safe, there is no cause for concern.” The site also mentioned that it changed its support e-mail account to support@pokerstars.eu and requested that players be patient with responses, as its support team is receiving a high volume of e-mails.
While Absolute Poker hasn’t made an official statement regarding player accounts, Full Tilt Poker shed some light on its own situation over the weekend. The company said in a statement, “Players located within the United States will temporarily be restricted from withdrawing. We would like to assure you that your funds are safe and secure. Unused Tournament Tickets or Tournament Dollars (T$) can be converted into real money.”
On Wednesday, the U.S. Government came to an agreement with PokerStars and Full Tilt that could facilitate the withdrawal of U.S. players’ funds held in their accounts. Under the agreement, the two online poker rooms would still be prohibited from offering real money games to U.S. players, but under the supervision of an independent monitor will be able to return funds.
“No individual player accounts were ever frozen or restrained, and each implicated poker company has at all times been free to reimburse any player’s deposited funds,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. “This office expects the companies to return the money that U.S. players entrusted to them, and we will work with the poker companies to facilitate the return of funds to players.”
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