Absolute Poker Makes Deal with US Department of Justice

It took much longer than anyone expected, but Absolute Poker and UB have finally made an agreement with the United States Department of Justice that will “in theory” help to advocate the return of player funds to US based players in the wake of online poker’s Black Friday in the US.

Absolute Poker is technically already violating their agreement.

On Wednesday, a press release from AP and UB revealed that an agreement had been reached between the companies and the DOJ.  Essentially, the websites will not have their domains AbsolutePoker, UB.com and UltimateBet.com returned to them, and they will begin procedures to return money to players.

According to the actual agreement, the sites are not supposed to allow for play by U.S. players for real money or anything of value on their site.  However, it is widely known that U.S. players can still login to the site and play for real money.  (The author of this article has a UB account and confirmed this to be fact.)

The agreement also calls for a monitor to oversee this agreement and to assist the site in the return of player funds.  Whether or not these funds are even available to return to players is the subject of much conjecture.

In recent weeks, Absolute Poker and UB have laid off approximately 95% of their workforce in order to focus in non-US business.  In addition, they have released their entire roster of pros on their site, including the much criticized and ostracized Joe Sebok.

Rumors of the company possibly facing bankruptcy also surfaced last week when Madeira Ford, the Norway based company that represents company shareholders, was informed that Blance Gaming will no longer be making payments to the company and that Madeira Ford could not pay creditors.  Madeira Ford must go into bankruptcy according to Norwegian Law.  Blanca Gaming released a statement shortly afterwards stating that Blanca itself was not going into bankruptcy.

At present, US players are not permitted to withdraw funds from the website and non-US players may now withdraw up to $1,000 a week on Visa and $500 otherwise.  Withdrawal limits were at $250.  However, even this raise was met with some speculation as there have been reports that the priority of the companies put paying back players dead last on the list.

Whether or not players receive their money back from UB and AP remains to be seen, but chances are that, regardless of outcome, this is the beginning of the end for the company.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Related posts:

• Full Tilt Poker Revealed as Ponzi Scheme By US Department of Justice Back in April when the Black Friday indictments were revealed against PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and UB, many wondered why known major stakeholders such as Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson were not implicated.  That has now been correct as the...
• Full Tilt Poker Sale Deal Finalized Between Group Bernard Tapie and DOJ A deal between Groupe Bernard Tapie and the United States Department of Justice regarding Full Tilt Poker has finally been reached.  The following press release was issued on Thursday evening from Full Tilt Poker: Full Tilt Poker is pleased that...
• Absolute Poker Co-Founder Pleads Guilty to Black Friday Charges Brent Buckley became the first person convicted in connection with Black Friday. On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in connection with the Black Friday indictments. Buckley was the co-founder of online poker site Absolute Poker. As he stood...
• Full Tilt Poker and US DOJ Reach Deal Regarding Black Friday Civil Suit It seems that the Full Tilt Poker sale may go off after all.  In a breaking story on Tuesday on SubjectPoker.com, it was reported that the United States Department of Justice and the Groupe Bernard Tapie have come to an...
• Department of Justice Indicts Bodog and Founder Calvin Ayre The online poker world was abuzz yet again on Tuesday when the a new indictment was handed down by the United States Department of Justice against online poker company Bodog. Bodog Entertainment Group S.A. is the only corporate entity listed...