PokerStars Details Plans for Full Tilt Poker Re-Launch and Payment of $184 Million to Players

ONCHAN, Isle of Man, September 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

FullTiltPoker.com to re-launch in first week of November

PokerStars revealed details of its plan to repay $184 million to former customers of Full Tilt Poker outside of the United States of America and announced that FullTiltPoker.com will re-launch during the first week of November.

     (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120924/563118 )

PokerStars has been working with regulators in all relevant jurisdictions to ensure that repayment is conducted in strict compliance with local regulatory requirements that ensure the security of player accounts and confirmation of the rightful ownership of those accounts.

Depending upon their jurisdiction, players will follow slightly different processes for accessing their funds.  

• France, Spain, Denmark, Estonia and Belgium:  In order to comply with local regulations, former Full Tilt Poker players will be repaid through the locally-licensed PokerStars platform.  Players will 'pair' a PokerStars account with their Full Tilt account allowing them to withdraw or use their balances on the licensed PokerStars site.
• In Italy, PokerStars is working with regulators to determine the appropriate process to ensure compliance with local regulations.  Those details will be announced as soon as possible.
• In all other markets (with the exception of the USA), Full Tilt Poker players will have full access to their accounts when http://www.FullTiltPoker.com re-launches during the first week of November.

PokerStars received the assets of Full Tilt Poker this summer under a wide-ranging agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.  As part of that agreement, PokerStars committed to repaying the former Full Tilt Poker players outside of the United States.  The total of those balances is USD$184 million.   PokerStars also paid the U.S. Government USD$547 million, which will in part be used to reimburse former Full Tilt Poker customers in the United States through a remission process to be administered by the U.S. Government.

About PokerStars:

PokerStars operates PokerStars.com, the world's most popular online poker site that serves the world's largest poker community with more than 49 million registered members since it launched in December 2001. It is the first choice of the world's top players, with more daily tournaments than anywhere else, and with the best security online. More hands have been dealt on PokerStars.com than on any other site; that's over 85 billion hands and more than 590 million tournaments played.

PokerStars.com and PokerStars.eu operate worldwide under licenses from the Isle of Man and Malta governments, respectively. PokerStars also operates under separate government licenses in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy and Spain.