Pokerstars Settles Dispute With U.S. Department of Justice and Acquires Assets of Full Tilt Poker

ONCHAN, Isle of Man, July 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

PokerStars today announced that the Company has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Southern District of New York. As part of the settlement agreement, PokerStars has also acquired the assets of Full Tilt Poker, and has committed to the full reimbursement of Full Tilt Poker customers outside the United States.

The total amount to be paid by PokerStars is USD$547 million which will be payable over a period of three years. The money paid to the US Government 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 Department of Justice. PokerStars repaid all amounts owing to its own U.S. customers shortly after it closed its U.S. operations.

PokerStars will also make available in a segregated bank account, all outstanding balances owing to all non-U.S. customers of Full Tilt Poker (an amount totalling USD$184 million), with no restrictions on withdrawals, within 90 days of completing this transaction. PokerStars has remained open for non-U.S. players, with all its licenses in good standing, without interruptions.

Under the agreement with the Department of Justice, PokerStars does not admit to any wrongdoing. Furthermore, the agreement explicitly permits PokerStars to apply to relevant U.S. gaming authorities, under both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker brands, to offer real money online poker when State or Federal governments introduce a  framework to regulate such activity.

PokerStars plans to re-launch Full Tilt Poker in most markets as a separate brand, following the appointment of a new, independent management team.  Full Tilt Poker's operations will continue to be run from Dublin, but regulatory oversight will be transferred to the Isle of Man.  Further details of these plans will be announced shortly.

 "We are delighted we have been able to put this matter behind us, and also secured our ability to operate in the United States of America whenever the regulations allow," said Mark Scheinberg, Chairman of the Board of PokerStars.  "This outcome demonstrates our continuing global leadership of the online poker industry, and our commitment to working with governments and regulators to ensure the highest standards of protection for players."

"Acquiring certain assets of Full Tilt Poker strengthens PokerStars, brings welcome relief to Full Tilt Poker players who have been waiting over 12 months for repayment of their money, and benefits the entire poker community. Full Tilt Poker's customers outside the U.S. can soon look forward to accessing their accounts and playing on the re-launched site, confident that they are supported by PokerStars' history of integrity and our track record of delivering high-quality and secure online poker."

"The way we have operated our business since the U.S. Department of Justice brought its claim has underlined our credentials as a responsible online poker operator," Scheinberg continued.   "In particular, the prompt repayment of our former US customers in as quick a time frame as possible demonstrated our industry-leading commitment to the segregation of customer funds. We continue to encourage jurisdictions all over the world to introduce sensible online poker regulation." 

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 80 billion hands and more than 500 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.