1. Full Tilt Poker & Poker Stars in Historic $547 Million Settlement with United States Government

    Full Tilt Poker has entered a $547 million settlement with the Justice Department that ends the federal government’s civil forfeiture case against the company. The online gambling site was shut down in April 2011 by the DOJ and charged with violating U.S. anti-gambling laws.

    The new agreement will require the company to forfeit all of its assets to the U.S. Government, which will then sell them to Pokers Stars, a U.K.-based online gaming operation in a transaction that will allow Poker Stars to settle its own charges of evading U.S. restrictions on internet gambling.

    Sound complicated? It is, according to Full Tilt Poker’s attorney, Jeff Ifrah of Ifrah Law:

    “As attorney for Full Tilt, I found this to be the case of a lifetime.  I don’t know if John Grisham could have thought this one up. The problem was very complicated and required an understanding of the industry, the players and the U.S. government to help Full Tilt realize the best possible outcome under the circumstances.  My firm and Full Tilt had the interests of the players and the future of online poker at heart — we knew that getting the players paid had to be a part of this transaction.  A lot of people pulled together to make this a win-win for the players, Full Tilt, and Poker Stars, and it was very exciting and gratifying to be involved in.”

    Read the update:

    Related reading:

    • Nevada Update: Regulation of Internet Poker - Lewis and Roca LLP 

    • Around the Virtual World - Pillsbury 

    • After Legislature Acts, Delaware Ready to Become 2nd State to Legalize Online Gaming - Ifrah Law 

    • Gaming Legal News • Volume 5, Number 15 - Dickinson Wright 

    • New Developments in California’s Internet Gaming Bill - Snell & Wilmer L.L.P 

    • Internet Gaming and Indian Country: The Trends and the Strategies - Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP 

    • Gamblification Gets Street Cred – Pillsbury 

    • Don’t Bet on Online Gambling; But Online Trivia for Prizes? - Looper Reed & McGraw, P.C. 

    • States Prepare to Bet the House on Online Gaming - Dinsmore & Shohl LLP 

    • US I-Gaming Policy Brief : State/Territory I-Gaming Legislation/Regulatory Efforts - K&L Gates LLP 

    • Game Changing Bill on California’s Internet Gaming - Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. 

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