Absolute Poker Strikes Deal With DOJ

Written on  5/12/11 By Recentpoker.com staff writer Anthony Aperman :

But players funds will not be immediately available due to legal issues
 
Interested parties will be relieved to hear that Absolute Poker, including UB (formerly Ultimate Bet) has apparently reached an agreement with the US authorities to facilitate US online player refunds.
 
Absolute Poker’s statement said that the US Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY)has agreed to provide all necessary assurances to third parties that they may work with Absolute Poker to facilitate the return of funds.
 
But the company points out that it still faces several legal issues which need to be navigated before funds can be paid out and therefore, said funds will not be immediately available.
 
The Company has notified the SNDY that it has closed its US-facing operations and has agreed to stop real money poker play in the US.  Its domains Absolute Poker.com, Ultimate Bet.com and UB.com will remain under the curatorship of the US authorities.
 
Further terms will see the appointment of a monitor, approved by the US Attorney's office, to assess Absolute Poker's compliance in terms of the agreement.
 
A Company spokesperson said: “Today’s signing of the agreement with the DOJ is an important step towards the safe and efficient return of funds to our US players.  We can now move as expeditiously as possible to collect player monies from third party processors as a prelude to establishing proper mechanisms for the return of funds to our US players.  As previously announced, we have already taken specific actions to exit the US market by closing our US-facing operations.

  Blank Rome LLP will continue to engage in discussions with the SDNY in order to complete the necessary agreements for the final transfer of frozen fund balances to our US players.  This remains our highest priority.  We will continue to update our players and the poker community, as we move forward to resolve outstanding issues.”