Update April 24th, 2012 After months of negotiations, the deal with Groupe Bernard Tapie has been called off. The Tapie Groupe cites unresolvable legal issues as the reasons for walking away. The indictment by the US DOJ, and subsequent exposure of a very poorly run business has dragged on for months. Hope was renewed with the potential sale of Full Tilt and its debt to the Groupe Bernard Tapie but has failed.
Reports are surfacing that PokerStars may be interested in purchasing Full Tilt poker. Keep up to date with all the latest Full Tilt news.
Full Tilt Poker Latest Timeline
April 24th – Reports surface that PokerStars may be interested in purchasing FTP.
April 24th – Groupe Bernard Tapie calls the deal off. Cites unresolvable legal issues.
April 19th – Hearing announced for review of gambling license for Full Tilt subsidiary, Orinic Limited
April 15th – 1 year anniversary of Black Friday. Players continue to wait for their funds.
November 17th – US Attorney Office and Groupe Bernard Tapie (GBT) officially sign letter of agreement. Once FTP signs their side of the agreement GBT will take over Full Tilt Assets paving the way for players to be paid.
September 29th – Alderney Gaming Control Commission (AGCC) revokes the Full Tilt license.
September 19th – DOJ calls FTP Ponzi Scheme, alleging FTP owes $150 million to US players. Total debt to players roughly $300 million worldwide.
Complete timeline can be found here: Full Tilt Timeline
Where to Play Poker Now
 Lock Poker |  YES |  |  |
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 Carbon Poker | YES |  | |
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 Intertops Poker | YES | | |
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 Party Poker | NO | | |
In the early months after Full Tilt was shutdown players were on the edge of their seats waiting for the latest information. Press releases are now few and far between, with hope amongst players that they will get their money back fading. Many have written it off.
This website was developed to provide information about the indictments and Full Tilt being shutdown, and also become a resource of information as to where poker players can continue to play. For those in the US, finding a good online poker room has become difficult. We continue to provide a timeline of events and track which room provides the best option for players.
More Player Information
Where do I play now?
If you’re like most poker players you have some interest in Full Tilt being shutdown and how it effects you, but most importantly you want to find where you can play now. There are really two very distinct situations when it comes to finding a new place to play and it’s all about your citizenship. If you are from the Land of the Free (USA) then your options are limited and it’s been over two months since you could not play at Full Tilt Poker. For those who live elsewhere such as Canada, UK, Germany or pretty much anywhere else you have some more options.
US player Poker Rooms
It has been over two months since Full Tilt was shutdown for US players, and since that time we’ve seen other poker rooms and networks (Merge Network) leave the US market voluntarily. The options for US players since Black Friday are becoming slim and with the largest rooms being shutdown you have many poker rooms that are seeing volumes that they are not used too. We have been in online poker for years and played at pretty much every major site, but we are giving each site a double check in terms of their stability in these new times.
We have found 2 poker rooms that we think will suit your needs as a player. Both are listed in our Recommended Poker Room section, but we feel very strongly that Intertops.com Poker is by far the best available out there. They have been online for over 15 years which says a lot about the organization. The game play is excellent, there are a tremendous amount of promotions happening all the time and they also run a sportsbook and casino for those that enjoy more than just online poker. You are getting a quality product with Intertops. Right now for a limited time they are offering players a 110% up to $600 bonus. We recommend that you Join today
Non-US player Poker Rooms
Players who do live outside the US and have continued playing with Full Tilt Poker since they were originally shutdown, you are now forced to find a new online poker room. If we have learned anything over the past few months it’s that the what happens to poker rooms accepting US players can impact those around the world. If the US government decides to shutdown a poker room they will, and as a non US resident you may get caught up in the mix. We saw this with Full Tilt Poker withdrawals taking forever with non-US players. Our best bit of recommendation is to select a poker room that does NOT currently accept any US players. There are too many good non-US poker rooms available for you to take the risk.
There are two great options for non US residents that really stand out to us, Party Poker and Winner.com. We highly recommend these poker rooms and they are run on different networks which provide you with different game play and promotions. Party Poker runs its own network while Winner.com is on the iPoker Network. Winner.com has impressed us over the years and the poker site offers some impressive promotions, lots of tables and a very nice loyalty package. If you don’t already have an account, Join Now
. For more information check out our Poker Room section.
The Full Tilt indictment has had a ripple effect across the entire online gambling industry with many online casinos also leaving the market and we have been contacted by some players looking for online casinos to play at. Although we have good knowledge of the online casino space we aren’t experts and would rather point you somewhere else to find that information. There are many “review sites” that have top 10 ratings, but those are based on advertising dollars and not who is the best. One website that we’ve found particularly useful, and ranks online casinos based on actual player reviews is Real Casino Reviews. Real player review sites aren’t common in the online casino space so we recommend that you check it out. Alternatively if you have any feedback on sites or information that you think is valuable for us to share please let us know. If there’s enough interest in Casino we may put up a small information section to help out players.
What Happened:
An Indictment was unsealed by the US Attorney’s office that alleges Full Tilt was involved in money laundering, bank fraud, wire fraud and illegal gambling. The US DOJ used these charges to seize the fulltiltpoker.com domain and effectively shut it down. This shocked many in the online gambling industry that the largest poker rooms were effectively shutdown by the US DOJ.
In the months to follow the original indictment, Full Tilt has been through a PR nightmare in terms of paying US players and having issues paying non-US players. On June 29th what appears to be another blow to the once massive poker company was dealt by their regulatory body, the Alderney Gaming Contol Commission (AGCC) which suspended the Full Tilt license and effectively shut Full Tilt Poker down to all players worldwide. Our Full Tilt News section covers how it all has unfolded since Black Friday.
With the largest poker sites in the US being shutdown, millions of poker players are searching for a new online poker room to play at. We are working to provide you with up to date information as it becomes available.
Can non-US Players play at Full Tilt
Currently NO. Up until June 29th 2011 players around the world who did not live in the US were able to continue playing with Full Tilt Poker (although they did experience withdrawal issues). However with Alderney revoking the Full Tilt Poker license, the website has been shut down to all players worldwide. We are unsure as to details about players funds.
Can US player withdrawal funds from Full Tilt
This has been a long and drawn out process that has tested the nerves of many poker players. Since Full Tilt was shutdown they were initially signs of hope when they signed a deal with the DOJ to have their domain returned to them for the sole purpose of facilitating payments. Over time and after many statements from Full Tilt that amounted to nothing, it became apparent that players cash was in jeopardy. As of November 17th, it appears that Full Tilt is very very close to closing a deal with the Bernard Tapie Groupe who would take over the company and payout players. Considering that the group has the blessing of the US DOJ it appears that they have the cash and assets to better manage this than Full Tilt ever did. We will update this situation as more news becomes available.
Can players deposit?
Are you crazy? Didn’t you read anything so far. If you are looking to play poker, select one of our recommended alternative poker rooms.
Are US players legally in trouble?
We are not lawyers, but have been in the poker industry for years so this is just our opinion. If you want legal advice please seek out a lawyer. In our opinion, there’s nothing that US players need to worry about in most states. Some states such as Washington do have laws directed towards the poker player but for the most part the laws are aimed at Banks and companies. There is no federal law that specially states that US residents cannot gamble online. In some ways if this actually does go to court there should be clarity brought to the subject.
What’s Next?
With Full Tilt poker originally being shutdown it took many by surprise. The latest revoking of their Alderney license also caught many off guard as was evident by the fact that Full Tilt Poker was still the second largest poker room in the world. The first thing every player must do is ask themselves questions about whether they want to continue playing online poker. For US players, the question is more difficult but there are still some stable companies that accept US residents. When the three largest sites in the US are shutdown its bound to rather a few people. We love playing poker and believe that there are still good options in terms of where to play, even with Full Tilt shut down.
Players who reside outside the United States can be more confident about their options, especially those who live in regions where online gambling is completely regulated. We would recommend that you pick a stable poker room that doesn’t have any outstanding legal issues or could possibly have some down the road. Here are our picks for great Non-US poker rooms,
Finally, don’t make a bad decision when selecting a new room. We’ve found a few that we like and think you’ll enjoy playing there is you’re not already.
