Full Tilt Poker to Relaunch in April?

Groupe Bernard Tapie attorney Behnam Dayanim said in late February that, even though the original deadline for completing the negotiations had been postponed, purchasing Full Tilt Poker was imminent for the Groupe.

“There was an expectation among the parties involved that we would conclude our discussions one way or the other by the end of February. Positive progress has been made in recent talks, and each of the parties feels reasonably confident that we'll be able to reach a successful conclusion. As such, everyone has agreed to let the process continue for a bit longer,” Dayanim reported.

Currently it is assumed that within a couple of weeks, or even by the end of this one, negotiations might come to a positive end. According to P5s, the deadline is set to Friday, 16 March; still, it seems more likely that a true conclusion be due early next week. Gaming Intelligence says the business can be realised in a couple of weeks at most. EGR also reports a possible date for the purchase can be expected next week and they add that FTP might well be re-launched in early April.

Even if FTP does come back within weeks, it does not necessarily mean the instant compensation of players, which is expected to be a more time-consuming process, while exact dates or plans are still undisclosed. In addition to the US Department of Justice and FTP, GBT representatives are also in negotiations with the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) concerning the revoked licence of the room. Moreover, they are said to have begun to hire staff members to operate FTP.

In November, 2011, the Gropue agreed with the US DoJ upon the purchase of FTP. According to the agreement, the Department would confiscate the assets of the room and sell them to the GBT for $80 million. Consequently, the DoJ would compensate US players while the Groupe would pay the non-US users.