Justice Department Won't Confirm Deal with FTP, Groupe Barnard Tapie

While it has been widely reported that a deal has been reached between Full Tilt Poker, Groupe Bernard Tapie and the United States Department of Justice, the Justice Department themselves has yet to confirm the details on any such agreement – or even confirm that such a deal has taken place.

“We have no comment and are not confirming or denying an agreement with Groupe Bernard Tapie,” a DOJ spokesperson told Card Player Magazine, they reported on Monday.

That hasn’t stopped plenty of other groups from talking about the possible details of such an arrangement, however. Jeff Ifrah, an attorney for FTP CEO Ray Bitar, told ESPN that the wording of the agreement between the parties would allow Full Tilt to apply for a license in the United States should online poker be legalized in the country.

In addition, the DOJ itself has said that the return of funds to US players who had account balances with Full Tilt is a possibility. According to several reports about the potential deal with GBT, the US Government would be paid $80 million in return for the assets of FTP to be released to the French investment group. Players from the United States could then apply with the Department of Justice for compensation. GBT would simultaneously restart operations outside of the USA, which would include paying out money to any players who wished to cash out from the relaunched Full Tilt Poker.

If the deal were to go through, it would be a rare bit of good news for players around the world who have been financially impacted by the FTP shutdown. USA players have been unable to access accounts or funds since April’s Black Friday, while the rest of the Full Tilt player base was shut out after the site has its operating licenses pulled for their failure to make those payments.