Absolute Poker Reaches Deal to Refund American Players

Good news for American poker players who had money tied up in Absolute Poker accounts: it appears that they will be able to receive their funds after all. An agreement has been reached between Absolute Poker and U.S. Attorneys to allow the site to refund account balances to players residing in the United States.

The announcement comes several weeks after similar agreements were reached between the USA government and the two larger sites involved in the Black Friday events, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. The reason for the delay in the agreement with Absolute Poker was not clear.

What remains to be seen is how quickly money owed to American players will be returned. While PokerStars has already refunded money to players who have made such requests, Full Tilt Poker has lagged behind – though they appear to be close to a solution that will allow their players to receive refunds. With Absolute Poker taking much longer to reach an agreement with the US government in the first place, the speed at which refunds will be processed is also uncertain.

“This office expects the companies to return the money that U.S. players entrusted to them,” said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

The deal reached with Absolute Poker seems similar to earlier agreements made with the other sites. Absolute Poker will be able to use their domain name to refund money to American players, and will also have the express right to continue service to customers located outside the United States.

On April 15 – now known as Black Friday in the online poker world – the US government indicted 11 industry executives, including both the founders of the three largest online poker sites operating in the United States, as well as several individuals who operated payment processing companies. Charges against the defendants included the illegal operation of gambling sites, bank fraud, and violations of the UIGEA laws that prevent banks from processing most gambling transactions.