Full Tilt Poker Site Shut Down by US Government

The Full Tilt Poker site was shut down on Friday as part of a move by the FBI against several large poker sites that were open to American players. Other sites affected by the shutdown include Full Tilt Poker, UB.com, and Absolute Poker.

Click Here for Sites Still Accepting USA Players

The shutdown came about as part of an effort by the US government to stop the flow of money to what they regard as illegal gambling sites. Eleven defendants were named on charges ranging from the operation of illegal gambling sites to bank and wire fraud; these defendants included major executives for each site, as well as several individuals involved with payment processors.

Those named on the charge of operating Full Tilt Poker include Raymond Bitar, Nelson Burtnick, Ryan Lang, Bradley Franzen, Ira Rubin, Chad Elie and John Campos. Bitar is the CEO of Full Tilt Poker.

The charges stem mainly from attempts made by online poker sites to continue processing payments to and from American players after the passage of the UIGEA laws that made such processing illegal for financial institutions inside the United States. The US government charges that the sites used fraudulent practices to fool banks into accepting such payments, and that in some cases, they resorted to essentially bribing banks to process payments for them.

“Full Tilt Poker is saddened by today's charges against its CEO Raymond Bitar and offers its full support to Mr. Bitar and Nelson Burtnick,” said a statement that appeared to Full Tilt Poker players attempting to log in from the United States.

The statement continued: “Online poker is a game of skill enjoyed by tens of millions of people in the United States and across the world. And, Full Tilt Poker remains as committed as ever to preserving the rights of those players to play the game they love online.

Mr. Bitar and Full Tilt Poker believe online poker is legal – a position also taken by some of the best legal minds in the United States. Full Tilt Poker is, and has always been committed to preserving the integrity of the game and abiding by the law.

"I am surprised and disappointed by the government’s decision to bring these charges. I look forward to Mr. Burtnick's and my exoneration," said Mr. Bitar.”

Due to the governmental crackdown, Full Tilt Poker made the decision to suspend the ability of American players to participate in real money games, though access to play money poker remained. In addition, players outside of the United States still retain access to Full Tilt Poker.