So, if we were waiting for that news on the hearing about Full Tilt poker this week, we may still be waiting. It seems that the lawyers over at Full Tilt have been working to get the hearing delayed and to have it held in private, so the poker players of the world won’t find out the true state of Full Tilt. Well, actually what they say is that the hearing could require them to disclose confidential information that might affect negotiates with the investors who are currently looking to purchase Full Tilt. (I guess telling the investors that the company has info it doesn’t want them to know is okay.) Meanwhile the French ARJEL is working to audit Full Tilt to “cherchez la franc.”
So far the only signs of money from Full Tilt have been an agreement to pay a quarter of a million pounds in fees to the Alderney Gambling Control Commission within seven days. A lot of poker players are probably scoffing at that and wanting to tell Alderney to head to the back of the line. Because ironically what prompted Alderney’s suspension of Full Tilt’s poker license was their failure to pay any money in accounts owed to US player in three months.
The poker world is waiting to see what happens with those US accounts because if the poker room actually can’t pay the money owed to US players, it’s doubtful that any licensing authority in the world will grant them a gambling license. Full Tilt’s reputation is already struggling not to go into full tilt and no gambling control board is going to want to follow them if they do. It would put every other license they issue into question and potentially send reputable casinos scrambling to look elsewhere. So this Full Tilt Poker debate isn’t just about Full Tilt or poker. It’s put online gambling under scrutiny. Alderney needs to do the right thing here because the world is watching.