FAQ and Q&A to Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker Shut Down
Updated: 1:28am, June 5
On April 15th, 2011 Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker were collectively shut down by the United States of America. In the process their domain names were seized and the websites software no longer allowed US customers to sit at real money tables. There are many questions being asked at the moment, and this page hopes to clear up much of the information on the shutdown.
What Poker Sites Are Still Open to the US
As of right now, only one Network accepts US players that is worth mentioning according to size.
Is It Safe To Play At These Rooms
As one who has followed the legal situation in the US for over five years, I believe your money is safe. The US government is after payment processors, owners of US accepted poker sites, and domain names, not the players. It is not illegal for a person from the United States to play online poker, the US Department of Justice has said this themselves therefore they can’t seize your money.
Why Was Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker Closed
Update: Both Pokerstars.com and Fulltiltpoker.com have been restored to their owners barring US play. The poker sites still partially display an FBI warning symbol(s). Playersonly and Sportsbook Poker have closed to “new” US players.
They were closed because the USA charged them with felonies against US law. Under this code, they were legally (if you want to call it that) able to take control over the domain names of the website owners. The domain names you download Pokerstars and FullTiltpoker were dot com domains and therefore under ICANN law. This is how they shut down and took the domains. “Guilty until proven innocent” in this case!
How Do I Get My Money From PokerStars and Fulltiltpoker
Updated: You can now cash out of Pokerstars. You can not cashout of Full Tilt Poker yet. There are various finger pointings going on including Phil Ivey accusing Full Tilt of slowing down payments purposely.
Update: Both pokerstars and full tilt poker have announced all your funds will be redistributed. They are working out a game plan to do so in an orderly fashion.
This is uncertain at this point. Pokerstars and Fulltiltpoker still have control over their software, and you can still login (except for at Full Tilt Poker) and see the poker site. I suspect they will let things settle down, talk to the US Department of Justice and find a suitable way to distribute funds back to the players. Also, because these two sites were so large they are being flooded with questions and withdraws so you might have to be patient on your funds but I am almost 100% certain you will get your money.
What Do You Think About Bonuses and Points I Had
Update: Many of these have been redistributed to players
I wouldn’t give up on these and would continue to contact support ( in the friendliest manner possible ) about this if you feel you are owed a lot in accumulated points that could have been used as cash. I want to emphasize “friendly”, these are people who are getting a lot of grief at the moment and simply being understanding with them will go a long way.
They Shut Down Poker Sites, But Why Not Sportsbook and Casinos, Why
Poker sites are in the main stream media and therefore a big target for the US department of Justice who likes to set standards and use scare tactics. Because millions of people play online poker in the US, and many poker sites were advertising on television they knew that a major shut down like this would get massive amounts of media coverage…and it did. The news spread across the entire internet from ESPN, to the Wall Street Journal. The sportsbooks and casinos that pulled out did so at their own judgement call.
Can I Play Outside the USA
If you are not a US resident, then yes. Play has continued as usual but the traffic at these poker sites is very small. There was interruption for some time for people in other countries but the US is only affect now.
Who Can I Contact Since the Login Dot Com Support Doesn’t Work
Update: Because most sites have received their domains back, you can contact them at their normal address. If they changed their domain to .eu, or .ag or something of that sort just change the .com to .whatever
For the Pokerstars shut down, they are now using Pokerstars.eu. Please contact them at support@pokerstars.eu. Similar to Pokerstars shut down, you will want to contact Full Tilt Poker support at support@fulltiltpoker.co.uk.
Is Online Poker Over
Absolutely not. Many like to panic after things happen suddenly but everything always settles down. This is not the first time this has happened in the poker websites industry, it has happened in the online sportsbook market and will continue to happen until legalized poker comes forth on a US Federal level, which could be sooner rather than later with recent developments.
IRONY NOTE: Isai Sheinberg and lawyer, owner of Pokerstars personally contacted me last month demanding I take down a quote from an article written that said he was wanted by the US Department of Justice calling it “patently false”, an “egregious error” and such an “offensive statement”. Isai is now wanted on 11 accounts and being indicted by the US exactly and faces up to 85 years in prison (he probably won’t serve a day though).
Sources:
US Poker Sites
Statement on Closure by DOJ (.pdf file)
theppa.org (sportlight video, Pappas calls it a “war”)
The a-hole behind the shutdown, Justice.gov
