Despite hearing from the other two parties involved in the Black Friday domain name seizures (PokerStars.com and Fulltiltpoker.com), the two other associated sites in the scandal have now stepped forward in attempt to remedy their reputations.
Absolute Poker and UB.com, (the former being named as part of the original “Big Three”) have recently been documented by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission as stating they have a plan towards re-issuing player account balances that were seized early this year due to site closures.
Despite the information being vague at best, this news, which was posted on the KGC web site, does provide once hopeless players a chance to regain funds that were believed to be lost.
In a synopsis of the statement, Blanca Games, which serves as the operational hub for both online poker sites, will be potentially liquidating its assets in order to refund player accounts that are held in standstill.
The full statement from the KGC reads as follows:
“Since the actions taken by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (the “SDNY”) on April 15, 2011, the Commission has been in close and regular discussions with its licensee, Blanca Games Inc. (“Blanca”), operating as Absolute Poker and UB.com (“AP/UB”), to facilitate the reimbursement of both US and non-US players. The Commission has also received regular updates of discussions between AP/UB and the SDNY.”
“Over the past several weeks, we were advised of a potential solution prepared by Blanca and its representatives, establishing a process to liquidate Blanca’s assets and distribute proceeds to players. We understand that this process has been presented to SDNY for consideration and approval.”
“The Commission’s foremost concern in this matter has been, and remains, the reimbursement of both US and non-US players, as quickly and completely as possible.”
“To avoid further prejudice to affected players, the Commission has demanded that all parties complete their discussions and implement a reimbursement solution without further delay.”
Up until this point, the most we’ve heard from either side of the Cereus Network’s poker affiliates is from the U.S. Department of Justice shortly after Black Friday, which was in regard to having their domain names returned on May 10th to help facilitate the return of player funds.
To the surprise of few, the released URLs didn’t speed up the process much, although there was a small collection of customers being paid post-Black Friday.
To this date, players between the two popular online poker spots are estimated to be owed north of $40 million.
This news is promising, but players and followers of this news shouldn’t treat this as a promise, but instead a suggestion that Blanca Games is “working on” paying back its consumers.
With a primary media focus being placed on the unstable company that is Full Tilt Poker, Blanca Games and its child companies will now be heading back to the spotlight where they undoubtedly belong. Now that the public has been informed of both the KGC’s and DoJ’s intentions with the organization, they can expect to once again be held against the standards and procedures of the most efficient online poker sites.
Blanca Games is a company that holds stake in the Cereus Network, the driving force behind the two-headed monster that is AP and UB. Stuart Gordon is the Chief Executive Officer of the company.
Need to play online right away? Luvin Poker is a cool site, along with BetOnline Poker.
