Poll: Has the DoJ done enough over Black Friday indictments?
With PokerStars seemingly poised to acquire Full Tilt Poker's assets, could US authorities have done more in the year since the indictments?
Last week, following the collapse of talks with Groupe Bernard Tapie, it emerged that Full Tilt Poker could be the target of a takeover bid from rival PokerStars.
While details remain unclear, numerous sources have suggested the acquisition may incorporate a settlement with the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) which could potentially even one day allow the operator to apply for an operating licence in an intrastate or federal American market.
When one considers that just seven months ago US District Attorney Preet Bharara was labelling Full Tilt Poker “a global Ponzi scheme”, one must also ask the question of whether American authorities have done as much as they could on the matter.
Upon Black Friday indictee John Campos pleading guilty to a single misdemeanour charge, Judge Lewis Kaplan accused the government of “walking away from the case” just one year after accusing the Utah banker and 10 others of “Deceiving or directing others to deceive United States banks and financial institutions into processing billions of dollars in payments.”
At the time Bharara said: “As charged, these defendants concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some US banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow in illegal gambling profits.”
However, in the months since, just six of the 11 indictees have pleaded guilty, some to lesser charges than those first laid out, while only one of six individuals tied to PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker has entered a plea to date.
So, have US authorities done enough in their pursuit of this case or could they have done, or still do, more? To vote, see the right hand side of the page or visit the eGaming Review LinkedIn group. The results will be published this Friday.