Class Suit Launched Against Full Tilt Poker in Canada
Canadian-based online poker fans who are still waiting for Full Tilt Poker to pay them out the money that has been frozen in their accounts since April, will be pleased to know that a class action suit has been filed against the online poker room in Montreal.
It is estimated that Canadian players are owed anything between $5 million to $10 million, and they have been unable to withdraw their money since the FBI cracked down on online poker rooms in the United States on what became known as Black Friday.
The Full Tilt Poker lawsuit was filed by Jeff Orenstein of the Consumer Law Group Inc with the Quebec Superior Court.
According to the lawyer, around 10% of the players owed money by Full Tilt Poker are Canadians. Orenstein said that he had been in contact with one man from Edmonton who claims that he is owed a quarter of a million dollars by the poker room, while another had $10,000 frozen. While most Canadian players are owed smaller amounts, it is still their money which they cannot get their hands on, not knowing when and if they will ever be paid out.
When the FBI stopped US players from accessing their accounts at Full Tilt Poker in April, Canadians were still able to play, however the Alderney Gambling Control Commission suspended Full Tilt's license on June 29th, leaving all players out in the cold.
Full Tilt Poker illegally froze player funds
According to the statement issued by the Consumer Law Group (Groupe des Droits des consommateurs) "the class action involves Full Tilt Poker's illegal freezing of clients' money that's kept in accounts available through the website www.fulltiltpoker.com."
The national class-action lawsuit was filed on Friday on behalf
of players who are unable to access their money in their Full Tilt accounts. And
for many, it was only a matter of time before Full Tilt Poker was sued.
Full Tilt Poker, along with Poker Stars and Absolute Poker, were accused by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for tricking regulators and banks into illegally processing online gambling payments worth over $3 billion.
The transactions were seen in direct violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, introduced in the US in 2006.
