Full Tilt Poker Kahnawake License: What Does it Mean?

Many were stunned Monday upon learning that the Kahnawake Gambling Commission had granted disgraced Full Tilt Poker an online gambling license. 

Full Tilt Poker was forced to exit the US market on April 15 after its two co-founders were charged with money laundering and bank fraud.  On June 29, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission yanked FTP’s license for failure to pay US customers and slow paying others across the world.  Full Tilt Poker has not paid a single customer during the month of July.

Under the terms of Kahnawake regulations, “All Client Provider Authorizations issued by the Commission must be appended to a valid Interactive Gaming License,” and are “only valid and enforceable for so long as the Interactive Gaming License to which it is appended is in good standing”.

“In the event the license from the primary jurisdiction is suspended, revoked or allowed to lapse, the holder of a Secondary Client Provider Authorization must, within thirty (30) days, apply for a Client Provider Authorization under these Regulations, failing which the Commission may suspend or revoke the Secondary Client Provider Authorization.

This re-application may have been deemed unnecessary on the basis of the AGCC’s comments to Kahnawake regulators, where it was explained that “[A]lthough the eGambling Licences held by Filco Limited [doing business as Full Tilt Poker] are presently suspended pending the outcome of a hearing, these licences are still considered to be valid.”

Full Tlit Poker is essentially rendered inoperable since the Kahnawake license alone will make it difficult for FTP to serve the European poker population. 

Kahnawake is also the licensing arm of UB.com/Absolute Poker.  Principals in that company were also indicted on April 15.  US players have yet to be paid by UB.com/Absolute Poker.

- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher