Full Tilt Ails, But Poker Strives On

First, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission suspended the operating license of Full Tilt Poker. What little credibility is had kept - until a hearing scheduled for July 26 - the poker site seems due to lose. Now we hear that the Kahnawake Gaming Commission is also reviewing the poker site's license, granted by the jurisdiction.

Who Benefits?

Full Tilt, clearly, is suffering. It is not common for a poker site to have its license suspended, much less common for a site with millions of customers.

So far, practically all poker sites that are not Full Tilt benefit, particularly poker sites run by European online gaming groups.

Of these, PokerStars is the main poker site to draw disappointed Full Tilt players. Others are Bwin.Party, 888, and Playtech, mainly their bet365 Poker brand.

Small Caveat

However, some "alternative" poker sites seeing this new traffic at its tables face potential lawsuits, investigations, regulations and license issues themselves!

PokerStars is facing potential heat from US authorities; PokerStars were targeted too on the Black Friday that started all this mess for Full Tilt.

It is safe to assume that while FTP won't disappear from our online poker world, the other sites won't convert all the traffic to their sites either. The dust will settle. But for now, a reshuffling of the cards.