PokerStars has been working with the United States federal government to settle charges filed against Full Tilt concerning their involvement in fraudulent banking and Ponzi scheme practices. As you probably know, Full Tilt was shut down last April by the US Department of Justice, and millions of dollars of Full Tilt account holder money was frozen. This deal should make those account holders with unpaid balances extremely happy. As part of the three-way agreement, PokerStars will pay the United States government $547 million on behalf of Full Tilt Poker, and also fund an account with $184 million to reimburse non-US customers of Full Tilt that had remaining account balances within the next 90 days.

This hopefully puts to an end the financial shenanigans of former Full Tilt CEO Ray Bitar, and only strengthens PokerStars position as the world’s biggest online poker company. Bitar is currently out on bail, and may still have to pay personal restitution and serve some time in jail, but his voluntary return to the United States from Ireland to help wrap up this deal will probably speak well on his behalf. Those US players who had money on deposit at Full Tilt when the company was shut down can apply to the Department of Justice with proof of account ownership to begin the repayment process.

Preet Bharara is the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan that has seemingly had a personal vendetta against online poker as a whole, and was the reason Full Tilt and other sites were shut down in April 2011. Far from being seen as a savior, many online players with frozen accounts had Full Tilt said he is the reason they have not been able to withdraw their money in almost a year and half. That is why Bharara wisely put together this three-way deal with the federal government, Full Tilt and PokerStars.

The big winner here is PokerStars, who can basically look at the $731 million investment as intelligent on a few different fronts. First off, one of their largest former competitors is gone. Full Tilt is now their property and will no longer be in direct competition with them. Secondly, they fall under the good graces of the United States Department of Justice, which is never a bad thing, by making them appear as the ultimate online poker watchdog. And third, PokerStars only gets bigger and stronger in the international online poker scene in the eyes of online gamers.

PokerStars was the first of the large online poker companies to repay all their customers after they were shut down last April. That bestowed upon them a lasting image of integrity and fair play in the online poker community, and that will only grow now. Under terms of the agreement, PokerStars admits to no wrongdoing and is also allowed “to apply to relevant U.S. gaming authorities, under both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker brands, to offer real money online poker when State or Federal governments introduce a framework to regulate such activity.” The savvy online poker prognosticator can bet that PokerStars will be applying for Nevada and Delaware interactive gaming licenses very soon.