PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker have struck a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice allowing them to regain the confiscated .com domains. The agreement also means a first step towards paying back U.S. players.

PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker have today announced that they have struck a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice, allowing them to regain the confiscated .com domains for use outside the U.S.

American players will still not be allowed to play for real money on either site, but as a result of the agreement their funds will be secured, the involved parts informed today.

"No individual player accounts were ever frozen or restrained, and each implicated poker company has at all times been free to reimburse any player's deposited funds. In fact, this Office expects the companies to return the money that U.S. players entrusted to them, and we will work with the poker companies to facilitate the return of funds to players, as today’s agreements with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker demonstrate," U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, said in a press release.

The news were confirmed by both sites, with PokerStars stating in a press release that "returning US players' funds is a top priority for PokerStars and the company can now start the process of returning money to its former US customers."

"All PokerStars player deposits are completely safe."

Full Tilt Poker issued a similar statement, but noted that technical and legal issues may come in the way for a swift payout of the millions of dollars, allegedly waiting to be withdrawn by anxious American players.

"The agreement represents an important first step towards returning funds to U.S. players because it allows Full Tilt Poker to utilize its domain to facilitate the withdrawal of player funds," the site said in a statement published by PokerNews.com.

"But, unfortunately, there remain significant practical and legal impediments to returning funds to players in the immediate future. As a result of the recent enforcement action, there exists no authorized U.S. payment channel through which to make refunds," the statement added.

Absolute Poker and UB Poker are not part of the same agreement, but have been offered equal terms, according to WickedChopsPoker.com.

Finally, the deal also calls for the appointment of and independent monitor to verify Pokerstars' and Full Tilt Poker's compliance with the agreements in the future.

Source: Poker.org