Full Tilt Poker is migrating to the FullTilt.com and FullTilt.eu domain names as part of a major re-branding effort.
The move, which was made quietly on July 8, reflects both the company’s new focus on casino gaming, as well as the influence of its new owner, Amaya Gaming. Amaya recently acquired the trouble poker site in a blockbuster deal worth $4.9 billion.
Full Tilt’s new ownership is clearly aware of the double edged sword they’ve purchased. On the one hand, Full Tilt Poker is one of the most recognizable brands in the online gambling business.
On the other hand the Full Tilt Poker crew’s over-sized role in bringing the plague of Black Friday on the industry cannot be underestimated.
Despite government-driven efforts to pay back players (and some affiliates) who lost money in the online poker collapse, there are no shortage of lingering hard feelings towards the company.
In an interview with EGR Magazine, a company spokesman described the domain shift as follow:
This year, our gaming portfolio on Full Tilt expanded to offer a range of single and multi-player variations of casino games. Therefore, we have now moved the domain from FullTiltPoker.com and FullTiltPoker.eu to FullTilt.com and FullTilt.eu.
Not surprisingly, he made no mention of Black Friday or any of that past ugliness.
The question now remains as to whether poker and casino affiliates will embrace the new domain and the re-branding efforts. Is that something you would be willing to do? Or is the Full Tilt brand simply too toxic to handle?
It will be very interesting to see how this effort plays out over the next few months and years.