PokerStars CEO Mark Scheinberg is set to shell out $50 million dollars to the US Department of Justice for violating the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).
The settlement is being described as both a, “full and final settlement,” but not as an admission of guilt by the deep pocketed executive in a blanket statement reading:
This consent Order of Forfeiture shall in no way be deemed an admission of any wrongdoing, culpability, liability, or guilt on behalf of Mark Scheinberg or any of his respective agents or employees, past and present.
The whole Forfeiture Statement is posted on the DOJ website, but doesn’t offer much more than what little is already known about the situation.
It does seem safe to say that the settlement is part of effort to keep PokerStars (and its corporate owner Rational Group) ahead of any licensing hassles in the United States, particularly in New Jersey.
PokerStars’ post 2006 dealings with US players opened a rift with the powerful American Gaming Association (AGA). AGA lawyers have already filed a brief in New Jersey with the hopes of blocking Rational Group from purchasing the Atlantic Club Casino.
Though Scheinberg is $50 million lighter today, he probably won’t be packing a brown bag lunch or riding the public bus anytime soon. The Scheinberg family fortune, which was built on PokerStars, is believed to be as much as $10 billion.
What do you think of this latest turn in the PokerStars story? Will this settlement help set them right in New Jersey and Nevada? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.