Absolute Poker, UB.com headed for liquidation

Absolute Poker and UB.com are preparing to liquidate their assets to pay players who have been unable to withdraw money from their sites since the owners of the online poker rooms were named in a criminal complaint by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in April.

Blanca Games, which owns the online poker rooms, has presented a liquidation proposal to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York for consideration, according to a press release issued by The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) Thursday. The KGC regulates and licenses Absolute Poker and UB.com.

Both poker rooms, which operate on the CEREUS Network, were forced to block Americans from real-money games in the wake of April's criminal complaint. While the poker room has remained open for players outside the U.S., traffic has plummeted; PokerScout.com reports that over the last seven days, an average of 23 players have been on the site. The sites processed limited withdrawals for players outside the U.S. for a few months this summer, but those withdrawals have slowed to a trickle according posters on several Internet poker forums.

"The Commission’s foremost concern in this matter has been, and remains, the reimbursement of both US and non-US players, as quickly and completely as possible," the KGC statement reads.