Unlike Poker Stars and Full Tilt; both Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker have not gone back online in the US again to allow members to remove funds from their frozen online poker accounts. Obviously thousands of players are very concerned about their funds, and just last week these members became even more concerned as a notice to shareholders of both of the sites announced they would be filing for bankruptcy protection in Norway. This comes as a direct result of the U.S. Department of Justice’s seizure of their domain names. The poker sites’ parent company is Blanca Games Inc, where shareholders are represented by Madeira Fjord of Norway.

According to the email thread on TwoPlusTwo; the company has "no cash on hand and no prospects for any cash flow for the foreseeable future.” It also stated that these developments have seen the company accumulating current debt in surfeit of $250,000 which is believed will increase by $100,000 plus per month; primarily with regards to professional and legal fees in Norway. It is for this reason, and the fact that no cash flow is expected by the company in the foreseeable future – that they are required by Norwegian law to enter into the bankruptcy process. A receiver was to be appointed and the Board of Directors has been relieved of its duties. 95% of all staff in their Costa Rican headquarters has already been laid off. This equates to a total of 300 marketing and customer support staff.

While Poker Stars and Full Tilt came to an arrangement with the US DOJ to get back online and return access to members for the specific purpose of processing refunds for US members. The same offers were made to UB and Absolute Poker, but this has not come about. Despite a statement made by the CEREUS Poker Network maintaining it was top priority to return player funds. The outlook is gloomy for the current US members of the site, US operations have been stopped and the company is currently restructuring. However there is no indication that a Bankruptcy Filing will actually take place.

Operations have been down-sized in the extreme, and only 20% of staff in Key Positions will be re-employed in the newly restructured company. Both Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet will be and are continuing with non-US operations. The decision to restructure was made only after a considerable review and analysis of the "Black Friday" fiasco.

A company spokesperson has made a statement that the bankruptcy filing was erroneous and for non-US players, withdrawal limits had been increased to facilitate easier closure of accounts. The reason for the bankruptcy report by MSNBC on Wednesday appeared to be a misunderstanding brought about by the fact that Madeira Fjord of Norway was a debt holder on behalf of shareholders. When or if US players will ever be able to make withdrawals from their accounts is still in question – but the company has said that they are still working to facilitate the return these funds.