Poker rooms going bust

zap27

Now that we’re in recession has there been an increase in the amount of smaller rooms going bust? I opened an account with Bing Poker on the Boss network during the summer without depositing. I came back a month later and it had been closed down.

Whats the situation if you have cash in your account and the room goes bust-will you get it back, do they let you know they are fooked before they actually close? I used to just let my cash build up as much as possible (most I ever had at one point was about €700) but now I find myself cashing out a lot more regularly. Don’t really want to be doing this as it affects bank roll management but I don’t play on one of the bigger networks/rooms so I was a little concerned when I saw this.

Anyone any experience of rooms going belly up?

TommyGunne

Does anyone know where card rooms invest your deposited funds?

zap27

They are probably subject to credit lines as well and thats something that is causing SME companies particular stress at the moment given the credit crunch. Traffic on the Boss network has remained the same for the last 6-8 months as far as i can see.

10,000 players at peak down to 3,000 off peak but theres no way to tell which room has the most or least players.

dacman

TommyGunne wrote: »

Does anyone know where card rooms invest your deposited funds?

They dont AFAIK

Macspower

It's always been a concern for me since the time Maestros poker closed after 3 weeks in operation with 10 k of my funds on it...

went to log on one day and the site was gone and no one answering phone calls or mails...
I really was panicing about it.. but luckily and in fairness to them I got a phone call from them some hours later telling me that they had closed down and would do everything they could to get my funds to me ASAP... next day they phones again and got my bank account details and I had ot play the waiting game for a few days until the transfer arrived.. was a worrying time.. I kept thinking what if I never hear from them again? what do i do then? they were based in Sweden and registered in Malta AFAIK and gl chasing them there....

So I think it is a genuine concern in particular with sites offering large rakeback deals that they can't afford.. There is security with the likes of stars/full tilt/paddy power and other due to their size but you have to trade off the security for deals... other companies like GJP and Leprechaun and prob lots more I also feel are secure as their funds are held by larger companies like blue square and better poker... So I think they should be fine too.. but just an opinion

I never got the money I had on microgaming the time they closed my site but it wasn't a lot so didn't chase it..

interested in opinions on this too

Mr. Flibble

Lottery takings go up during recessions. I suspect poker site takings may follow a similar pattern.

looserock

I lost €1100 on red nines when that closed.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/28/internet-gambling/battlefield-poker-27-other-microgaming-skins-close-141341/index178.html

zap27

What ways did you try and get it back-what were you told?

edit-cant view 2plus2 at work-presume explanation there!

Macspower

looserock wrote: »

I lost €1100 on red nines when that closed.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/28/internet-gambling/battlefield-poker-27-other-microgaming-skins-close-141341/index178.html

this is the same crowd I lost a few bob on.. I didn't make any effort really to get it back as it was a small amount... If it was larger I'd have had to pursue it. I know a few other boardsies got caught by them as well..

hotspur

Mr. Flibble wrote: »

Lottery takings go up during recessions. I suspect poker site takings may follow a similar pattern.

Unlikely, although not straightforward gambling is elastic and it is the case that brick and mortar casinos suffer in economic downturns. I've never seen data either way on how it affects online gambling. People should be spending less but on the other hand people should be going out less which might incline them to play more online - just like in economic downturns off-licences prosper at the expense of pubs.

Because it has thusfar been a growth industry it makes it difficult to abstract the effects of the economy from other factors, but I imagine that online poker sites revenue would decrease during recessions as fish won't be reloading as much.

I would be reluctant to keep a large amount of money on any small poker site if the amount was very important to you. It's not my intention to single out any firm but in response to Macspower I wouldn't sleep any easier at night because the company holding my Leprechaun poker money was Better.

The only way you can feel totally safe is if the company keep an amount equivalent to all player's current balances in a separate guaranteed account with a reputable bank. This is not the norm however.

TommyGunne

dacman wrote: »

They dont AFAIK

:eek: Is this for legal reasons? I always assumed they did. Seems insane to me that they don't. Even in AAA securitised CDOs. Cos they're as safe as houses.

Also AFAIK firms based in malta now have to guarantee funds in some way. Not sure of exact details....

DubTony

TommyGunne wrote: »

Even in AAA securitised CDOs. Cos they're as safe as houses.

.

:eek::eek::eek:

looserock

zap27 wrote: »

What ways did you try and get it back-what were you told?

edit-cant view 2plus2 at work-presume explanation there!

There was a receiver appointed pretty quickly, I filled out a proof of death form, put it down as a bad beat and moved on.