Unfortunate two weeks for the poker room

Lotteries and Gaming Authority, the Malta regulator, announced suspension of operating licence for 5050Poker on Thursday as a sequel of the Microgamings decision to pull the poker companys software licence for violation of contracts involving financial liabilities.

LGA also stated that a complaints procedure for owed players was available, re-assuring industry experts that the authority has learnt its lesson following the miserable handling of the recent Purple Lounge failure.

The previous two weeks saw a series of unfortunate events for the poker room which abruptly went offline claiming unfair treatment on new table restrictions reportedly imposed by Microgaming Poker Network.

The process continued with networks suspension of 5050Pokers software licence on the grounds of contract violation and finally ended with this week’s termination of the 5050Poker contract by Microgaming. The last blow for 5050Poker was the LGA’s suspension of its operating licence.

As usual, the players remain in the state of uncertainty with many saying that they have credit balances or withdrawals mid-process, while 5050Poker gave an unclear statement about liquidation assessments and legal action against Microgaming.

LGA licensees Purple Lounge and Everleaf recently collapsed leaving players suspicious about the authoritys willingness and ability to protect their interests, particularly in view of licensee oversight and segregated player accounts. The prompt reaction in case of 5050Poker slightly improved the LGAs image with majority of players still being very cautious.