The player safety measure to prevent operators from dipping into player funds

Nevada’s rigorous requirements regarding the use of trust funds to segregate poker player deposits and accounts from operator funds has once again proved to be necessary, especially with the recent debacles at Full Tilt, Purple Lounge and 5050 Poker.

It was extremely naive from regulators in the above three player disasters to rely on operator reportage to ensure that requirements are met, so Nevada has imposed an oversight regime stricter than that applied to land gambling operators in the state.

Therefore, Nevada will require from online poker operators to keep player funds in separate trusts, from which the operator is completely excluded in terms of ownership, title or interest.

Those trusts will be audited by an independent monitoring system protected from any temptation that an operator with even a temporary cash flow problem may be experiencing.

In case an operator does dip into player funds, the consequences could be serious and even criminal, and probably any awarded licence would be immediately suspended.

Unlike recent failures, the funds held in trusts would be entirely separate from the company’s assets and ownership, so that players can be paid in full, instead of having to take their place in a queue of creditors.