Winning Poker Network Departs Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware Markets
The US-facing Winning Poker Network, which ranks second or third in player traffic among all sites accepting American online poker players, has announced that it will be withdrawing access to its services for Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware players.
The three US states are those which have already approved and introduced officially regulated intrastate online poker for its residents, with interstate action for Nevada and Delaware players also approved and under development. The announcement signifies that the Winning Poker Network will likely avoid all such regulated US states in the future.
The three states join Maryland, Kentucky and Washington State in being blocked by WPN, with those other states already locked out due to antagonistic legal efforts in those jurisdictions that have targeted offshore online poker sites.
America’s Cardroom is likely the largest of the US-facing WPN skins, with True Poker and Black Chip Poker also accepting Americans and being confirmed as part of today’s limited pullout. The Winning Poker Network includes at least 11 skins in all, though not all WPN skins accept US play. Other WPN skins include 5Dimes, BetCRIS, BookMaker.eu, IslandCasino, LadsPoker, PokerKing, SuperStackPoker and YaPoker.
Affected players quickly confirmed the network’s withdrawal from the three states, which was announced in a series of e-mails distributed by the major skins listed above, and announced in limited forum posters by site representatives. According to an ACR statement, which was identical to the sent e-mails:
A message to players in New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware
Our goal at Americas Cardroom is to build a poker community where players come first. But we also strive to play fairly. As a result, our network has decided to stop serving players in New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware due to the availability of a regulated poker market in those states.
Winning Poker Network has traditionally offered online poker players around the World access to play the game they love, even where there is no expressed licensing/regulation of local operators.
Within the US, the States of Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey have stepped up to allow their respective residents to play on licensed, local State poker sites. Those States have chosen to meet the demand for online poker locally, exclusively.
Accordingly, the Winning Poker Network has determined to decline offering services to residents seeking to play from those three States which have expressly legalized online poker, effective immediately. Players already accessing WPN who reside in those States will have access to their accounts to close out their balances. Real money play from residents in those states will no longer be permitted.
Identical e-mails substituting “True Poker” or “Black Chip Poker” in place of “America’s Cardroom” went out to affected players on those sites.
No timeframe was given for affected players in receiving withdrawals, once their requests have been placed, though ACR and the other WPN skins have ranked highly in turnaround times over the past two years. The brief statement also does not include, at this time, any deadline for when players must initiate a withdrawal of their online balances.
The Winning Poker Network is based in and operates out of Costa Rica, one of the major offshore hubs for sites that offer real-money action to US-based players.
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