SUSPENSION OF eCOGRA SEALS

[jetset]

Lol, yes, I popped in to see player experiences with withdrawals and find the thread is all about ecogra still!

I find the games are disabled, deposits are disabled, and withdrawals are enabled.

Casino Action has meanwhile apparently entered liquidation. I have no idea what the original source of that is, but it's been announced at CAP and their CAP certification has been removed also.

It would look pretty bad for Microgaming not to pay players. It's their time to shine as the most responsible software company.

So far so good, they have kept track of the casino reserves and they acted when the reserves got too low. Not seen that from other software companies.

If Tusk has gone into liquidation , as they notified Microgaming was their intention (see the MGS press release) then it will likely involve delays in players being paid out.

The liquidator will have to conduct an audit to see what can be salvaged and lay that against the obligations in order to arrive at a payout ratio. I would guess that at that stage it would be a MGS decision as to whether it will establish a Player's Trust as it has in the past to make up the difference for the individual player.

[vinylweatherman]

If Tusk has gone into liquidation , as they notified Microgaming was their intention (see the MGS press release) then it will likely involve delays in players being paid out.

The liquidator will have to conduct an audit to see what can be salvaged and lay that against the obligations in order to arrive at a payout ratio. I would guess that at that stage it would be a MGS decision as to whether it will establish a Player's Trust as it has in the past to make up the difference for the individual player.

If the players DON'T get paid, it will be a hammer blow to the credibility of both Microgaming AND eCogra, so I don't think this a likely outcome. What is more likely is a spell of worry for those players with substantial funds tied up there, along with an unspecified delay.
For our non-US friends, this will be a taste of what some US players went through when they woke up that Monday or Tuesday and found their casino accounts locked because groups such as Intercasino told them all was OK on Sunday, and on Monday locked all US accounts, trapping deposits and uncleared bonuses. They got paid, but it was a month of worry. They then had a far worse experience when Neteler did the same, payment took the best part of a YEAR!

Still, not a peep out of Kahnawake yet - where's the investigation into WTF happened while they were "asleep at the wheel"?

UNTIL we know what went wrong, how can we be sure that other "top notch" casino groups sporting eCogra seals or a top reputation are properly funded for the long term. Is this just a "one off" monumental cock-up, or a sign of things to come. Casino Action did NOT pull out of the US market bar those 11 states, and US players were showing up on all three scoreboards, so were certainly depositing and playing to the bitter end.

I do hope someone picks these up, and brings back the "Casino Action" themed events, but runs it properly, with a little more innovation than the last lot. I did notice things just stopped happening when the new team took over. When I met the old team in Vegas they had ideas for the group (and indeed actively sought ideas from players), but when they left, that all ground to a halt.

[jetset]

MICROGAMING ISSUES UPDATE ON TUSK TERMINATION

Liquidator's assessment now awaited

Microgaming has followed up on an earlier announcement that it has terminated its licensing agreement with the Tusk group following the latter's advice that it is seeking liquidation.

The Microgaming update advises as follows:

"Following the termination of the software licence with Tusk Investment Corporation Limited (Tusk), players are understandably experiencing frustration with the lack of information about their accounts with Tusk.

"Microgaming has unfortunately heard nothing further from Tusk itself, and has yet to be advised of the details of the appointment of a liquidator for Tusk. Until a liquidator advises on Tusk’s financial position and ability to pay players and to pay Tusk’s white labels and affiliates, Microgaming is unable to assess the situation.

"This position is quite separate from the Microgaming Poker Network as a whole, which continues to operate as before. Microgaming will of course continue to keep people informed as the situation unfolds."

The Tusk group's "Safe and Fair" seals from the standards and player protection body eCOGRA were pulled some two weeks ago following the discovery of non-compliance irregularities on a routine on-site review by an eCOGRA professional team. Subsequently, Tusk advised Microgaming that it was seeking liquidation, leading to the termination of its software license from Microgaming.

[NASHVEGAS]

Their will be players who will now think eCogra had indeed sat back and "did nothing", and had this blow up in their faces. These will be the significant proportion that do NOT participate in fora, and simply see the seal, and maybe even go so far as to click through to view the certificate.

Good point VWM but even worse, there is one very active member of this forum who as recently as yesterday late afternoon had no clue why she could not play at Golden Reef....imo,you (industry insiders) can blame her or admit where the real problems are....I will continue practice reading between the lines, starting to get pretty good at it just like Dr.Frist! (like the biz as usual post, days ago-OK!!)

[Zeth]

Hi guys this is my first post on this forum. I find the online casino industry fascinating and this forum very informative giving players an informed choice.

Can anyone tell me where the eCOGRA and Microgaming press releases come from as I can not find them publicly available.

Thanks.

[jetset]

Hi guys this is my first post on this forum. I find the online casino industry fascinating and this forum very informative giving players an informed choice.

Can anyone tell me where the eCOGRA and Microgaming press releases come from as I can not find them publicly available.

Thanks.

Hi Zeth - if you go here: www.ecogra.org you will find a news/press section where all releases by that organisation are put up at the same time as they are distributed to the online media. You can also register to receive the releases and newsletters directly.

I'm not sure if Microgaming has the same facility on its website - check that out. I receive the infrequent MGS press releases because I am on their press distribution list.

Players (or for that matter anyone else who is interested in what's going on in the industry) can access relevant news on sites like this one (the weekly Casinomeister news round-up, or items posted from time to time by members who find specific items interesting) or by regularly visiting information portals with good online gambling news feeds, which are numerous.

Among those that are free and usually reasonably up to date (and there are many others) are online casino news.com, betsage.com, reviewed-casinos.com, online-casinos.com, pokerlistings.com and winneronline.com.

[jetset]

Just as a postscript to the above, I should add that online gambling stories and features also appear periodically in the mainstream media.

However, these are usually either business-related articles such as the M&A or financial results of large gambling companies, or only the "big" stories that break.

When it comes to the latter there is a tendency to focus on the negative.

For example, "Gambler Stole from Employer to Pay Gambling Debts" type stories are almost guaranteed of coverage, whilst more mundane but positive items such as responsible gambling initiatives or charitable projects are generally not regarded as especially newsworthy.

What I'm trying to say is that to get as much of the online gambling-specific news as possible some of the information portals or dedicated subscription media like Interactive Gaming News are your best bets.

[chalupa]

What is amazingly ludicrous is the almost complete lack of proactive communication to the innocent players involved.

I guess if Tusk is on the run with a suitcase full of money, that explains why they are mum.

But Red Nines (for example) has never sent me an e-mail. Their entire communication to me is a cryptic "Message of the day" when I try to log on.

Nor has Microgaming, who has arguably the most to lose at this point. Surely they have access to player e-mail addresses, how hard would it be to e-mail us some sort of explanation?

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad this forum is here! But it's ridiculous that we have to scrounge around places like this for information, much of which is of course speculation.

I guess I shouldn't be terribly shocked, it's certainly not the first time companies in this business have been completely boneheaded. How quickly they seem to forget who is paying their bills.

[Zeth]

thanks jetset
I did actually look at the MGS site the other day and the press release wasn't up then but it is now after it was posted on here. I just hope that the players are informed about what is going on and they get their money in a decent time frame. There is so much to this industry it can make your head spin!

[BBKPoker]

I believe Tusk owns Hot Pepper casino and Hot Pepper poker as well. Lots of reports about payment delays, so this is probably related.