- Players Suspicious as Superwins.EU Launches on Lock Poker’s Independent Network.
- PokerStars to Remain Poker Only, Rep Confirms.
- “Noticeable Changes” to Game Conditions with PokerStars “Buy-In Obligations” Trial.
We wrap up the week with a rundown of the most read news articles and features from the past seven days on pokerfuse. Never miss a story with our special feature every Saturday.
10. Party Announces “New Jersey Online Poker Championship”
Draft schedule boasts $500,000 in guaranteed prizes across ten events, with a $200,000 Main Event. Partypoker has announced that its NJ network will host the inaugural NJOPC—the “New Jersey Online Poker Championship”—next month.
9. New Jersey Regulators Ease Geolocation Restrictions
888’s CEO says that the DGE has responded with flexibility to operator’s problems with geolocation. Restrictions on the geolocation technology used to determine if online gamblers are within state borders have been relaxed by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) according to Brian Mattingley, CEO of 888 Holdings Plc.
8. Mexican Government Gets to Work on Draft Gambling Bill
The Mexican government is to take a more active role in getting a new gambling bill on the books. The Ministry of the Interior in Mexico has announced plans to establish a National Institute of Gaming and work with the House of Representatives to finalize a draft of new gambling laws.
7. High Stakes Online: In Spite of Viktor Blom’s Volatile Play, He Remains in the Black
Known to the online poker community as Isildur1, Viktor Blom has a reputation for his hyper-aggressive high stakes cash game style—a style that has seen the Full Tilt Pro remain profitable in 2014 in an attempt to build on his 2013 finish of $542,796 in the black.
6. Caesars Continues to Narrow the Gap in New Jersey Online Poker Market
Ultimate Poker posts a 6% increase in internet poker revenues in spite of the short month. The partnership of Caesars and 888 has pulled even closer to the market leading pairing of partypoker and Borgata in revenue generated from online poker in New Jersey.
5. Playtech Founder Wants $100 Million to Compete with Skrill and NETELLER
Entrepreneur Teddy Sagi plans to offer players a better digital wallet. Playtech’s founder, Teddy Sagi, has taken his SafeCharge payment processing company to London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) to raise $100 million. He wants to use the money to launch a digital wallet for use in online gambling transactions.
4. Buy-In Obligations System Rolls Out Across Games and Stakes on PokerStars
All no-limit games up to NL200 now use the anti-ratholing system, and a slow rollout is underway on PLO. PokerStars has been incrementally rolling out its “buy-in obligations” feature across its games and stakes this week.
3. “Noticeable Changes” to Game Conditions with PokerStars “Buy-In Obligations” Trial
Less short-stackers at the NL200 trial, players report. The new system implemented by PokerStars aimed to curb the practice of rat-holing is having a noticeable affect at NL200 where the system is currently trialing, players have reported.
2. PokerStars to Remain Poker Only, Rep Confirms
“'We are poker’ and nothing else” for the foreseeable future, says PokerStars’ Steve Day. Following the addition of casino and slots games to sibling site Full Tilt Poker earlier this year, a representative has confirmed that PokerStars will remain poker-only for the foreseeable future.
1. Players Suspicious as Superwins.EU Launches on Lock Poker’s Independent Network
Lock Poker’s failure to process pending withdrawals generates accusations about the new skin on the network. Superwins.EU is a new online poker room sharing the same liquidity as Lock Poker. Lock left Revolution Gaming amid acrimony last October. Until now it has been the sole site on the network.