- Lock sent an e-mail to players announcing that their withdrawals had been canceled.
- Players were informed that funds received via P2P (peer-to-peer) transfer were no longer eligible for removal from the online poker site.
- A Lock representative said the “enforcement of the transfer terms is due to an influx of players abusing the transfer tool solely for bulk withdrawals.”
- The rep later stated, “this does not mean players who have received transfers will never be able to cash out.”
Lock Poker, flagship site of the Revolution Gaming Network suffered a blow to its reputation late last week after the site sent a widespread e-mail to many players announcing that their withdrawals had been canceled, and that funds received by these players via P2P (peer-to-peer) transfer were no longer eligible for removal from the online poker site.
According to Lock spokesman Shane Bridges, posting in a Lock-sponsored forum at 2+2, the move is in response to what Lock described as “people masquerading as affiliates who in reality weren’t actually referring players but were working together to drive down transfer values and buying up huge amounts of Lock funds then attempting to use their status as 'affiliates’ to get cashouts as fast as possible.”
Lock’s move is an apparent effort to punish affiliates and site players who have purchased existing Lock balances via private deal-making on third-party sites.
The general market price for such unofficial sales of Lock funds has dropped below fifty cents on the dollar, directly correlating to lengthy withdrawal delays being reported by players, which have exceeded four months for US-based players and an inexplicable two months or longer for ROW (rest-of-world) players.
Lock canceled numerous high-dollar withdrawals, many of which were reported as the maximum amount allowed by Lock, $10,000. Many of these withdrawals were also cancelled weeks or months after the initial withdrawal requests were made.
One inquiring player received a simple email stating: “Thank you for your reply, there are no wagering requirements; player transfers are ineligible for payouts. Should you require any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us.”
The stated policy in Lock’s terms of service requires that transferred balances must go through a 1:1 playthrough requirement. Withdrawals that failed to meet that requirement had previously been assessed a penalty of 15%, a penalty that held most third-party acquisitions of Lock funds in check, until the secondary market price for Lock funds sagged.
Bridges subsequently offered explanations for how removing the incentive for many of the buyers to purchase Lock funds would thereby cause the price of Lock funds to rise, despite the seeming violation of basic economic principles.
Instead, the real effect appears to be the arbitrary installation of a de facto ban on third-party transfers that are designed to aid in withdrawing money from the Lock economy, instead of keeping it in circulation—and generating rake—on the site itself.
Bridges and Lock accused many of the purchasers of intentionally driving down the price of Lock funds by spreading negative rumors about the site on discussion forums, then using their status as affiliates to jump to the front of Lock’s abnormally long withdrawal line.
Lock also accepted no responsibility for allowing its affiliates special withdrawal privileges which may have had the effect of shuffling regular players farther back in the months-long queue, nor did they explain how the combining of many smaller withdrawals into a few larger ones could adversely affect withdrawal processing times.
Bridges, posting for Lock, described the cancellation of withdrawals as an “increase in the enforcement of the transfer terms is due to an influx of players abusing the transfer tool solely for bulk withdrawals, negatively impacting withdrawal times for actual players.”
However, nowhere in Lock’s terms is a withdrawal cancellation described, especially one applied retroactively.
If followed through, the no-cashout policy regarding large-transfer accounts would transform the acquired funds into something akin to a “sticky” bonus (with no actual bonus value), which could never be cashed out.
Bridges subsequently attempted to backpedal in a follow-up post on Sunday, writing, “I have confirmed this morning that this does not mean players who have received transfers will never be able to cash out. I’m still waiting to hear how it will work exactly, as soon as I have that information I will come back in here with it.”
However, Bridges was unable to offer details on why any pre-existing withdrawals should have been cancelled in apparent violation of the site’s own TOS.
The move by Lock has been universally panned in poker media and player commentary. Interestingly, CalvinAyre.com, in the latest of a series of scathing attacks on Lock Poker and its CEO, Jennifer Larson, surmised that Lock’s action could even be an intentional move in an effort to defraud players. The war between the Bodog/Bovada-related site and Lock’s primary executives has continued for at least two years.
Overall traffic at Revolution Gaming has dropped nearly 40% in the past three months. Combined with the retroactive nature of the withdrawal cancellations, the liquidity of the network and the proper segregation of player balances remain issues of concern.