These sorts of stories seem to play out way too often. Online poker room goes out of business, customers are left holding the bag. In the ongoing case of Europoker.com, though, the story is slightly different. Europoker’s ownership actually has the ability to pay out player deposits; it is the extra goodies that are at issue right now.
Europoker used to be part of the Ongame Network, a once solid network (home to the old PokerRoom.com) that has quietly faded far from prominence following its sale on multiple occasions since Black Friday. A top ten/top five network many years ago, it is now barely in the top forty, according to PokerScout, as many of its member rooms either closed or jumped ship to different networks. The only two “names” left of the 16 rooms on the network are Betsson and the shriveled husk of Paradise Poker.
Europoker moved to the iPoker’s French network in 2014, but the move proved useless, as the site closed that September. Europoker.fr parent EPMEDIA France declared bankruptcy shortly thereafter.
Now, aside from having to find somewhere else to play, the bankruptcy filing wasn’t necessarily all that bad for Europoker customers, as French online poker law requires poker sites to hold customer deposits in accounts segregated from operating funds. Europoker complied with this law, so money that players had on deposit with the poker site have been safe, ready to withdraw.
If the story ended there, it would be great for customers, but alas, it doesn’t. Part of the law also states that the value of things like loyalty points and awards also needed to be set aside with the player deposits. Europoker did not bother with that part of it. It is thought that the regular deposits balances owed to Europoker France players approaches €500,000, while the value of the loyalty points, rewards, and the like, is over €200,000. That €200,000 is the topic of controversy.
To over-simplify what will go on during the bankruptcy process, EPMEDIA’s assets will be liquidated in order to pay as many creditors as possible. Player deposits are safe, since they are not an asset of the site. The problem, though, is that since Europoker did not also keep the cash value of the loyalty rewards, that amount is at risk of disappearing, spread amongst the creditors that get paid back. Players have argued that the value of those loyalty rewards should be given to players and not be included in what is paid to creditors.
Charles Coppolani, president of ARJEL, France’s online gambling regulatory body, told players he would meet with them to discuss matters back in 2014, but he never has. ARJEL has said that it feels that loyalty reward values should go to the players, but has never really used any sort of clout to try to help. Instead, according to PokerIndustryPro, some players have testified in front of the bankruptcy court. It looks like it will be up to that court to determine who is going to get those funds.
