Microgaming is refuting claims that it fined 5050 Poker before removing them from their network. That may not matter much because early this week, 5050 poker announced that they would be liquidating their assets and shutting down amid allegations of money mis-managment.
How it Went Down
The bad blood between the two companies started last month when 5050 announced that they had been fined €150,000. According to posting on 5050’s site, the fine was for, “having too many winning players.”
In a press release, Microgaming officials state that the money in question wasn’t a fine, but rather a rake re-distribution. This sort of redistribution is common on poker networks and shouldn’t have been a surprise to 5050 officials.
The Rest of the Story
A posting on the 5050 website labelled, Liquidation of 5050 Poker Ltd, makes it clear that Microgaming was the least of the company’s problems. Here’s what they had to say:
- The operational costs of 5050 Poker Ltd has for a long time exceeded the revenues, resulting in players’ funds being used in the operations of the company.
- This has been enhanced by the fact that Microgaming, has been fining 5050 Poker Ltd. In excess of € 150.000, that incorrectly has been withdrawn from the players’ accounts.
- The reason why this has gone undetected is that the Board of Directors of 5050 Poker Holding AB has, from the management of 5050 Poker Ltd. and the auditors of the company, been presented with false information on the size of the players’ fund, the costs of operation as well as the size of the company’s assets.
On that same posting came word that 5050 CEO Patrick Sjögren has been relieved of his duties. There’s no word on whether any sort of criminal charges or civil suits will be brought about and, as of this writing, no one at 5050 has been accused of any wrongdoing.
What About the Players?
5050 had a reputation as a site for experienced players who won big pots on a regular basis, so it’s believed that a large amount of money was sitting in player accounts. As of now, their website reports that those players can only expect to recover about 15% of the money in their accounts.
What could have been done to prevent the problems at 5050? Share your thoughts on our Online Gambling Newswire Forum.