On the eve of its 10th anniversary in the online poker world, Poker Stars online poker room released a statement via its corporate blog, explaining how its separates its players’ funds from the accounts that are used for operational expenses in the day to day running of the site. The statement did a good job in reiterating Poker Stars’ dedication to bringing its players a safe and secure gaming environment, and at the same time highlighted the inadequacies of Full Tilt Poker, and the way this site is dealing with its players’ funds fiasco which has been ongoing since April this year.
According to its statement, Poker Stars said that it operates strictly according to the requirements spelled out by its gambling jurisdiction, the Isle of Man, where “any player owned funds (deposits and winnings) are ring-fenced from the operating funds of the company and held securely in segregated bank accounts.”
Following this policy to the tee allowed Poker Stars to come out of Black Friday practically unscathed in terms of paying its players the money back as soon as physically possible. In sharp contrast, players at Full Tilt Poker are still waiting for their funds to be paid back, and, while there might be a little bit more hope since management announced a potential deal with a French investment company, to date, none of the estimated $150 million has been paid back.
In the statement, Poker Stars spelled out the process that takes place on a daily basis, where funds are segregated and locked. “Any risk associated with a disruption to the player fund system – caused by a delinquent payment processor, or a bankrupt bank, or a government action – is borne by PokerStars, because funds to cover such disruption would come out of our operating income, not player funds,” read the statement.