By August Darnell | August 21, 2009

On Friday, it was revealed that Eurolinx and BetOnBet, two popular online poker sites that make their home on the Microgaming Network, were being liquidated by parent company Linx Media Group and are no longer in operation. As expected, online poker players were up in arms at the news, as doubt about the availability of funds for cashouts emerged. The same day, the Microgaming Network issued a press statement labeling the two sites, as well as Linx Casino, “insolvent.”

Text found on Microgaming’s website simply reads, “Microgaming announced today that it has terminated its software license agreements with the Linx Media Group, with immediate effect. It has been advised that the group Companies are insolvent. Microgaming is presently gathering all facts relating to this matter and will provide further announcements as and when information becomes available.” The Isle of Man-based network advised players to contact the liquidator of the Linx Media Group properties when one is assigned.

In May, online poker players on the TwoPlusTwo forums had been swapping stories about lengthy cashouts from Eurolinx. On May 19th, member “Anycall” claimed, “I am having trouble too. I requested a bank wire withdrawal on April 21 and still no $. I talked to the live support and was told someone from the finance team would contact me. No response yet.” One day later, TwoPlusTwo poster “TwoSixSooted” forecasted Friday’s events, which rocked the online poker community: “I’m really hoping that this is just an extended delay and not a repeat of the past Microgaming fiasco. I have $20k wrapped up on there.”

TwoSixSooted, Anycall, and others will now closely monitor the situation in order to determine when claims against Eurolinx, BetOnBet, and Linx Casino can be made. The latter was launched in late April, just four months ago, and now finds itself entering liquidation. Last year, players ran into similar issues with Tusk Investment Corporation, which operated six online casinos and 28 online poker rooms. All had their licenses ended by the Microgaming Network in a similar fashion to what occurred on Friday. One TwoPlusTwo poster, “jokotokolino,” commented that he had $140,000 on Eurolinx after winning $30,000 last week.

Visitors to Eurolinx’s website on Friday were not met with the usual fleet of attractive promotions and inviting images. Instead, seven sentences of black and white text were displayed, opening with, “The Linx Media Group has today announced that it is seeking to put its businesses into liquidation and will cease trading with immediate effect.” Player funds are being held by each site, which offers little immediate relief to players.

The Microgaming Network is the eighth largest on the Web with a seven-day running average of 1,760 real money ring game players, according to PokerScout.com. At the time of writing, which is around 11:00pm throughout much of Europe, over 3,200 cash game players have descended upon its virtual felts. Prior to Friday’s liquidation notice, customers from Eurolinx and BetOnBet had battled against online poker enthusiasts from other Microgaming Network sites such as 32 Red Poker, Betway, Canbet, Carlos Poker, Cool Hand Poker, Gnuf, Intertops Poker, Nordic Bet, PokerTime, PokerWize, Spin Palace, and Unibet.

An unnamed spokesperson for the Linx Media Group commented in a statement that appears on Eurolinx’s website, “It is with great regret that we make this announcement. I appreciate the concern and frustration that this will inflict on the Eurolinx, BetOnBet, and Linx Casino player community. Affected account holders are those individuals who have agreed to a contractual relationship with the Linx Media Group through Eurolinx, BetOnBet, and Linx Casino. All available player funds are held by these businesses.”

We’ll keep you posted on the latest Eurolinx and BetOnBet liquidation information right here on TightPoker.com.

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