Lock Poker, a US-facing online poker room that takes too long to process payouts and makes empty promises that it will pay its winners at the earliest possible, has witnessed a 15% drop in player traffic to its cash games.

According to the available data at PokerScout.com, action at Lock Poker’s cash game tables has reduced considerably as the site gets a weekly average of only 34 players. Interestingly, Lock Poker’s traffic increased by 14% in the first half of last month.

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One may feel that Lock Poker lost its traffic because players have come to know that the site takes too long to process payouts and is therefore unreliable. However, this is not the case as a number of casual players never bother to read poker updates and news available at poker news portals.

Lock Poker has failed to pay hundreds of poker winners. In fact, it is estimated to owe players as much as $1 million in poker winnings. In April, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) wrote to Lock Poker demanding reasons for the delay in processing payouts, but Lock Poker has failed to reply to the letter.

Meanwhile, the operators of Lock Poker haven’t stopped promoting the brand. They recently launched a new promotion called “Battle-X,” in which players who make a deposit by inputting the bonus code “Battle-X” will receive a “200% deposit bonus, up to $1,000, redeemable up to 6 times.”

No reputed online poker rooms offer such large bonuses, and the fact that Lock Poker is offering such a bonus should serve as a warning to players. The chances of players cashing out that bonus are remote, as indicated by the hundreds of furious former Lock Poker players who speak out their mind at Two Plus Two Forums, on a thread titled “Lock Poker Payout Scam.”

If online poker rooms such as a Lock Poker should cease to exist, the US federal government should quickly pass proper poker laws. Currently, US players who play for real money at unregulated online poker rooms and are unable to withdraw their winnings cannot even approach a court of law.

A number of organizations such as Coalition for Consumer and Online Protection and the PPA are now fighting for online poker legalization in the US. Meanwhile, players need to be made aware of the dangers of signing up and playing for real money at online poker rooms such as Lock Poker.