Poker In Venice in Financial Trouble
Wednesday June 12,2013 : FINANCIAL TROUBLE AT ‘AFFILIATE-STYLE' POKER NETWORK?
PIV reportedly owes players over Euro 200,000
Online poker fans have to contend with another ‘affiliate-style' poker network controversy this week as reports mount from players who have not been paid for extended periods of time by the Poker In Venice (PIV) multi-software network, and claim on message boards that the company is unable to meet its financial obligations.
The network is licensed by the LGA in Malta, a regulator that does not enjoy a good reputation among players for policing its licensees or being effective in assisting with player issues.
Players on the twoplustwo message board are currently exchanging experiences with a view to banding together to recover monies allegedly owed to them by PIV, believed to exceed Euro 200,000.
Network spokesmen have indicated that financial difficulties caused by "third parties" are at the root of the pay-out problems, yet PIV has continued to accept deposits and was offering bonuses as recently as this month.
And in May the company referred players to the P2B affiliate network skin Tempura Poker.com to play their PIV account balances…but only under conditions that included generating three quarters of the value of their balances in rake!
P2B is part of the Goal Gaming group run by an Italian entrepreneur Francesco Merighi
Coming so quickly on the heels of the problems at Muchos Poker – another multi-software network – trust in this sort of business operation must be strained, and in fact Muchos Poker may itself be embroiled in the PIV debacle. Here's an excerpt from a PIV lawyer's letter sent to an aggrieved player:
"Without Prejudice
"I have been instructed by PIVGAME Ltd (the “Company”) to reply to your latest email.
"My client has confirmed that all monies pertaining to your account are held by Muchos Poker or for Muchos’ account and not PIVGAME Ltd. PIVGAME Ltd has terminated its arrangement with Muchos in October 2012 and therefore your claim should be directed to Muchos."
Muchos Poker has denied this claim, and has troubles of its own, having been recently banned from the iPoker Network
The online poker information site 4Flush has warned players about the situation, explaining that PIV offers access to six different networks, including Ongame, InstaDeal, Merge Gaming, Revolution Gaming, Enet and Play2B.
In this affiliate-style model, players deposit into Poker in Venice, and the money is then transferred between the networks and skins when a player wishes to move to another network. PIV players could also cash out directly through Poker in Venice.
Sites involved are believed to include Target Poker, 4Donk, PokerXE and Howdy Poker.
The Play2B network sends players to networks like Revolution and Ongame.
Read the developing PIV story at:
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29/news-views-gossip/poker-venice-network-robbing-players-massive-amounts-1337246/
