Great. Started back there a month ago, I was under the impression them having a UK licence basically gaurnteed my funds were safe.

This should be a huge red flag. I have asked the UKGC to stop sites only segregating UK funds as this does not really meet the Basic protection.

Basic protection, segregating th funds is no real protection in the event of insolvency but it does mean that they can't use player funds as working capital. It means player funds would be available for the administrator to distribute to ALL CREDITORS of which players are one.

If the site says they only segregate UK player funds it means thatthey are already using ROW player funds as working capital and so are far riskier both in terms of the riskof insolvency but also because there will be less cash for distribution post insolvency.

Good info as usual Richas. Wish I'd done some extra research prior to depositing. Any MG skins left that are actually safe?

Shocked at the situation though, makes the whole process of segregating UK player funds useless.

This is so bad.

Sorry if this is stating the obvious Richas touched on it...The fact that the players effectively become creditors is not a good spot to be in because PKR or the parent company (the adminstrator in actual fact) can't be seen to pay 'preferential creditors' I.e pay players because they feel bad - as that would be illegal and other creditors could cause a problem. In my experience with insolvency (it's awful) banks/loans with 1st charge come first then paid staff members (who are protected by the Gov & those who worked there for long period of time will get redundancy money but it's not a lot), then the creditors - who likely see nothing depending on how much money is owed & how bad it really is.

It sucks but you can't just pay any creditor you like as it's illegal and when in administration the adminstrator becomes the 'owner' or the shot caller - not the nice people at PKR. Players would just be another creditor. It's not in PKR's hands at all when in adminstaration - the administrator does what's best for the company and tries to recover money and has no preferences.

To think that all those years ago I kept considerable money there is terrifying thinking it was completely safe.

Good luck to those getting paid.

This is not a big worry. The funds are held in trust for players only and not accessible by Stars or their creditors.

Stars can't guarantee every player every penny as it woud only kick in if Stars went busto. In that case the Trust is responsible for making payments, distributing all the funds. That is a significant task, checking that the players claiming are the account holders, transferring the money etc etc. There would be costs involved but Stars would not exist to pay that admin bill. The costs would have to come from the cah in trust - this would be pennies on the pound, plus some cash may never be returned as the accounts are completely dormant but the trust can't use that extra in case the real owner turns up.

This admin hit would be pennnies on the pound or a fixed amount per account (I'd prefer pennies on the pound but if the fee was fixed it would wipe out some claimants with negligible balances that cost more to distribute than the total, lowering the admin cost).

With a trust arrangement you'd lose peennies on the pound, with segregated accounts you'd get pennies on te pound.

Is it perfect? No but it is pretty damn good.

I can't see Ladbrokes, or Grosvenor going busto anytime soon..

I saw this news last night and am deeply saddened. This site had so much potential but some bad luck and some poor decisions have clearly left if with no alternative.

It was the site that encouraged me to play online poker regularly, the one that gave me opportunity to build a bankroll and then move on to make a living at the game for 5 years and the one that I met so many great people through (staff and players) at the tables, on the forums and at live events.

Although I've not even logged in since about 2013, I will always remember it fondly and wonder why with all of it's unique features in the industry it didn't hold. I guess it's just another nail in the coffin of online poker (especially if players don't get there money back).

RIP PKR and fingers crossed for all the players out there looking for their cash.

Nor can I. Big listed firms have a pretty low risk of insolvency and share price would act as a warning but here is a quandry for you.

Ladbrokes and Coral have merged. They are the same firm. Meanwhile your cash at Coral is in a HIGH level of protection, if you have a Ladbrokes account it is MEDIUM. TBF post merger the Ladbrokes has gone up from basic to the complex medium semi trust/insurance that is more likely to challenge from other creditors and the administrator than HIGH.

Quandry...how does this make any sense at all for the same firm operating two brands?

Who were you ?

Shame. I remember back in 'the good old days' they used to have a table broadcast on the Poker Channel (or was it Poker Night Live?). Anyway, hope all get their funds back.

Betvictor, Betsson group, Nordicbet and Stan James. Would be quite shocked if one of these sites went down.

Ha good times. Giveyourcash here. You always seemed to be crushing in my recollection. Weirdly run site that made odd business decisions but man was it soft.

Oh yh I remember you we met in vegas briefly iirc. You disappeared. Yeh I did very well there for a long period of time was amazing (in hindsight) - I think I was the first natural bumhunter of the site long before it was even a thing.

Interesting to see you're a mod here!

Nordicbet is part of Betsson group.

RedKings seems solid too. Never had any problems with them. That said I wouldn't keep more than 20 buy-ins on any site. You can desposit at any time for free anyway so what's the point.

Yep my bad. And forget about rk allso.

Such a shame, I was a regular on the site for a couple of years before they joined Microgaming and can't say anything bad about them, If anything they were too generous for their size. The software was not very multitable friendly so it stopped a lot of volume grinders from playing, but people like me who could look past that, had a good run on the site. Once they joined Microgaming there was little to no incentive for me to stay with them. I can imagine their base of UK customers wasn't enough to keep them going. Truly a shame it had to end like this.

It doesn't. Mr Coral just wants a bigger piece of the pie.

Not complaining though because they no longer held my old Ladborkes account on the computer in the shop so was able to open a new one with free bets and deposit bonuses : )

So many people feeling sorry for the company but not many concerned about players money being lost.

Interpoker closed down a few years back and all players were paid out. They were a stand-up company who were well run. The writing must have been on the wall for PKR for a long time. It's the players who are likely to lose out that you should be feeling sorry for.

http://forums.pkr.com/discussion/637...gregated-funds
old (2012) thread from pkr forums where a forum moderator (not an actual pkr staff) says
No one from the staff commented though

and on another thread while talking about the merge with mpn and players' funds, the CEO of PKR said (feb 2016)
http://forums.pkr.com/discussion/com...Comment_886833

Its not really that - a lot of ppl who have fond memories of the site and what it did for their lives are going to be nostalgic when a site shuts. For me personally, it changed my life and had a butterfly effect for things that are happening now in my life. I turned pro there and then went onto other things all from really a $100 deposit, I was beta tester in 2006 and stayed until 2013 when I moved on from full-time poker. Of course I'm going to be nostalgic about it - also the day to day staff have nothing to do with it, some are friends and went above and beyond for the players (VIP manager & event organisers in particular,) they are likely just as surprised and in a bad spot just as some of the players are. However its easy for me to say with no $ there, at one point I had >6figs sitting there and was assured it was safe. I would not be so nostalgic/dreamy about it if it were tied up now I assure you.

The fact an administrator has come in means its not in PKR's hands at all and they shouldve let players know before they filed for administration, but im not sure that's legal and most likely mass withdrawals wouldve raised flags.

I seriously hope the players get their money as a lot of people involved in the company would be tainted for life - some very wealthy & respected individuals are behind the company/its initial investment. But as said its not really up to them, more so the administrator.

These "wealthy and respected individuals" had the option to pay off all players/creditors before closing down the right way, they chose to protect their own interests instead.

Really sucks for anyone with money there. Could end up getting a tiny percentage back if the company is liquidated - after the lawyers/accountants involved in the process get paid first of course. This has happened on Microgaming a few times, Tusk, Purple Lounge, probably forgetting one too.

That bolded sentence is just wtf

You hope the players get their money.....so that the owners and investors aren't tainted?

Maybe I worded that wrong. What I meant to say was: I hope players get their money and I'm surprised given that the people behind the company are well respected and wouldnt want their name tainted by this **** show.

I hope so too. Sadly I can't think of a time where something like this happened and players funds were repaid.

Haven't played in years but had some great fun back in the day