Player Funds Were Not Protected at Ongame Network

The Ongame network, formerly owned by bwin.party, was recently acquired by the Amaya Gaming Group in late 2012. According to reports that have now surfaced since the acquisition, the Ongame network was low on cash and lacked severely in the player fund protection category at the time of the deal. According to Pokerfuse, bwin.party had a very low percentage of the cash needed to cover the deposits made by members of the network.

The new owner of the Ongame network, Amaya Gaming, recently published the financial records of Ongame. The first quarter report showed the financial totals from the day the acquisition took place and revealed that bwin.party had only 31% of the funds to pay player deposits. The financial records showed the company held only $4.9 million and both cash and cash equivalents while the company needed to have $15.7 million to cover player deposits.

In the past, bwin.party has always stated that player funds were safe at Ongame. And players have never had to worry about their cash in the past. When bwin.party had to withdraw from the United States after the passage of UIGEA, every deposit was returned to players in the US and other cash options that paid for certain promotions that players were involved in as well. At the time, the company actually went above and beyond what most other rooms could have given the situation.

Pokerfuse spoke with Amaya’s CEO David Baazov regarding the segregated player funds to separate accounts since the sale of Ongame that essentially ensure that players deposits are protected by the company. Baazov stated:

“Amaya operates as a single operating and reporting entity and guarantees the liabilities of all its subsidiaries including those of Ongame.”

The financial documents are certainly a rare look behind the scenes and show how Ongame provided a low quality of player protection based on certain regulations. The Ongame account was in conformation of the International Accounting Standards and was also in line with the regulations put in place by the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority.

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