Online poker players in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware have recently been made aware that they are no longer able to play at the Equity Poker Network’s (EPN) flagship skin Full Flush Poker, as it is shutting down its real money play to residents in these regulated states, which is effective immediately.
As of right now, it is not known yet whether other skins on the network such as Action Poker or Integer Poker are also exiting the regulated U.S. market, although it would be assumed they would, as this decision wouldn’t have been made lightly.
Full Flush Poker (FFP) have issued a statement saying that they will no longer be offering real money games to players in the U.S. regulated states. This is the second poker network to have exited the US regulated market in a matter of weeks with the Winning Poker Network doing the exact same thing for skins on its own network.
There is no doubt that EPN’s decision to shut down its services was made for the same reasons as other networks that have pulled out of the U.S. regulated market, so as to avoid trouble from the U.S. Department of Justice for operating an unregulated online poker site.
The Merge Poker Network also made the decision to pull out of the U.S. regulated market back in March, blocking accounts from restricted states, so the only US-facing network in the unregulated market that still accepts online poker players in these regulated states is Bovada Poker.
Part of the problem was that regulated poker sites who are operating in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware are unhappy about the fact that these unregulated operators accepting players in these regulated states are not held to the same standards and rules as those that have gone through the process of being approved by state gaming regulators. Due to the stricter requirements in creating online poker accounts on regulated sites, it has resulted in some players preferring to play at these unregulated poker sites.
According to an official press release posted on EquityPokerNetwork.com’s website, “FFP operates with its players foremost in mind, and fair play for all customers is paramount.” The press release also noted that, “With these principles in mind, the recreational online poker site has decided to stop serving players who reside in New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware due to the availability of a regulated poker market in those states.”
A spokesperson for the online poker site added that FFP has “taken this action in order to ensure that the vast majority of our customers, who do not reside in New Jersey, Nevada, or Delaware, continue to have access to our site and to enjoy playing the game that they love without disruption or inconvenience.”
Fortunately, the changes to FFP’s policies will not be as disastrous as what happened with players affected by the PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and UB/AP fiasco. The affected accounts will still be able to cash out their funds by regaining access to their accounts to make withdrawals. In fact, players located in Nevada, New Jersey or Delaware would have already received an email with information about this announcement, as it came to light on Thursday, as well as details on how they can arrange for processing a withdrawal request to cash out their funds. Full Flush has assured the players in these affected U.S. regulated states that their cash outs will be done in a timely fashion and that they can expect to be paid out in full.