It’s tough being an online poker room. Many start up with big dreams of becoming the next PokerStars or Party Poker, only to find the traffic numbers lacking and no revenues in sight to continue with operations. Many online poker rooms have come and gone and it is never a surprise when a new poker room calls it quits based on popularity issues. Established brands already have a solid reputation so unless a new poker room has a celebrity backer or offers amazing incentives, players will remain where they are.
It is surprising to hear when an established online poker room decides to shut down. It has just come to light that Poker Heave will be closing down on the 12th of November, after serving ten years as an online poker gaming provider. A statement on the website says that the increased market regulation across Europe as well as other environmental factors have led to the closure.
The online poker site will be accessible to players until the 12th but after that day, all game play will cease to take place. Players will then need to take out any monies from their account as soon as possible. Poker Heaven has stated that their cashier will be open until the 19th of November.
Once the 19th has come and gone, Poker Heaven says the following will take place:
Basically, players are advised to take out their money as soon as possible, trying to avoid the 19th or after. It may become increasingly difficult to remove funds after this time frame. To keep the process nice and simple, just withdraw any funds over the next few days.
The loyalty program of Poker Heaven was shut down on the 1st of November and any loyalty program payments that were outstanding should have been made. This means no loyalty points could be earned in November. Any unused tournament tickets will also expire on the 12th of November, so players need to be sure to finish using any they have on their account.
When visiting Poker Heaven, all this information can be seen by members of the site. The online poker room is giving players alternatives for game play with Betsafe, an online poker room powered by Microgaming. Poker Heaven was part of Microgaming and recommends using Betsafe for continuing online poker gaming.
Members of Poker Heaven have been encouraged to contact support with any questions or concerns they may have. Email is the form of communication and can easily be reached from the site. Poker Heaven has done well to explain the process for using any rewards or how to make a withdrawal in a timely fashion.
It will be interesting to see if any additional information is released by Poker Heaven once the November 19th date is reached. Were there other factors to the shutdown that are not currently being discussed? Ten years in operation is considered a long time in the online poker industry and it is sad to see an online poker room of this time frame have to close. Only time will tell if we find out any more information on why Poker Heaven had to stop services, but they are working hard to treat their customers fairly with the closure, which is a definite plus.