Gibraltar-based gambling operator BetVictor has decided to shut down its online poker operations after 15 years of servicing poker players. The company has not released an official statement on the matter, but has informed players that they will no longer be able to play as from June 7, 2017.
The BetVictor Poker brand operated as an MPN skin up until recently. It then became known that it was leaving the Microgaming Poker Network, but many believed the move would see the poker business join another international poker network.
BetVictor contacted both players and affiliates to inform them about the closure of its poker operation and to provide them with important details about their funds. As mentioned above, online poker operations were shut on June 7. Players were encouraged to withdraw or transfer their funds to their sports betting/casino wallets. The operator also assured its customers that they will be paid any rake accumulated between June 1-7.
As for BetVictor’s affiliates, they were informed that they will not have their affiliate accounts closed and that they will receive their BetVictor Poker payments in due time and manner.
One of UK’s longer running gambling operators, BetVictor was founded by William Chandler back in 1946. The company was later on passed over to Victor Chandler Sr. and was eventually succeeded by Victor Chandler Jr.
In 1998, Mr. Chandler decided to move the operator’s headquarters to Gibraltar in a bid to avoid the heavy taxes imposed on UK-based gambling businesses. BetVictor thus set a trend that was later on represented by other major UK gambling giants, with Ladbrokes and William Hill being two bright examples.
BetVictor Poker went live in 2002. It was in September 2012 when the brand selected MPN as its exclusive online poker software provider. Here it is also important to note that BetVictor and MPN first established ties in late 2011 when the operator began servicing players from several international markets on Microgaming’s network.
Over the period between late-2011 and September 2012, the gambling operator had its poker operations powered by both MPN and IGT’s Entraction Poker Network. It can be said that BetVictor’s decision to fully transfer its poker business on the Microgaming Poker Network was partly due to the fact that IGT announced in mid-September 2012 that it would close Entraction.
It was in 2012 again when IGT withdrew from major gray markets, including Russia, Israel, and Canada, which resulted in Entraction’s liquidity plummeting considerably, hence the decision for its closure.
BetVictor became the second MPN-powered poker brand to shut operations over the past month. It was announced in early May that 3D poker room PKR was shut down indefinitely due to financial issues faced by parent companies PKR Ltd. and PKR Technologies Ltd. Here it is important to note that the case was not the same with BetVictor. The gambling operator has probably decided to focus its attention on its other products at a time when online sports betting and casino experience exponential growth in the context of the whole industry.
