Online Gambling NewsTaking many online gamblers by surprise this week was the news that the Cryptologic-powered
Playboy Gaming.com operation is to shut down the operation. Curiously, the company was not displaying any notification on its websites when InfoPowa went to press, although service representatives and a Cryptologic spokesman have confirmed the reports.
Playboy officially entered the
online casino sector with the release of a new gaming website at Playboy Gaming.com on April 3rd, 2007 along with Playboy Casino.com and Playboy Poker.com. The sites were licensed in Malta under a limited liability company titled Oceania P-Club Ltd. and Oceania Clubhouse Ltd, company registration numbers C42048 & C42050) trading as PlayboyGaming and operating under licenses issued by the Lotteries & Gaming Authority of Malta.
Customer service representatives advised that the close-down date is to be January 29th 2009, and informed enquirers: "In response to your email, I can confirm that Playboy Gaming will no longer have a poker site and will not be moving to another network."
Poker News Daily, which broke the news, subsequently confirmed the report with the Cryptologic poker network to which Playboy Poker belongs.
The blow comes on the heels of the recent decision by Peak Entertainment group to change software from Cryptologic to Playtech for its online operations (see previous InfoPowa report).
As at press time there had been no official statement from either Playboy or Cryptologic, and the reasons for the closure are not known, although Cryptologic's post-UIGEA exit from the US market will undoubtedly have adversely impacted Playboy's online gambling business.
Notícias sobre jogos de azar online Muitos jogadores online foram pegos de surpresa esta semana pela notícia de que a operação
Playboy Gaming.com , da Cryptologic, será encerrada. Curiosamente, a empresa não exibia nenhuma notificação em seus sites quando a InfoPowa foi publicada, embora representantes de serviço e um porta-voz da Cryptologic tenham confirmado as informações.
A Playboy entrou oficialmente no setor
de cassinos online com o lançamento de um novo site de jogos, o Playboy Gaming.com, em 3 de abril de 2007, juntamente com o Playboy Casino.com e o Playboy Poker.com. Os sites foram licenciados em Malta sob uma sociedade de responsabilidade limitada denominada Oceania P-Club Ltd. e Oceania Clubhouse Ltd (números de registro C42048 e C42050), operando sob licença da Autoridade de Loterias e Jogos de Malta.
Representantes de atendimento ao cliente informaram que a data de encerramento seria 29 de janeiro de 2009 e informaram aos interessados: "Em resposta ao seu e-mail, posso confirmar que a Playboy Gaming não terá mais um site de pôquer e não será transferida para outra rede."
O Poker News Daily, que deu a notícia, posteriormente confirmou a reportagem com a rede de pôquer Cryptologic, à qual o Playboy Poker pertence.
O golpe veio logo após a recente decisão do grupo Peak Entertainment de mudar o software da Cryptologic para a Playtech para suas operações online (veja o relatório anterior do InfoPowa).
Até o momento, não houve nenhuma declaração oficial da Playboy ou da Cryptologic, e os motivos do fechamento não são conhecidos, embora a saída da Cryptologic do mercado dos EUA após a UIGEA tenha, sem dúvida, impactado negativamente os negócios de jogos de azar online da Playboy.