Breaking News: Chico Poker to Resume Payouts, Investors Settle Dispute
Chico Poker players affected by a long 10 month dispute between investors and ultimate freezing of funds will be happy to know that Gambling911.com has learned payouts will resume July 1 (2013).
The Chico Poker Network is made up of assets purchased from Playsafe Holdings/Ecom, formerly known as the Action Poker Network, by an investor group called Julian International Holdings, Inc in October 2011.
The Chico Poker Network is made up of sites including: TigerGaming.com, ActionPoker.com, GearPoker.com, PayNoRake.com, and PokerInCanada.com. Further, the Chico Poker Network shares liquidity with other networks including the Hero Poker Network, which hosts SportsBetting.ag, BetOnline.ag, etc. The Network is currently the fifth largest network accepting US players, ranked just behind BetCris' Winning Poker Network at #28 or #29 (depending on the day) per PokerScout.com.
After the acquisition in October 2011, the Chico Poker Network took off like a rocket. However, in May of 2012 there was a significant battle between the investors of Julian International Holdings, Inc and the executives from Playsafe Holdings/Ecom that put the deal in jeopardy.
After significant arbitration, an agreement was achieved between the seller and acquirer and a new management team took control of the Chico Poker Network. For 10 months the new management team dealt with unforeseen issues including, but not limited to, regulatory issues, banking issues, player bonus fraud, extended due diligence, etc.
These unforeseen issues caused a prolonged and unfortunate delay and caused payouts to players and affiliates to become extremely delayed (it should be noted that BetOnline itself was never affected by this matter in terms of payouts and it has always been "Business as Usual" there.
The good news for ALL CHICO POKER PLAYERS is that the wait is over.
On Monday, June 24th, 2013 an announcement was rolled out to all players that a 'thank you bonus' of 5% of no-strings attached funds were being added to their accounts. And, that unrestricted payouts would resume on July 1st, 2013.
Today Friday, June 27th, 2013 an announcement was rolled out to all affiliates that a 'thank you bonus' of 5% is being added to their next payments. And, that unrestricted settlements would resume on July 8th, 2013 forward.
In summary, operations at the Chico Poker Network are immediately returning back to normal. Further, Chico Management tells Gambling911.com that everybody’s money is safe, ready and waiting.
“We, as the new operators of Chico Poker Network, sincerely apologize for any inconveniences this lengthy process has caused, and hope that the 5% Thank You Bonus will allow customers to give us a renewed chance of being their online poker destination or operator of choice,” a Chico spokesperson tells Gambling911.com.
During the upcoming months, there will be several significant site modifications in an effort to make the Chico Poker Network a leader in the online poker, and affiliate, space.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
