According to a thread on the 2+2 Poker Forum, the Chico Poker Network is withdrawing its service for players in Australia. This leaves Ignition Poker as the only large operator serving Australian players, which will likely result in increased liquidity across the Pai Wang Luo Network.
Over the weekend, Australian-based players with accounts at BetOnline Poker, Sportsbetting Poker and Tiger Gaming received emails informing them the sites were withdrawing their real money services with effect from Monday 16th April. Players with balances in their accounts were told they have until Monday 30th April to request a withdrawal, which would be processed free of charge and without the usual limits being applied.
The three sites all belong to the Chico Poker Network – a Network that has continued to provide a service to players in Australia despite the passage of an amendment to the country´s Interactive Gaming Act that banned online poker in March 2017. However, recently the three sites have quietly slimmed down the countries from which new player registrations are allowed – Australia joining other countries that have been removed from the list such as Indonesia, Morocco and France.
Ignition Poker the Only Major Operator Left
With Intertops Poker having blocked new registrations from Australia earlier this year, and the Winning Poker Network refusing to accept players from jurisdictions in which it is illegal for the Network to provide a service, the only major operator willing to accept players from Australia is Ignition Poker. Indeed, the site actively encourages new players from Australian by offering a first deposit bonus in Australian dollars (100% up to AU$1,350 plus a further 100% up to AU$1,000 in the casino).
Ignition Poker is one of the leading sites on the Pai Wang Luo Network – a Network consisting of Bovada Poker (USA, Mexico and Brazil), Ignition Poker (USA and Australia), Bodog Poker (Canada) and Bodog88 (China and Vietnam). The withdrawal of sites on the Chico Network will likely result in players looking for a new home registering for an account with Ignition Poker, which – once they start taking advantage of the [geolink href=”https://www.usafriendlypokersites.com/ignition-poker/”]Ignition first deposit poker bonus[/geolink] – will result in increased liquidity across the Network.
A $250,000 Reason to Join Ignition Poker Today
Although Ignition Poker had no influence over the withdrawal of the Chico Poker Network from Australia, it could not have come at a better time for the site – or for players in Australia no longer able to play at BetOnline Poker, Sportsbetting Poker and Tiger Gaming. This is because Ignition Poker is hosting a $250,000 guaranteed online poker tournament this coming Sunday (April 22nd @ 5:00pm ET) and could do with the players.
The event has a $325.00 buy-in and – despite a comprehensive satellite schedule – the site´s most valuable tournaments have historically failed to meet their guarantees. Indeed, the satellite schedule gets into full swing this week with satellites offering an increasing number of guaranteed seats every day (for example today´s satellite guarantees 12 seats, tomorrow´s satellite guarantees 13 seats, Friday´s satellite guarantees 14 seats, etc.).
On Sunday, Ignition Poker is hosting two mega-satellites each guaranteeing 30 seats into the target event. The first is a “Cheap Seats” satellite with a buy-in of $7.70 at 12:30pm, the second is a “Turbo Satellite” with a buy-in of $44.00 at 2:30pm. Neither satellite is particularly convenient for Australian players as these times represent 2:30am and 4:30am (AEST) on Monday morning. However, you may find a few extra players competing in the target event, especially as the conclusion of Ignition Poker´s $250K tournament will likely be around midnight (ET) on Sunday (or 2:00pm Monday AEST) when Australian players will be considerably fresher after a good night´s sleep! We shall see.
