With Goalpoker’s recent closure and the US government’s decision to prosecute online sites, what happens to your cash when a poker site closes?

Recently British poker site Goalpoker.com ceased trading, which caused obvious concern for players with real money accounts. Despite a series of blogs sounding alarm bells, Goalpoker accounts have been safely moved over to mother network Absolute Poker, where players will be allowed to cash out if they wish.

The hysteria is fully understandable given that online players Burnley Joe and Fenners had won entry into the WSOP Main Event via the site but were told the week before that Goalpoker wouldn’t be able to send them.

The site offered a generous compensation package, which never materialised, but Absolute Poker – the network on which Goalpoker operated on – admirably stepped in to pay their $10,000 buy-ins.

Financial clout

Of far wider concern is the worrying share price falls of publicly listed companies like PartyGaming and 888.com, in the wake of the American government’s attempt to shackle the online game. However, doom mongers can rest easy – the big names of the online poker world have huge financial clout and do act responsibly with your cash.

In an official statement PokerStars said: ‘[Our] players’ account balances are held in segregated accounts and not used for operational expenses. These segregated accounts are managed by a leading European bank. The arrangements ensure that PokerStars can at all times fulfil its obligations towards players, and will provide further reassurance that the players’ funds are always secure with PokerStars.’

Domestic bliss

And there’s no worries here in the UK. Leading bookmakers such as Paddy Power, William Hill and Ladbrokes, have had years of practise in balancing the books.

PaddyPowerPoker.com’s operations spokesman Karl Hutson explained: ‘Each customer’s poker winnings are held in a paddypower.com account and transferred to a particular poker table when a player decides to sit down. As a publicly listed company, Paddy Power is under close scrutiny… Any financial issues would be flagged up long before they could have any impact on a player’s account.

‘Common sense is the bottom line. Be as careful with your money online as you would with your bankroll in a live game. I know that a £50 game at my local card club is a safer investment than the Three Card Monte played on the streets of Barcelona!’

In other words, reputable sites have their arses covered, which means that they’re good for your money and that’s good for everybody.