Bodog Poker is terminating its services in twenty countries across Europe. The online poker room’s European players have received emails advising them to withdraw their poker funds as Bodog Poker will no longer be offering online poker services in their country.
Besides stating that Bodog Poker will terminate its services in certain European countries from Aug 30, 2012, the emails said, “We recommend that you withdraw any balance you may have in your account by 30 August 2012. Minimum withdrawal amount is $/€/£10. After 30 August, we will adjust your balance to 0 to protect your funds.
To withdraw your balance after 30 August, you will need to contact customer service at service@bodog.co.uk.”
Although nobody knows the exact reason for this development, the air is thick with rumors that Bodog Poker is not only finding it difficult to process payments in certain European countries, but has also not obtained the required approval from the EU Gaming Commission. Some suspect that Bodog wants to concentrate on its Asian business, which is fetching it far more profits.
According to the Bodog Network Liaison on Two Plus Two Forum, only the operators can decide where they offer their services and those with queries must contact the operator’s customer care service.
Bodog Poker is currently sending a standard response to all emails requesting more information on its decision to terminate its services in European countries. The online poker room states, “At this time, due to continuing difficulties finding and maintaining acceptable payment options, we have been forced to make the difficult decision to stop offering our services to residents of your country. For the time being, please let us know if you would like to continue using your Bodog account or if we should proceed disabling it. Any available funds in your account will be returned to you accordingly.”
According to a Bodog spokesperson, the company had decided at the corporate level to focus only on its strengths. Since spreading too thinly and covering a large number of small markets turned out to be logistically difficult for the company, Bodog.co.uk has decided to focus on strengthening its existing market.
Bodog Poker will terminate its services in Armenia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Israel, Hungary, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Romania, Lithuania, Serbia, Russian Federation, Montenegro, Ukraine, Slovenia, and Uzbekistan. Besides, Bodog Poker already does not offer any poker services in Italy, France, and Spain.
