Protection of Players Top Priority for 2012

Following the events of Black Friday, in which funds belonging to customers of three leading poker rooms were frozen by US authorities, the various online poker operators are now coming up with new ways to protect their customer accounts.

One of the latest plans has been initiated by leading operator PokerStars, one of the three companies caught up in the events of Black Friday. The PokerStars Player Protection Plan will put funds held by the company's French players under the watchful eye of international financial services firm IFG Group. Funds will be overseen by a Financial Services Authority-regulated fund manager, who will ensure the online poker company has enough funds to repay all money owed to players at any given time.

According to PokerStars and other internet poker operators, the security of player accounts and the integrity of the industry are fundamental to its future success. PokerStars has promised that other newly regulated markets will follow shortly, such as Italy, Spain and Belgium, in a bid to establish a protection net for players across the continent.

Industry observers believe greater protection of players is the way to go, and estimate that others will follow through will similar methods to the protection fund. In the future national licensing authorities will likely insist that online gaming companies maintain the full amount of customers' funds in fully segregated, independently managed accounts.

With the regulation of new markets in Europe and the potential expansion opportunities this provides all the major online poker and gambling companies, now is certainly an optimal time to launch initiatives like this that will protect player funds. Not only does it give greater security to players, but it encourages mutual trust between players and operators as well.