Recent guidance notices from the new UK Gambling Commission have brought about the cancellation of a major poker tournament scheduled for 9 – 16 June….and the organisers are not happy about it.
Scheduled to take place at the famed Old Trafford grounds in England, and hyped as the biggest poker festival in Europe the project allowed for online qualifiers and was supported by important sites such as Paddy Poker and Bowmans.
$10,500 prize package contents included 7 nights in a Manchester hotel, a tour of the stadium, gala dinner, generous travel expenses, zero-rake cash games, and entry into five poker tournaments.
Announcing the cancellation, the organisers of the Rivercard Poker Festival said that recent guidelines from the UK Gambling Commission meant they could no longer promote or run the event after restrictions on advertising were re-emphasised. The Gambling Commission issued a Guidance Notice on Section 42 of the 1968 Gaming Act, with would not allow marketing for the UK-based poker festival.
Rivercard ended the notification with an apology to players, and a rather provocative if non-specific barb aimed at the Commission: “This, together with a lack of co-operation from the Gambling Commission on the matter has today led to the difficult decision to cancel this event.”