Merge Poker Network comments on PIC withdrawal

10/25/2009

A war of words could be shaping up between online poker payment processor Players Investment Company (PIC) and the Merge Poker Network following the ending of a business relationship between the two organisations.

Last week Chuck Kidd, the PIC chief executive, despatched an email to his players announcing the end of PIC's agreements with Merge and noting that some of the Merge skins may want to enter into direct processing agreements with his company (see previous InfoPowa reports).

The email's contents and subsequent message board posts appear to have touched a nerve with Merge chief executive Anthony Taylor, who has since issued a statement that reads: “It has been brought to my attention, via comments in a public forum, that there is some confusion regarding a relationship we have with a payments provider.

"To be clear, it was Merge Gaming, who served notice on our agreement with Pic Club.”

Neither side has yet thrown any light on the reasons for the apparent breakdown of the agreement, which has been the subject of considerable speculation on Internet poker message boards.

The closest to an explanation either chief executive have offered comes from Taylor, who wrote: “The reasoning behind this is a matter of private record. Merge Gaming attempted to resolve the issue brought on by PIC Club, one of its principals, and one of its members, and without resolution, felt it was in the best interest of our customers to end this relationship immediately.”

Describing the decision as "regrettable", Taylor concluded: "We’ve cancelled our agreement to protect our players, our network partners, and our reputation going forward.”