PokerStars Suspends Russian Poker, Other Operators Stay Silent
Perhaps it was public pressure. Maybe it was that PokerStars had to consult with lawyers. Whatever happened, PokerStars did officially cancel its planned European Poker Tour stop in Sochi. In fact, the site went a step further and suspended all Russian players’ accounts until further notice.
We addressed the issue last week. Companies around the world withdrew their products and services from the Russian market due to the Russian government’s decision to attack Ukraine. The only poker site operator – at that time – that kept a live Russian tournament on the schedule was PokerStars. That is no longer true, as PokerStars put a hold on its Russia connection this week.
What Had Happened Was…
PokerStars didn’t actually give a reason for its decision…or the delay in making it. The social media message was simple: We are suspending all our services in Russia.”
Important update: we are suspending all our services in Russia.
— PokerStars (@PokerStars) March 9, 2022
There had been pressure. There were several voices speaking loudly about the issue. Several Polish players began a hashtag campaign with #NoPokerInRussia and #AllInAgainstRussia. But the loudest singular voice was Joris Ruijs, a Dutch poker pro, who issued an actual statement. It was rather long but, essentially, it said that the EPT should cancel the 2022 EPT Sochi event. Ruijs also asked more people in the poker community to speak up. He said he was boycotting all EPT action until PokerStars leaves Russia.
PokerStars’ initial move after Russia invaded Ukraine was to postpone EPT Sochi in Russia from late March to October. By March 3, PokerStars had cancelled EPT Sochi…mostly. It told CasinoNieuws.nl on March 3, “No tournament will be held in Sochi until it is safe for players and staff to do so and is fit to do so.”
That didn’t go over well, either.
Interestingly, as this was playing out, former member of Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov had escaped Ukraine. He and his wife found a route to Hungary. Later, they sent for his wife’s family, who also escaped.
Finally, more than two weeks after Russia first attacked Ukraine, PokerStars issued a public statement that simply said it was suspending all services in Russia. PokerStars Support has been subsequently responding to inquiries on Twitter by saying that “our priority at this time is ensuring the safety and security of our colleagues. We are actively working with and supporting our people on the ground in Ukraine and Russia.” That question and comment no longer appear on Twitter.
Riujs took to Twitter the following day to say that he would happily participate in EPT Prague. He sold some pieces to his action as he headed there, with all markup going to the emergency appeals fund for Ukraine.
We collected a nice total of €1643 which was donated to Giro 555 today plus 20% of any profit I make in the Main Event. Thanks everybody!
— Joris Ruijs (@Ruysvogel) March 11, 2022
What It All Means
Poker players located in Russia had only been able to play on a Russian poker site hosted by Casino Sochi. More than six months ago, PokerStars had to remove Russia from the dot-com platform because of that country’s laws. This week’s suspension of operations in Russia means that the PokerStars Sochi site is now offline.
What this means is that Russian players cannot access PokerStars for online poker or for their account balances. They cannot currently withdraw their funds. It is unclear as to when they might be able to do so.
What it doesn’t mean is that PokerStars cut ties with Casino Sochi or the Russian market. It appears that the operator has left the door open to reopen the site and resume poker tournaments in Sochi at a later date.
Russian players are not pleased. Some may not even understand the reason for the move, as Russian media prohibits all media that is not sanctioned by Russia and reporting the state-dictated narrative. President Vladimir Putin has been lying to his country since the beginning of the invasion into the Ukraine.
Many players applaud the move, as PokerStars followed companies of all sizes across the globe cutting ties with Russia. While the goal is not to harm the Russian people, it is to let them know that their leadership has done something so egregious that it warrants these types of drastic moves. So far, though, such sanctions and protestations have had no effect on Putin’s decisions.
Other Major Poker Operators
888poker continues to operate in the Russian market.
Pokerfuse reported that this may end soon. Per Russian players on Telegram, “888 is preparing an exit due to ‘forced messages’ effectively preventing business from continuing.”
Partypoker did cease operations in Russia last month, but that was due to regulatory concerns. Parent company Entain made the decision. The war had yet to begin.
GGPoker continues to operate in the Russian market. Further, its Team Russia remains in place with this tagline: Beware the Russian bear! The page on the GGPoker website then reads:
“When a Russian player sits at your table, you instantly know what you are going to face: relentless pressure and smart play from a tough opponent. And we love them for it! The members of our Team Russia are the very best Mother Russia has to offer.”
There are three pros on Team Russia. Anatoly Filatov is, perhaps, the most well-known of the three but has not posted on Twitter in a long time and doesn’t appear to have an Instagram account. Mikhail Shalamov and Mikhail Semin each have Instagram accounts and recently posted. Here are the pics of the posts and the Google translations.
