But, the news itself are not shocking; in the past months and after the PokerStars closure, the most popular alternative networks started to leave the country (Chico Poker, Intertops); Winning Poker was one of the last big networks offering games to Australian players.
The Australian regulation requires a license for any website offering real money games in the country, and today there is not a single online poker room licensed there. Even the licensing process is not clear at the moment.
We think the player's money is safe. It's almost sure that WPN will pay to the players although there was no mention about how much time it will take.
What should Australian poker players do?
Fortunately, if you want to keep playing online poker, there are still some excellent poker rooms offering real money games to Aussie players. Nowadays, a decentralized model of online poker is becoming very popular so online poker in Australia is far to be dead.
PPPoker, PokerBros, Upoker and a large etcetera are part of our offer for Australian poker players. No matter what stake or discipline you play, some Asian apps will fit your needs. The action runs 24/7 in the Asian apps.
If you are not a fan of the mobile applications, you can go for rooms like Nitrogen Sports (a room where you actually use Bitcoin as a currency to play), or Goldpokerpro, an Israeli poker room with soft games available for Australian players.
You may also need to become familiar with cryptocurrencies market, as the usual payment processors like Crypto or Skrill will in some time change their terms and conditions to Australian users; ecoPayz may also be a good option for some time.
What is true is that with all the new regulations and laws, the poker scene, not only in Australia but all over the world is changing, and the poker players must adapt to the new era. Worldpokerdeals offers support and professional advice for poker players, we are looking forward to keeping online poker safe in Australia; please don't hesitate to contact our team if you have any doubt.
Regards,
Juan, Worldpokerdeals team