Star Entertainment Group’s recent bans on poker players don’t sit well with many professionals. The Australian Poker Schedule, a website that allows enthusiasts to keep track of upcoming events, has launched a petition against Star’s allegedly “unjustified” measures.

Craig Abernethy, founder of the Australian Poker Schedule, addresses the issue in the petition, saying that in around 12 months, the casino company has banned more than half a dozen of Australia’s best poker players.

Some of the recipients of allegedly unjustified bans include Alex Lynskey, Jarred Graham, Hun Wei Lee, Najeem Ajez, Rehman Kassam and Chris Zenonos. These players, among others, are currently unable to enter Star’s properties, lest they risk intervention from the police.

Not only have these players practiced and honed their poker skills, built their careers around poker and performed at the highest level of competition for more than a decade, but they have exemplary and long-standing reputations and are highly respected among the poker community including some internationally recognized.

Craig Abernethy, founder, Australian Poker Schedule

The worst part, Abernethy says, is that Star Entertainment never provided any details on the reasoning behind the bans. When contacted, the company reminded the disgruntled players that “it is not required to provide reasons” for its decisions.

Abernethy Asks Fans to Stand Up

The biggest problem stemming from the bans is that the banned players are now essentially excluded from the World Poker Tour Australia because of the World Poker Tour’s exclusive partnership with Star Entertainment Group.

As a result, the aforementioned players will lose the opportunity to play at the prestigious event without even knowing why they have been banned. According to Abernethy, the “scariest thing” is that this can happen to any poker player at any time.

Australian Poker Schedule’s founder emphasized that Star’s actions are worrying and that players should be wary of the company. He asked the poker community and their friends to stand up against Star Entertainment, which he accused of being “cruel, arrogant and bullish.”

The petition has 527 signatures as of the time of this writing.

Casino.org later spoke with Abernethy on the matter. Abernethy told the news outlet that Star Entertainment likely flags the activity of poker players who transfer large sums of money as suspicious, believing it to be related to money laundering.

Considering Star’s recent regulatory trouble, it is possible that the company wants to be extra safe when implementing its remediation measures.

The post Aussie Poker Pros Launch Petition against Star Entertainment’s Unjustified Bans appeared first on Keno Wizard.

Over the last few years, GGPoker has been growing at a steady pace. The network kept improving its games, introducing innovations, as well as lucrative rewards and promotions. But while offering engaging poker action for high rollers and newcomers, GGPoker has kept a higher rake, when compared to its competitors.

While this didn’t bother many players, an update in the raking system started a boycott, led by a number of high roller players, who rejected the new rake structure by GGPoker, a forum post on Two Plus Two released earlier this week reveals.

“As of today, the High Stakes community will boycott 25/50+ games on GGPoker. Ninety percent of the highest volume players at these stakes have already committed to the boycott,“

reads a statement released by the group opposing the updated rake system on GGPoker

Can the Boycott Impact GGPoker?

Led by “the High Stakes community,” the boycott reportedly has already impacted $25/$50+ games on GGPoker. In fact, Mixgrill, the representative of the group opposing the updated rake system, confirmed that the high-stakes tables have been down to one, as of Monday, confirming that the boycott is already working.

According to the forum post, the group that opposes the new high rake system consists of 90 high-stakes players and poker pros. Ultimately, the group calls for the development of a “sustainable long-term playing environment.” The boycotting high rollers noted: “An environment in which it is possible for players to win money and enjoy themselves, as the network continues to generate enough revenue to profit.”

“The boycott is already working. The table count has decreased to just one, and we are currently contacting the last few players who have not yet joined us,“

explained the boycotting group

An important topic raised by the boycotting group involved the high rake back advertised by GGPoker. The high rollers acknowledged that this high rake back is “supposed to offset the rake.” However, they claimed: “With up to 60% being offered in the client, these numbers are misleading and generally false.”

According to the boycott group, the increase in rake was so drastic that pro poker players realized that they cannot win. The group predicted a significant decrease in the volume of raked hands, which can also ultimately impact recreational players. This, in turn, may also result in less revenue for GGPoker and customers switching to alternative poker networks, said the boycotting group.

The post High Stake Poker Pros Boycott GGPoker’s Updated Rake System appeared first on Keno Wizard.