Boss Media poker site, Virgin Poker has closed after the Virgin Games brand was sold to Gamesys. The brand changed hands officially on the 29th January 2013, but the poker room was shut down on the 21st January 2013.
What Does This Mean For Me?
Virgin sent out an email in early January detailing the changes that were to take place, and provided a link to a page with more information for its players. Unfortunately when the sale was completed the old URL’s were set to redirect to the new Virgin Games homepage meaning that you can’t see it any more.
But luckily for you we’ve managed to get hold of a copy of the page and have summarised the key points below. If you want a copy of the original text just let us know and we’ll be happy to help.
- What If I Still Have Money In My Virgin Poker Account?
The poker wallet remained open until the end of Monday 28th Jan. If you still have funds in your Virgin Poker account that you didn’t withdraw by this date then you can still get your hands on them by logging in to the new Virgin Games site and completing an account migration procedure. Once you have re-confirmed your details you will be able to request a withdrawal or use the funds to play any of the other Virgin Games products.
One thing that we haven’t been able to ascertain is what happens to players with outstanding bonuses – eg: those who were part-way through the requirements of the welcome bonus. Seeing as the bonus was paid out in chunks we’re assuming that any un-released bonus was forfeited – but don’t take our word on that.
- When Will I Receive My Rakeback For January?
Rakeback was scheduled to be paid on Friday 25th January, so you should have already received it. If you don’t remember receiving it, check your migrated Virgin Games account.
- Who Won The January Rake Race?
The rake race for January was settled based on the leaderboard as it stood on the 22nd January 2013 (ie: after play had stopped on the site). If you think you were due a prize, check your account.
- How Do You Claim V*Points?
The V*Points loyalty rewards program also operated on the other products from Virgin Games and can be redeemed from the main Virgin Games site. However, since the transfer some of the rewards have been removed – your options now are limited to redeeming them for cash or exchanging them for Flying Club miles (which you can use to buy yourself a ticket to Vegas, perhaps?).
- What Happens If You Qualified For A Tournament That Takes Place After The 21st January?
If you won a seat in a poker tournament that was scheduled to take place after the closure of the poker room, then the full entry fee should have been credited to your account as cash on the 25th January 2013.
- Will There Be Any VIP Freerolls?
Seeing as the poker site has closed it should be pretty obvious that there wont be any freerolls. The official line from Virgin Poker is ‘sorry, there there will be no VIP freerolls in February’.
- Are There Any Similar Sites To Virgin Poker?
If you’re freaking out a little at the idea of not being able to get your regular fix of the Virgin Poker games, don’t worry – you can play the same cash games and tournaments by signing up at another site on the same network. Click here to see a list of reputable Boss Media poker site.
Why Did Virgin Poker Close Down & Is It Coming Back?
The closure has no doubt left many players confused and we’ve received a few emails asking these kinds of question. So we’ll try and address the reasons behind the site shutting down:
The new owners of Virgin Games are Gamesys – a company well known in bingo and casino circles and who operate giant brands such as Jackpot Joy and Sun Bingo. One thing that they don’t seem to have any experience with, however, is online poker. Or at least, they don’t currently operate any other online poker sites.
It has be rumored that a new Virgin Poker could be on the cards, but we have not been able to confirm or deny these rumors and the official line seems to be ‘wait and see’. We’ll report on any new developments as and when we hear them.
As well as closing the poker room, the transfer has also seen the bingo room migrate from it’s previous home on the Virtue Fusion network to Gamesys’ own bingo network (joining Jackpot Joy et al) and the games on offer in the casino have been scaled back in preparation for the addition of new Gamesys games.
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UPDATE (11/2/13): We recently spoke to the new owners of Virgin Poker who informed us that the site will be relaunched at some point in the next few weeks. Virgin will be moving to a brand new poker network that hasn’t even been launched yet – but that’s all we’re allowed to say at this point!