Global online poker market giant GGPoker has pulled its subscription-based ClubGG service from the state of Michigan, with immediate effect. ClubGG notified its Michigan player base of the sudden departure from the state, citing recent changes in Michigan gaming laws for the pullout.
The brief email ClubGG’s Michigan players received read as follows:
We regret to inform you that due to recent changes in state law in your jurisdiction, we are no longer able to offer subscription game (Membership Zone) services to residents of your state. Unfortunately, this means that we must cancel your membership.
If you have a residence outside of Michigan that you can prove with proof of address with your name displayed, please let us know you wish you change your KYC details.
For iOS users we cannot cancel for you, here’s a guide to cancel your subscription.
As a valued member, we want to ensure that you have the opportunity to redeem any L$ remaining in your account. Please log in and redeem your L$. We understand that this may be disappointing news, and we want to thank you for being a part of our community. Thank you for your understanding, and we hope to serve you again in the future if circumstances change.
Subscription rather than sweeps
A ClubGG spokesperson confirmed the site’s exit from Michigan to PokerOrg but was not able to comment on the legal specifics behind the move. Of interest is that ClubGG is subscription-based, rather than using the sweeps-based model that has recently come under fire from regulators in several states, including Michigan.
Whether Michigan itself has contacted ClubGG about the subscription site is unknown, but is within the realm of possibility. Michigan has been one of the most aggressive US states over the past couple of years in going after services the state’s regulators believe might be operating in violation of the state’s gambling codes.
In ClubGG’s circumstance, there’s also the fact that GGPoker’s parent company, NSUS Group, acquired the World Series of Poker earlier this year. WSOP.com operates in Michigan and thus provides a point of leverage for Michigan regulators to use, should that be part of the equation. Further, ClubGG’s largest subscription-service rival, ClubWPT, is also unavailable to Michigan players, even though the WPT has no other Michigan presence and will not be introducing its upcoming ClubWPT Gold sweeps site into the Wolverine State.
Whatever the reasons, Michigan becomes the 10th US state where ClubGG is not available. According to ClubGG’s already-updated terms of service, Michigan joins Georgia, Hawaii, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Washington in that respect.