Blanca Games Denies Bankruptcy Rumors

Various reports have suggested that the Cereus Poker Network is planning on filing for bankruptcy, but Blanca Games – the network’s parent company – has denied this claim, saying that they have instead started a restructuring effort to respond to the changing landscape of online poker.

The rumors started after MSNBC reported on Wednesday that Blanca Games would be filing for bankruptcy, citing an email to shareholders of Madeira Fjord, an investment group based in Norway that is the majority owner of Blanca Games.

This further eroded the already shaky confidence many players had in Absolute Poker, and their ability to repay the funds of American players who were no longer allowed to play on the site. While many Americans have already received money from PokerStars in recent weeks, and Full Tilt Poker has already made an agreement with the United States Department of Justice to do the same, Absolute Poker has yet to make similar arrangements.

But a statement from Blanca Games released Thursday seemed to contradict many of these fears. For instance, it pointed out that it was only Madeira Fjord that was filing for bankruptcy in Norway – not the poker site owner. The confusion stemmed from the fact that Blanca Games had informed Madeira Fjord that they were terminating their relationship.

However, Blanca did confirm that they were in the midst of laying off a large percentage of their workforce, and restructuring the rest to adjust for the fact that they would no longer be operating in the United States.

“The workforce has been liquidated,” the statement said, “and the process of rehiring approximately 20% of staff in key positions has commenced. All affected employees have been informed of this necessary restructure.”

Unfortunately for players from the United States, the statement had relatively little to say about the future of cashouts from Absolute Poker to those inside the USA. Blanca said that the company is continuing to work on an agreement with the Department of Justice, but no details or timelines were given.