The beleaguered online poker site Gutshot Poker, related to the historic UK poker room of the same name, has reemerged under new management in a last-ditch move to keep the site alive, while presenting harsh play-through terms to the site’s existing player base if they wish to reclaim previous account balances.
The latest version of the site, with its online home at gutshot.com, shows it to be operated by Goalgaming Ltd., a British concern. A recent email posted on the Hendon Mob forum claims the site has been purchased by the Betsnetwork Group, and will be operated via the Goalgaming entity.
According to the e-mail sent to former Gutshot players, the brand will launch on three separate poker networks—Revolution, Ongame and Play2B—and will soon after add casino games and sportsbetting.
The former Gutshot players are faced with severe terms if they wish to attempt to retrieve their existing balances. According to the emails, players must generate rake for the new site via continuing play, and will be credited with only 50% rakeback toward their own balances.
The players have also been issued an April 7 deadline to reactive their accounts with Goalgaming. After that date, previous account balances will not be honored.
Goalgaming is registered to Francesco Merighi. Several Merighi family members are already engaged in the operation of small online gambling sites, including Red Hot Poker and Devilfish Poker, and Francesco himself is the founder and CEO of the Play2B Network.
The one-way terms of the deal appear to confirm that no player funds remain in the previous Martin-led Gutshot operation, though the latest move continues an attempt to wrest brand-recognition value from the Gutshot name.
