Over five months since the block was first enacted, and exactly five years after the passing of the UIGEA, the Merge Gaming network has finally started to accept new players from the United States once again.
The skins of Carbon Poker, RPM Poker and Black Chip Poker have all confirmed that they will be accepting new player signups from Thursday, as will PokerView, who switched to Merge barely one month ago.
Merge became the leading US online poker network, following a surge in traffic after the “big two” poker rooms PokerStars and Full Tilt closed to US players post-Black Friday. Struggling with the difficulties of serving the influx of US customers, Merge chose to block all new signups from the United States as a temporarily measure in June, hoping to return within four to six weeks.
But, despite premature rumors and confusion over skin Sportsbook.com saying back in August it was re-opening to the US, it has taken over five months. In that period, traffic has slipped back to almost pre-Black Friday numbers, according to data tracking site PokerScout.
There is still a lack of clarity surrounding the news, in large part because Merge Gaming is urging skins not to publicize the move. In an email to affiliates, it stated that it did not want to see them “heavily promote their offers to U.S. players” nor to use “excessive logos with ‘US Now Accepted!’”
Not everyone is welcome back with open arms. Washington DC and the states Washington, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Maryland and New York will still be blocked, as was originally reported by Sportsbook.com back in August.
