Purple Lounge players consider legal action

Amid financial media reports that Purple Lounge parent Media Corp plc shares have declined still further to half a penny (the 52 week high was 2.08), still unpaid – and uninformed – players were this week planning to lodge legal claims against the company.

It is now well over a month since the Purple Lounge online casino and poker room abruptly closed its doors without warning players or advising them of available withdrawal methods , claiming that it was “suspending” operations.

It then transpired that the company had requested its regulator – Malta’s LGA – to terminate its licence, giving an assurance that it had no outstanding player complaints and that the operation was “…compliant with the Remote Gaming Regulations,” which include a requirement that player deposits remain segregated.

Malta’s regulations also require that operators provide evidence that “…players’ monies have been duly refunded or alternative arrangements in respect of such monies have been made to the satisfaction of the Authority,” and:

“The suspension, revocation or expiration of the licence shall not affect any liability of the licence holder for anything done or omitted to be done before the date of suspension, revocation or expiration.”

Sometime previous to the surrender of the licence, the company’s Malta-based “Key Official” had resigned, it was later alleged.

With the furore growing after weeks of corporate silence and ignored player and media attempts to communicate, Media Corp suddenly issued a rash of statements, among them one announcing the resignation and immediate departure for reasons unknown of chairman Justin Drummond and CEO Sara Vincent.

Two unknowns associated with a recent Media Corp acquisition – Intabet – took over: Phil Jackson and Adam Fraser-Harris became non-executive chairman and interim CEO respectively…and have thus far remained as silent as their predecessors, leaving players none the wiser.

This week players were debating the best target for litigation, with the Malta-registered company that held Purple Lounge’s licence the favoured choice, but Media Corp also in the line of fire.

This issue clearly has a way to run yet despite the company’s silence on player concerns.