News just in is that Blanca Gaming of Antigua, the parent company to Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker have filed for Bankrupcy.

According to Madeira Fjord of Norway, which represents the company’s shareholders, Blanca Gaming will file for bankruptcy protection in Norway. In the email, the company said they had “no cash on hand and no prospects for any cash flow for the foreseeable future.” It went on to say: “Most importantly, Blanca Gaming has provided notice … that it is currently unable to make any payments toward its debt obligations. Additionally, Blanca has further advised that there will be no future payments.”

Reported on Pokernewsreport.com

“Speculation has now arisen that players with pending pecuniary transfers may have to accept that their money is dead. Considering Absolute Poker and Ultimate bet have played host to some of the biggest and most successful names in online poker, this seems highly unfair. As has been shown with PokerStars and Full Tilt, some online players’ accounts held hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars. PokerStars have now begun the laborious process of returning player funds, and it is expected that Full Tilt will soon follow suite. For the other two targets of American justice, it does not seem even a remote possibility.”

So what does this mean for Rakeback Palyers?

We will have information regarding this shortly

Please bear with us.

**Update 6th May 2012**

Earlier today, Cereus’ parent company, Blanca Games, issued a press release clarifying some of the rumors. The statement says the company is restructuring with an emphasis on non-US markets. This restructuring apparently includes major downsizing:

“This decision comes after considerable review and analysis of the impact that ‘Black Friday’ has had on the business as a whole. The workforce has been liquidated, and the process of rehiring approximately 20% of staff in key positions has commenced. All affected employees have been informed of this necessary restructure.”

The statement also addressed the bankruptcy rumors that first surfaced in a Wednesday report on MSNBC. According to MSNBC, Madeira Fjord, a Norweigian investment group that represents the majority shareholders of Blanca Games, sent an email to shareholders informing them the company was filing for bankruptcy in Norway. Within the correspondence, the company said that Blanca Games informed them it was currently unable to make payments towards its debt and would not be able to do so in the future.

The statement from Blanca emphasizes that the company is not filing for bankruptcy. The statement explains, “that Blanca recently informed a debt holder,
Madeira Fjord, that it was terminating debt payments to, and its relationship with them. As a result, Madeira Fjord apparently filed a notice of bankruptcy in Norway. This notice has no negative impact upon Blanca, the operating company, or its brands. As stated previously, Absolute Poker and UB continue to operate their non-U.S. facing business around the world.”

The statement also provided news for non-US players looking to withdraw. The site is upping the withdrawal limit from $500 a week to $1,000 a week for Visa withdrawals. Those withdrawing via other methods will have a $500 limit.

For US players looking for cashout answers, the statement only said that the company is still working with the Department of Justice to iron out a plan to return money to its US customer base. There was no indication whether any of these financial issues or downsizing will impact the company’s ability to reimburse customers.