888poker and GGPoker Withdraw Services from Russia

888poker and GGPoker have joined PokerStars in the withdrawal of all services from players based in Russia. As the worldwide outcry continues to grow over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many major companies are now refusing to do business in Russia. The poker world now looks to be following suit.

Important notice:

All 888poker operations in Russia will be suspended starting March 15th until further notice.

— 888poker (@888poker) March 14, 2022

There was no official announcement from GGPoker but it has been reported that all players based in Russia received an email issuing forewarning of a withdrawal of service and time to withdraw all funds.

The situation to withdraw funds from 888poker was a little murkier. Russian players were informed that they can now only receive money via the online wallet MuchBetter which requires a small deposit of its own.

It is interesting to note that PokerStars, 888poker and GGPoker did not make any political comments in support of Ukraine, leading some to think that the financial sanctions on Russian banks are the primary factor for the withdrawal.

Now all eyes are on the smaller online poker platforms to see if they follow suit. Many of these operators struggle for sufficient traffic as it is. To kick out what might be a considerable part of their player pool might just be enough to send them out of business.

The crypto sites are likely to be the least affected, with Russians still able to purchase cryptocurrency without any hindrance from financial sanctions targeting their banks.