Poker World, U.S. players welcome?

About 6 months ago I set up a pretty decent rakeback deal at Poker World

... wait, do we discuss rakeback in these forums? I'm not sure. If we don't, let me know and I'll edit out that part.

So I set up the account on poker world, then attempted to deposit with a prepaid visa. I was unable to deposit, because that method was not available at the time.

I then corresponded with them quite a bit, asking about it, and found out they may be pulling out of the U.S. market. The live chat person gave me an email address to contact a manager, but they never responded to my email.

Needless to say, I did not deposit or start playing.


Today I went ahead and logged on to my account through their software, and also went to their website. I contacted their live chat person, and asked about the issue. The transcript follows.

Please note, while I connected to the live chat, I enountered a scipt error. What does this mean? Well, it could have just been a simple error with their software, it could have been something much worse.

It could have very easily been cross site scripting. Cross site scripting, or XSS, is an occurence where javascipt or other script, is injected into a web page you are viewing, which redirects you to a different page. This is used by hackers to phish passwords all the time.

On poker world's website, on their front page, this is posted

"spammers using pokerworld's name" is flashing, it has a link

"Spam Email

There has been a recent surge of spam email to players concerning membership on PokerWorld, that seems to have come on behalf of us at PokerWorld. Please note that we do not give out memberships and do not require you to log in to change your login information. If you have received this email, delete it immediately and do not click on the link.

At PokerWorld.com, we want you to enjoy our Internet Poker games. Whether you play Hold'Em, Omaha, or 7 Card Stud, we are always here to assist you. Please contact our customer service team to help you with anything, anytime."


This, combined with the scipt error, does not sit well with me. When I encountered the script error, the dialog box detailed the error, and asked if I wanted to continue running scripts on the page. I of course clicked no. The live chat then proceded normally.


" You are now chatting with 'Sophronia'
Sophronia: Welcome to PokerWorld live chat. May I have your user name?
you: yes, I just encountered a script error
you: with your live chat
you: LirvA
you: one second, I'll post the details of the script error, as I captured a screen shot
you: "An error has occured in the script on this page" ......
you: Line:364
you: Char:5
you: Error:'hcArrayStorage' is undefined
you: Code:0
Sophronia: May I have your user name?
you: yes, LirvA, I'm almost done reporting this script error
Sophronia: Please send the screen shot to support@pokerworld.com
you: Ok, thank you
you: name is LirvA
Sophronia: ok thank you
you: I created a rakeback account on your site about 6 months ago .....
you: when I tried to deposit, I found out I wasn't able to deposit with my visa prepaid card (I am a U.S. player)
you: I then correspended with you (poker world), and found out you may be pulling out of the U.S. market
you: I tried to send a manager or someone a message, asking about it, but never got a response
you: I haven't logged on to your site since
you: my questions
you: Do you accept U.S. players?
Sophronia: I was just answering your email
you: ahh
Sophronia: Yes we do accept us clients
you: What about your deposit and cashout methods?
Sophronia: US clients can deposit by Bankwire, FedEx, Western Union and Credit Card
you: and cashout?
Sophronia: Bankwire and FedEx
you: What are the fee's for those?
Sophronia: Bankwire is $25 and FedEx $35
you: ok, thank you. I have some further questions
you: How stable is Poker World's future in the U.S. market?
Sophronia: Questions regarding rakeback?
Sophronia: We do have a numerous US players
you: are you currently under any pressure to pull out of the U.S. market?
Sophronia: We are not aware of that
you: I see, thank you. Regarding rakeback questions
you: Can you please confirm that my account is indeed still a rakeback account?
Sophronia: please send an email to {EDITED}
Sophronia: Are you able to hold while I check ?
you: yes, absolutely, take your time
Sophronia: Thank you for your patience...
Sophronia: Yes, your account is still a rakeback
you: Thank you, should be {Edit rate}, all games if I'm not mistaken
Sophronia: You are welcome
you: who should I contact regarding your future in the U.S. market?
you: [Edited] ?
Sophronia: I am not sure i am understanding your question about US market
you: Well, if there is a risk of poker world not accepting U.S. players in the near future, I probably would not deposit to start playing
you: This is the reason I did not deposit 6 months ago
Sophronia: We do not such an issue
you: I see, thank you. I do have a final question regarding the script error I encountered
you: Is this a problem you've been having? This can be a security risk, Cross site scripting and all
Sophronia: When exactly does this happens; when you click on the chat to contact us?
you: yes, right when I clicked chat and it opened the chat window
you: it asked if I wished to continue running scripts on this page, I clicked no
Sophronia: did you send the screen shot?
you: not yet, but I surely will
Sophronia: We need the screen shot to send to the technical Team
Sophronia: ok please do so we can check
you: I will right away. Thank you, you've been very helpful. Have a nice day
Sophronia: you are welcome
Sophronia: Same to you
Sophronia: Thank you for choosing PokerWorld.
Sophronia: Have fun at the tables. Good-bye."



As you can see, my questions regarding their stability in the U.S. were not adequately answered, in my opinion at least.

Does anyone know any thing regarding this issue?

What was attractive about this deal at poker world, was it included all stakes. I could even play .01/.02 if I needed to. With the small amount I would be able to deposit, my bankroll wouldn't support anything more than .05/.10


I might consider playing there if they are not at risk of pulling out of the U.S., but with the spammers and the script error, I might just hold off for a little bit. At least until they have another software update or two.

Email correspondences:

Me:
"I was logged into my account through your client poker software, and
clicked
the live chat. It then opened the live chat window, and as it was
connecting, a scrip error occurred. The dialog box informed me of the
details of the
error, and asked if I wished to continue running scripts on the page, I
clicked
no. The live chat then continued normally, and I spoke with your agent
who
requested I send the screenshot in an email (JPG file.) It is enclosed. (I
am
running Windows XP 32 bit SP2)

This needs to be looked into, as an error like this can be a huge security

risk, with cross site scripting.

Thank you.


Please send me an email if you need me to write it out, if the screen shot

is for some reason not readable. Thank you."



Response:
"Dear LirvA,

PokerWorld has received your query with regards to the message received
while attempting to access our poker client live chat. Please be informed
that the message received is a security window from the anti-virus system
on the computer. In this particular case it is best you try to switch off
all anti-viruses and firewall for a moment and try again.


Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require further assistance. We
are available 24/7 via chat, email at support@pokerworld.com or by
telephone at 1-800-289-3040.

Customer satisfaction is our priority and we look forward to serving you.




Thank you for choosing PokerWorld!

Regards
Michelle
PokerWorld Support"


Me:
""In this particular case it is best you try to switch off
all anti-viruses and firewall for a moment and try again."

Well, honestly, this is something I would never do personally. Computer/internet security is very very important to me, especially in regards to financial matters such as online poker. I was able to successfully use the live chat feature after encountering the script error, and even after I chose to not continue running scripts on the page, the live chat functioned properly, leading me to believe the script which caused the error was not needed.
Thank you for your timely response and recommendation, but I surely would not disable my anti virus or firewall.
Also, on your web site, it says spammers have been sending phishing emails out to steal passwords. This, combined with the script error, does not sit well with me. Can you please provide me with updates regarding the issue of spammers sending your clients phishing emails?
Thank you.
I am considering depositing to start playing on your site, but I think I will hold off until another software update or two.
Thank you."


suggesting I disable my anti virus and firewall is absolutely fucking ridiculous, and is a huge security risk. I can't believe they would suggest this.

There is an obvious problem with them, phishing emails are being sent out, and people are having their passwords and information stolen. Suggesting I disable my AV and firewall only adds to this problem, as this script error could easily have been an attempt to redirect me to a malicious page to steal my information.

I'll keep posting updates on this situation.


Side note - I beilieve the general contact information is fine, correct? Please, by all means, feel free to edit if neccessary. Thank you.

Good post.

I played on PokerWorld with an excellent rakeback deal about 3 years ago. At that time I really enjoyed the software and game play. Since then I haven't really heard anything about them...

I have not heard anything about PokerWorld pulling out of the US either... I kinda assume if they needed to pull out they would have already done so by now. However, I'm not going to angle you either way about playing on PokerWorld.

I'm surprised to hear PokerWorld was ever considering leaving the US market as they're owned by the Greek.
I'm wondering if perhaps this was when they were on the DGN network and you were talking to a support rep from that network (who works for all the sites) who gave you a generic answer).
The Greek is financial secure as books get and the parent company is very well managed, they've just never taken poker serious enough.

Aidan, while playing there did you ever encounter any phishing emails or anything like that?



Jim, could you please elaborate on this statement? Thank you

"they've just never taken poker serious enough."

Hey, nope never had any issues with that.

Originally Posted by LirvA

"they've just never taken poker serious enough."

They are owned by one of the most successful sports management groups in the industry. This includes 4 sportsbooks under their belts one of which is the one the big bettors bet online at.

By having never taken it serious enough I mean, had they wanted to they could of made that a large site. Forever its sat as "hey here is a poker room" only saying that "hey" to their clients. Seeing as they're not a square book, meaning they cater to players specifically sports betting and not to general gambling the traffic to the poker room has always been small.

Its operated as a small online poker room for years.

Ah. Interesting. Thank's for clearing that up.

So it probably won't grow much more as far as player traffic?

I play on poker world now, and the site is pretty small. As in a few hundred players at any given time. Regardless, I've had no issues with deposits, phishing or other issues. While the software isn't as nice as say Full Tilt, it seems fine to me.