Exclusive: egaming bank Ivobank to shut down
Egaming bank Ivobank is to close down, backers the Sampoerna family deciding not to finance the business further.
EGAMING BANK Ivobank is to close down, the bank’s backers deciding not to finance the business further.
eGaming Review understands that the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA), which licenses Ivobank, had asked owners the Sampoerna family, which also owns the Mansion online gaming brand, to inject more funds to keep the concern solvent but that the family elected not to do so.
Ivobank launched last year with the aim of becoming the leading online banking solutions provider for the egaming sector, but has been beset by technical and business problems from the outset.
The bank was initially run by Tim Sawyer and Martin Peterlechner, formerly of online bank Cahoot, but both left in early 2009. Neil Caldwell joined as new head earlier this year, but was unable to stem the tide despite signing up operators including Betsson, Expekt and Unibet.
As reported on EGRmagazine.com, Ivobank issued a statement yesterday saying it would not accept new customers and that “further information will be made available to retail customers, suppliers, merchants and the media” as its “future strategic aims are developed”.
An official statement from Ivobank is expected tonight.
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