Update: Lock Poker Owner Interview Detailed

In an interview given last week, the owner of the reportedly beleaguered Lock Poker company, Jennifer Larson stated that it is impossible to moderate fears of Lock Poker's financial security through an independent third party verification, because the US Department of Justice is in the wings waiting to take legally questionable action that could see funds seized. She claimed that "We have spoken to a number of companies that provide such audit services, however, they are unable to state that if pressured by the US Government they will not disclose the details of the Lock accounts they audit. “They have been frank and acknowledge that they want to be able to conduct business with US companies and admit that the threat of being "black listed" by the DOJ, even if informally, cannot justify their taking on Lock as a client. No other online gaming site has or can publicly open its "books". Furthermore, she revealed that the player-to-player transfer facility was abused, and that an investigation showed that funds were moving around without play taking place, which is why the company introduced a policy that players accumulate at least 15 percent in GGR on the funds received via P2P transfer before these funds are cashed out. She specified that players withdrawing winnings will not be affected by the policy change. Regarding complaints about slow pay, Larson claims that the volume of P2P transfers without playing taking place imposed strain on pay-outs to bona fide players, and that since Lock also services US players, careful and discreet use of payment processors must take place due to the threat of US enforcement actions. According to Larson, Lock Poker employees are constantly looking for new processors and methods to speed up the process, which has triggered claims from some players that they have waited for months for payments. Finally, concerning rumors that she owns the Revolution poker network, Larson denied such claims and said that there has been too much misinformation and confusion regarding this aspect. "In the spring of 2012 Lock entered into negotiations to purchase selected assets from the Network. One of the conditions of the purchase was the rebranding of the Network and this step took place. Ultimately the proposed purchase was not completed and Lock never became the owner of the network,” she said, adding: "A company completely independent of Lock made the purchase. The Network team does work very closely with Lock based on Lock being the largest room." She also noted that Revolution had difficulty handling the volume generated by Lock players; and that they are still trying to improve this critical operational aspect. In addition, Larson says that on Revolution, Lock was the only operator investing millions in new player acquisition, which led to tactical decisions to create a more recreational player-focused environment on Lock.