Update: King has responded to PocketGamer.biz addressing the several funds that have yet to be returned to players from its Royal Games portal.
"All of our players are important to us and so to avoid any further disappointment, we’ve suspended new deposits until this issue is resolved," said a spokesperson for the company.
"For those awaiting a withdrawal, we have updated them via our site that there will be a delay. We’re sorry for any inconvenience and regret that we’re unable to offer an alternative process."
Original Story: King has come under scrutiny for holding back funds from paying customers via its online games portal, Royal Games.
In an extensive report by Eurogamer, it's outlined that PayPal has been investigating Royal Games over its conduct in a number of countries, and consequently, has seen a freeze on all withdrawals. Several users of the site claimed that they have been unable to obtain any winnings since January when Royal Games "quietly paused" the ability to request refunds.
The refunds page was made active once again recently, however, Eurogamer noted that it no longer accepts real-world money deposits. Payments into the site were disabled in 2019 except for those already part of the community - approximately 6200 people were online at the time of writing.
The browser-based platform Royal Games (previously known as King.com) launched in 2009, before beginning to roll out popular games such as Candy Crush, Farm Heroes Saga and Bubble Witch in the following years. Members can compete for cash prizes with various jackpot prizes available from anywhere from around £100 to £1000.
Solution in the works
"The issue has proven more complicated than first anticipated, and we're currently in the process of consulting with lawyers in order to provide PayPal with legal opinions on this matter," reads a blog post/apology from the site on April 30th, 2021.
"What we can say is that your winnings are definitely safe with us. You can count on us to figure out this issue and find a way for you to withdraw your funds again in the future."
A solution from King is said to be in the works as winnings have still yet to be distributed to players. This is something the company is looking into but has given no timeline on when the transactions may all be complete.
PocketGamer.biz has reached out to King for further comment.
King once again achieved record revenue numbers in its latest financial results - a rise of 22 per cent year-over-year - with the free-to-play sweet puzzler driving growth for the most part.
