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BetMGM’s Online Poker App Now Available on Google Play Store

Posted on April 4, 2021April 2, 2021 by Kelley N.

Finding real money gambling apps on official application stores has always been quite difficult. However, things are beginning to change especially for gamers who own Android-powered smartphones and tablets. Google has been changing some of its policies with regards to allowing real money betting apps on its platform – at least in some jurisdictions – and operators are starting to step up to take advantage of the changes.

In mid-March, BetMGM became the very first real money online poker app to become available on the Google Play store. This first became available to poker players in New Jersey who could now easily access the operator’s offerings right from their mobile devices.

More to Come

Now, the launch of an app on the Google Play store might seem to be much of a big deal especially considering how many social gaming apps are already available. However, real money gambling apps remained prohibited on the Google Play store for a very long time. This change thus marks a landmark shift for the gambling sector in various jurisdictions.

For the operators, the change means that they will now be able to deliver their services to even more people in a more streamlined and simple manner. Their customers will no longer have to download any installation files or use the mobile versions of their websites which are more often than not less polished when compared to native apps.

For the customers, there is likely to be even better gaming experiences. For instance, as the number of BetMGM’s poker app users continues to rise, the operator will work hard to retain them. As such, the players can expect more interesting features, design improvements, or optimizations as well as other value-additions to make their poker gaming adventures all the more engaging.

A Few Concerns

Naturally, the decision by Google to change some of its policies is accompanied by certain implications – most of these have already been pointed out by several concerned parties. By opening the floodgates, it could be safe to assume that the company is prepared to deal with all of the issues.

Perhaps one of the things that customers will need to be vigilant about is the proliferation of copycat apps on the application store. This has been a problem in the past but companies have found ways of dealing with it. Hopefully, BetMGM is already implementing mechanisms to make it stand out lest it gets confused with pretender apps.

PokerStars Launches Its Operations in Michigan

Posted on February 4, 2021February 3, 2021 by Kelley N.

Poker enthusiasts in Michigan have had to endure a long wait for the launch of online poker since online gambling was legalized in the state over a year ago. Well, the wait is finally over as Michigan has recently officially become the fifth state in the country to offer legal and regulated online poker. As expected, this is a pretty lucrative market and already some of the biggest brands in the sector have already made a play for the sector.

World-renowned online poker operator PokerStars became the very first poker brand to go live in Michigan. The company’s efforts to offer its world-class services in the state received the backing of FOX Bet and Stars Casino both of which are also pretty notable brands in the world of gambling.

For the venture in the newly-regulated online poker market, PokerStars and its affiliate companies partnered with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Gaming Authority.

A Rocky Start

There was of course a lot of excitement when PokerStars announced that its poker offerings would be coming to the state. However, a little adjustment period may have been needed as the company tried to figure out the new market and iron out a few bugs. On the first day of online poker gaming on the site, there were a few notable glitches.

These glitches mainly affected the users’ ability to add funds to their accounts which would have been disastrous at any other time. However, this has since been fixed and new players can go in with confidence that such issues will not taint their experiences.

PokerStars even went as far as offering some very exciting promotions to welcome poker lovers in Michigan to their new offering. The most memorable one was a 100 percent deposit bonus – the minimum amount required to claim this was however on the higher side at $600.

Very High Hopes for The Industry

As mentioned earlier, the state has very high hopes for the online poker industry and by extension the online gambling sector as a whole. PokerStars’ entry into the market makes things all the more exciting given its stellar reputation.

According to Richard Kalm, the executive director of the Michigan Gaming Control Board, revenue generated from the newly launched sector will have a huge impact on several projects in the state. The money will go into such things as education, support for the tribal communities as well as further development of Detroit.

Poker Players Capitalize on Bitcoin to Enhance Their Winnings

Posted on December 4, 2020December 1, 2020 by Kelley N.

Bitcoin has been on a roll of late and it is not just crypto enthusiasts that have taken notice of the surge in the digital currency’s price. Now, several successful online gamblers have begun to capitalize on the bump by cashing out using Bitcoin from their favorite poker sites.

Some of the sites that this has been happening to include the AmericasCardroom.eu and its sister sites under the Winning Poker Network (WPN) umbrella. The renowned poker operator has had to buy millions of dollars’ worth of Bitcoin in recent weeks to cater to their users who want to cash out using the digital currency.

Winning Poker Networks Chief Executive Office Phil Naggy revealed that about 90 to 95 percent of their users are now asking for payouts in Bitcoin simply because of the rise in the cryptocurrency’s price.

“We are constantly having to go out and buy Bitcoin — lots. Lots. More than we’ve even had to before,” the CEO commented.

The high demand for Bitcoin is not entirely a new thing but it does represent some pretty interesting dynamics for the online poker sites that are involved as well as the iGaming industry as a whole.

Cause for Concern?

Even though the sites that are seeing the massive surge in Bitcoin payouts are not legally available in the United States, most of the customers are actually Americans. Now, offshore gambling is not entirely unheard of in many states even those where online poker is still illegal. However, since crypto is involved, much more can be read from the situation.

Perhaps one of the biggest concerns is that crypto enthusiasts may be using the online poker platforms as a means to evade taxation. To put this into perspective, the Winning Poker Network which is based in Costa Rica does not regulate certain aspects of their customers’ activities. The most notable one in this regard is the winning and losses – the players are allowed to file their winnings and losses on their own. There is no guarantee that they will file the right figures in this case.

Moreover, the current activities also come with some issues for the online poker operators that have integrated crypto payment methods. Bitcoin is still not considered to be fully stable, at least not yet. That said, the operators are always stuck with it regardless of the situation. As Phil Nagy points out, in cases where Bitcoin’s price drops, their uses who have Bitcoin usually send them to the operator since this is more often than not the fastest way to liquidate the digital tokens.

CoinPoker Shifts All of Its Tables to USDT

Posted on October 4, 2020October 1, 2020 by Kelley N.

After announcing in mid-September that it would be switching to a stable coin as its main in-game currency, CoinPoker has finally followed through with those plans by integrating USDT. It becomes the very first online poker operator on the planet to pull off such as move, something that is expected to pay off quite decently in both the short and long terms.

USDT, otherwise known as Tether, has been breaking records for quite some time now. In fact, it is widely considered to have a lot to do with the most innovative developments in the digital currency space since the conception of Bitcoin in the late noughties. The currency has grown so popular that even banks might start to consider it as a normal payment option in the near future.

Keeping all that in mind, it is not too surprising that CoinPoker has seen the potential of the digital currency. Perhaps the most compelling reason for the adoption of USDT is the fact that it offers a solution to the prevailing volatility problem that continued to plague a number of digital currencies. A stablecoin also creates room for accelerated growth, something that CoinPoker certainly needs in order to achieve its very ambitious growth plans.

The biggest perks that CoinPoker will be getting from USDT include stability, better transaction speeds as well as reliability. All of these are valued features among the members of the poker community and their existence will certainly make the site an attractive option for even more gamblers.

What About CHP?

Despite the fact that USDT will be taking over as the main in-game digital currency on CoinPoker, CHP which is the operator’s digital token will remain in place. According to CoinPoker, “CHP is the currency of the CoinPoker economy, and it will stay this way, except stronger than before.” The company still has some pretty huge plans for the token especially with regards to bringing customers more perks.

Using CHP will not be forced down the throats of the customers but those who choose to use it will gain special access to some exclusive perks and benefits. These will include such things withdrawal fee discounts, dedicated promotions, giveaways, special games, and special access to the sportsbook as well as rakeback. In addition to those, players who will be using CHP will also get 50% more Leaderboard points.

This is a pretty huge leap forward for CoinPoker, the crypto community, and the online poker community. Players can already join the action using fiat, BTC, or ETH if they do not have USDT yet – the in-app currency conversion really comes in handy here.

888poker’s Millions Superstorm Kicks Off September 10

Posted on September 4, 2020September 1, 2020 by Kelley N.

Despite the massive changes that had to be implemented due to the coronavirus pandemic, online poker operators have been finding ways to bring back some action. Already a number of massive poker events have been held and more are yet to come.

Poker players have quite a lot to look forward to in September but the one that stood out the most for us is 888poker’s $8 Million Guaranteed Tournament Series, Millions Superstorm Edition. To begin with, Million Superstorm is the biggest poker festival that 888poker has ever held in nearly 20 years. It will also go down in history as the biggest online poker tournaments series that the renowned poker operator has held in the recent past.

What to Expect

To begin with, the Millions Superstorm will feature a whopping 480 events with the first one kicking off on September 10. The tournaments series will then run all the way to October 11. Buy-ins start from as low as $5.50 and rise all the way to as much as $530. This is a pretty reasonable range, particularly because it will allow all kinds of players to take part in some of that action.

This tournament series is part of the poker operator’s Millions Superstorm promotion that has been running for quite some time now. Participating players will have the chance to compete in tons of fun and exciting daily challenges. The promotion runs for 8 weeks and in that period the operator will have awarded a total of $1 million in cash prizes in addition to the $8 million that is guaranteed for the tournament series.

So, if you want a piece of that, you will certainly need to look out for the cash freerolls, the daily spinners, the bonuses, tickets as well as the Millions Superstorm Daily Freeroll tournaments.

The $1 Million Guaranteed Main Event

Perhaps the biggest highlight of the entire tournament series will be the Superstorm Main Event whose buy-in is $320 and there is a whopping $1 million cash prize. This will be an action-packed two-day event where the best poker players will battle it out to get a share of the cash prize.

Feel like you are a great player? Well, even if you cannot afford the $320 buy-in, there are ways of getting a piece of that action and possibly a piece of the cash prize too. With 888poker’s Daily Spinners, you might just be the lucky winner of a free entry into the Millions Superstorm Main Event. All you need to do is to spend no less than $5 playing games in the online casino or bet at least $5 in sports events with 1.5 minimum odds.

You could also win an entry into the Main Event via the satellite events which have been running since August 23.

The 2020 Online World Series of Poker Is Finally Here

Posted on July 4, 2020July 2, 2020 by Kelley N.

After a long wait following the cancellation of the 2020 World Series of Poker due to the coronavirus pandemic, poker lovers can now finally enjoy the action online. The 2020 Online World Series of Poker kicked off on July 1 and is set to run until September 6.

While the online tournament series may seem rather weird for people who were used to being part of the action in the land-based venues, the online tournament series promises a lot of fun for every poker lover. To begin with, the online poker series features a total of 85 WSOP gold bracelets all of which are up for grabs on both GGPoker and WSOP.com.

WSOP.com’s daily series poker action began on July 1 and will remain available till July 31. This will, unfortunately, be available to only New Jersey and Nevada players. GGPoker, on the other hand, will be kicking off its massive array of 54 bracelet events on July 19 and they will run till September 6.

Record-Breaking Events in Store

While it may have been a result of circumstance, there is a lot of optimism about the tournaments. Most notable, it is expected that the 2020 Online World Series of Poker will become the largest online poker event ever, that is, in terms of the prize pool. Speaking of the prize pool, the event has a massive guarantee which has certainly caught the attention of poker players and pros from all around the globe.

“With over $100M in guarantees during the WSOPC Super Series in May and more than $134M in awarded prizes, it’s clear that GGPoker and the WSOP make a good pair. We’re excited to create bracelet events that the worldwide poker community will embrace, as well as innovative programming with PokerGo.”

Steve Preiss, Head of Poker Operations for GGPoker.

The players will have the chance to participate in a ton of exciting events with very reasonable buy-ins. Even the “Main Event” which will go down on WSOP.com on July 31 will have a buy-in of $1,000. This might seem a little high but it is definitely low enough that a considerable number of players will be able to get in on the fun. To put this into perspective, the No-Limit Hold’em Championship “Main Event” will cost a whopping $9,000 less than the traditional Main Event. That said, if you have always wanted to participate in that particular event but the high buy-in has kept you away, this might your chance to be a part of it.

Poker.com Unveils New Bitcoin-Powered Online Poker Platform

Posted on May 4, 2020May 3, 2020 by Kelley N.

Poker.com which is arguably one of the leading online poker platforms on the planet has been trying to outdo its competitors for a very long time. This it has done by offering some of the most enticing poker features and at the end of it all, the players are the true winners. Its most recent move in this regard was the recent unveiling of a brand-new Bitcoin-powered online poker platform. That is great timing for the site since there has been a significant rise in online poker traffic.

The poker site which has been in operation for two decades has always been committed to providing its customers with the very best in terms of features. That said, the move to go all-in with crypto is set to create an even deeper sense of trust and commitment among its very loyal fanbase.

What Does the New Platform Have to Offer?

Known as Bitcoin Poker, the new online poker platform is expected to gain massive popularity among both online poker enthusiasts and members of the Bitcoin and digital currency community at large. It will bring forth all of the amazing features that many online gamblers have already seen with other crypto-based gaming platforms.

To begin with, the players will get to enjoy instant play and they will be able to do this while remaining totally anonymous. All that they will need to do is verify their email addresses and dive into the poker action.

As if that is not enough, the players will also have access to superfast deposits and payouts thanks to the Bitcoin network. The poker operator is already very popular for offering some of the most reliable and seamless payment processing in the industry but, still that the addition of Bitcoin will be a much-needed step up.

Aside from the speed of transactions, players can also look forward to other amazing perks including:

Low transaction fees for the room and you
Private, anonymous poker, no personal details needed, no bank or cc statements
Highly secure deposits in minutes
Rapid cashouts
Freedoms from banks and governments.

The Platform’s New Affiliate Program

Bitcoin Poker is not the only thing that Poker.com customers have to look forward to. The company has also recently announced a 50 percent revenue share for all of the new members of its mind-blowing affiliate program. This revenue share deal will remain in place for a whopping three months for each of the new partners who join.

It goes without saying that in the very dynamic world of online gambling, such developments are always monumental to the growth of individual companies and the industry as a whole. Poker.com customers will certainly have a lot to enjoy but it won’t be long before other players in the industry also respond by introducing equally competitive products and features.

Lockdown Turns More People Towards Online Poker and Casinos

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Kelley N.

The coronavirus pandemic is a very serious issue not just because of the impacts it has had on the world thus far but also because of the long-term effect it will have on the economy and individuals. Now, there are a number of steps that have been taken in order to help fight the virus and perhaps the most important one is social-distancing. Staying at home and avoid social gathering is a key component in the fight to contain the spread of the virus.

Naturally, staying at home and having no access to social places such as casinos is very tough for some people. However, since you have to stay home as part of your social responsibility to protect yourself and others, you might as well find something to keep you busy during these difficult times.

That said, online gambling has been a great pass time for people as the world deals with the pandemic. With the cancellation of several poker events and the closure of casinos, gamblers have had to switch to online casinos and poker sites.

Is It Enough?

People who were already familiar with online poker are certainly not facing the same learning curves as other gamblers who preferred land-based gaming. Perhaps the most important factor that made land-based poker a delight for them is the social aspect of the games. Having to stay at home has been tough on many people since they are deprived of connection.

Fortunately, there are online poker platforms that have been working hard to ensure that their users feel connected despite being in isolation. Social online poker was always quite a big deal but with more players now having to stay at home, it has become even more important.

Moreover, live casino games have also seen an uptick in the number of uses looking to enjoy their services. Although when it comes to something as serious as a global pandemic that requires people to isolates themselves we need to be careful how we frame things, it is safe to say that online gaming is making the time quite bearable for very many people.

Will It Last?

Well, while online poker and casino sites may be enjoying a lot more traffic, it is important to note that the rest of the industry is taking a big hit. Many of the companies that are suffering in other sectors of gambling are likely to be the ones trying to hold the fort in the online gambling sector. This is certainly very tough since they have to deal with salvaging these other aspects of their business while at the same time keeping up with the increased demand for online gaming.

Besides, once the virus contained and things go back to normal people will return to their routines. When that happens, we might once again see a decline in online gambling activity.

PokerStars Begins Testing Poker Side Bets

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Kelley N.

Over the years, PokerStars has been known for being one of the most innovative online poker operators on the planet. All of the poker operator’s efforts are motivated by the need to give its customers the best possible experience at the poker tables. With its next project, PokerStars intends to give its customers the opportunity to bet against the house on what cards are coming. This new side bets feature is definitely going to resonate well with gamblers who are looking for more ways of spreading their wagers around.

Side bets are not an entirely new concept for PokerStars. The operator has been mixing casino-style gambling with partially skill-based games in a number of their tournaments. Its Spin & Go tournaments are a great example of this.

How Side Bets Work

As mentioned earlier, side bets are a special kind of bet since unlike the skill-based gaming that poker players indulge in, they involve the players betting against the house instead of betting against each other. To avoid the impact of the actual play at the poker tables, the money used for making these side bets do not come from the player’s stacks at the table. The money will come from the players’ account balances.

Since they are totally based on luck, side bets doe not require any form of skill to play. This will make them an interesting addition to the PokerStars poker tables. It is speculated that there will be Return-To-Player (RTP) of 97.12 percent and 97.29 percent for side bets flops and side bets on hole cards respectively. The house advantages on these are pretty low which means that the interested players will stand better chances of making a killing from the side bets.

When Will It Arrive?

As of the time this piece was written, the side bets feature is only available on clients in the United Kingdom and the European Union. It is also only available at hold’em tables. The beta test of the feature has been shrouded in mystery but since it has stayed around for this long, it is safe to presume that the company is making some progress in that regard.

No details have emerged from PokerStars regarding any timeframes for the unveiling of the feature to more markets across the globe. However, given the online poker operators’ massive presence in several states in the US and other countries, there is some certainty that players in those areas will be able to enjoy using the new feature when it is rolled out. Get ready for even more action at the poker tables.

The World of Crypto and Poker in 2020 And Beyond

Posted on January 4, 2020January 3, 2020 by Kelley N.

Poker remains to be one of the most popular games on the planet and this is set to be the case for a very long time. No other games come even close to offering the thrill and excitement that poker offers its customers. Now, things are about to get even better thanks to the entry and subsequent integration of crypto technology.

While digital currencies and the associated technologies are still seen as novelties by many people, they have evolved tremendously over the years to become among the most popular topics on the planet. A revolution in the way that we perform transactions is imminent and one of the industries that will benefit will be the gambling industry. This is because the sector was among the very first ones to adopt crypto technologies in a bid to improve service delivery. The gaming industry has capitalized on the benefits that can be derived from the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as well as supporting technologies such as the blockchain and smart contracts.

How Will It Impact Online Poker?

Already, there are a decent number of online poker operators that are utilizing digital currencies. These companies are now essentially proof of concept for the benefits of using crypto for banking. Some of the most marketed benefits include security, safety, speed, flexibility, and even anonymity. Decentralization plays a huge part in this and it ties in very well with the accessibility that online poker operators are working hard to keep offering.

The shift towards online poker operations that support crypto payments has already begun albeit on a rather small scale – it is picking up the pace though. Digital currencies may have grown tremendously popular but there has been a bit of a slowdown in terms of mainstream rollout. The gaming industry does not seem to be suffering from the same problem since it is known for being very experimental as an early adopter of technologies.

Giving Users Full Control

At the end of the day, this seems to be the most important factor for many online poker players. By eliminating the middleman, online poker operators will allow the users to have more control over how they spend their money. Speed, safety and security are the core consideration in this case. A number of projects were already in the pipeline by the time 2019 was coming to an end with more set to come into play this year. There are lots of crypto-powered online poker sites available right now. You might want to get acquainted with them as soon as possible. Why? They are the future.

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