According to the World Poker Tour (WPT), there are 100 million online poker players worldwide with 60 million online poker players residing in the U.S. Obviously, online poker is popular in the United States, and yet legislation only allows a handful of states to offer cash games. To be more specific, only seven states have passed laws and only five of these have issued business licenses to operate legally.
The states that have money games are doing a plethora of business as the online gaming industry has proven to be a strong source of income. For example, Michigan state raised 1.67 million tax dollars in revenue in 2021 as reported by Michigan.gov, underlining the benefit to authorities.
With so much money to be earned from such a lucrative business, it was only natural for crypto to make its way into the internet gaming (iGaming) market. After all, we’ve seen crypto enter into digital currencies, crypto banking, and foreign exchange – it was only a matter of time before it entered into iGaming. With that said, crypto casinos are a new trend and crypto poker is an offshoot of the industry worth keeping an eye on and here’s why.
What Is Crypto Poker?
Before we examine how crypto poker might impact the industry, it’s important to understand what it is. In an analysis of crypto poker by Poker.org, they explain that cryptocurrency is becoming a common way to fund an online poker account because it’s illegal for banks to be involved in processing online gambling transactions. Using crypto solves this because purchases are never made through a bank. The only way to purchase crypto is through a cryptocurrency exchange, like Coinbase, or an app, like Cash App. Funding an online poker account with this method is totally legal.
With regards to playing the game of poker, the guidelines and procedures are exactly the same, whether it’s Texas Hold’em, Omaha, or Five-card draw, the way the games are played remain untouched. So you don’t have to worry about learning any new rules for the cards. If this is your first time getting involved with crypto, then you’ll need to learn the financial aspect, but don’t worry because everyone else will also need to learn about setting up crypto accounts, apps, and blockchain technology.
What Does Crypto Poker Offer Players?
Using crypto to finance online poker offers numerous benefits as compared to using regular banking.
For example, the security of transferring funds through blockchain technology surpasses that of any bank because it occurs on a decentralized infrastructure, which means your funds do not have to go through an intermediary. As a result, the transfer cuts out any “middlemen” which is extremely difficult to hack, and establishes trust between the parties involved.
Not only is security better, but the performance is better, too. Using blockchain technology to transfer, deposit, and withdraw large amounts of money is a streamlined process that doesn’t require a bank, thus it’s so much faster and cheaper. There are fees associated with the transactions, but the costs are much less than those of a regular bank. The wagering and withdrawal limits are also comparatively higher than regular banks, which means you can access more funds when you need to.
Why It Might Change The Online Poker Industry?
Investing in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are considered by many as speculations, and the perspective of these assets used in funding online gambling accounts is still a new trend. Crypto could completely change the online poker industry if it becomes the primary source of funding for online poker accounts. Numerous states have been cashing in on iGaming revenues and there are, as previously mentioned, 60 million players in the U.S. ready to gamble – this is clear evidence that there is a large market ready to spend money.
If lawmakers adjust their attitudes to be aligned with the market demands, it could be only a matter of time until legislation begins to consider expanding the limits on iGaming and online poker. Perhaps one day, all 50 states will allow online poker, which could ignite another poker boom with likes of the one that occurred in the 2000s.
