Bitcoin set to be poker's 'next big thing'

Online poker is not a game where anything stands still for long. A global playing pool of millions, intense industry-wide competition and vast sums of cash mean that there is a constant imperative to refine old games, to develop new games and to offer the newest, the fastest and the safest resources for players at every stage in their poker career.

Aside from the surge in poker itself, which is one of the defining features of the smartphone age, the development of rush formats and the increasing popularity of so-called social gaming are the most eye-catching developments in an industry that shows no sign of losing its collective mojo any time soon. Modern day poker is all about garnering the gaming edge from the very latest technologies.

The surge in popularity of the crypto-currency bitcoin in recent months has all the hallmarks of the next big thing to hit the industry. The key selling point of bitcoin is that it is an entirely digital form of currency. As such it is perfectly attuned to the fully digitised, internationalised requirements of the global game that is online poker.

What bitcoin does - in practical terms - is to do away with the payment processing aspect of playing cash games. Bitcoin derives its value from being immediately transferable from anywhere on earth to any other location without the hassle of changing currency or having to negotiate exchange rates or currency controls.

The first bitcoin casino and dedicated bitcoin poker rooms are emerging as globally minded entrepreneurs begin to see the benefits of seamlessly internationalised gaming sites. The big players are increasingly open to the use of bitcoin, but the emergence of bitcoin only providers such as vegascasino.io point to the way the simple common sense benefits that the currency enables.

The blockchain technology that guarantees the security of transactions also enables instant payments and complete anonymity. It represents not only the smoothest but often the most economically efficient means to play.

Over the past few months the value of bitcoin has risen almost two-fold. That means that anyone holding bitcoin within a poker account - for example - has enjoyed a healthy win before they have even turned a card. And there is considerable market insight insisting the price is only going to get higher.

If you are not already amongst the early adopters who have started to play with bitcoin, fear not - the ever-changing nature of online poker suggests that we’ll all be playing with bitcoin soon.

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS