Bitcoin. It’s so hot right now.
Another new Bitcoin online poker site announced that it will be launching soon, continuing the gradual trend of upstart poker rooms trying to skirt anti-online gaming funding regulations by going with the virtual, decentralized currency. European site Bitnplay (not to be confused with the late 80’s, early 90’s hip-hop duo, Kid ‘n Play) is set to go live on February 1st.
There are a couple interesting things about Bitnplay. First, while players need to trust the site to provide stable, reliable software, they do not need to trust the site to safeguard their funds. Players will not deposit money with Bitnplay. Instead, buy-ins to tournaments are made directly from players’ Bitcoin wallets and winnings are sent directly back to the Bitcoin wallets. There is no depositing into a Bitnplay cashier first. If this works as Bitnplay says it should, it would certainly provide much welcomed security for players.
The other aspect of Bitnplay that is unique (aside from the use of Bitcoin, which isn’t all that unique anymore) is its implementation of Bitnpartners, a way for the site to essentially get people to buy into the site on an investment level. With this system, Bitnplay is offering 200 special Bitnplay partner tokens to whoever wants to purchase them. They are for sale for two Bitcoin each, which equals approximately $633 at the moment. In exchange for the two Bitcoin, the person holding the token will receive 100 percent rakeback on Bitnplay for life. The token can only be associated with one account at any given time, but can be traded or sold. It is a virtual asset belonging to the person who holds it, so it is that person’s to use as he or she sees fit. Though only one token can be attached to an account, any individual person can own multiple tokens.
This token is obviously very useful for a high volume grinder who pays lots of rakeback per year. The problem in this situation, though, is that it is unlikely that Bitnplay will have the player base to appeal to a grinder. The largest current Bitcoin poker site is SealswithClubs, which ranks as just the 43rd largest poker site or network on the internet according to PokerScout.com with a seven-day average of 110 cash game players. And not only will Bitnplay almost certainly not approach that number anytime soon, but it is only going to offer tournaments to start. If Bitnplay had a thousand or two players, or even a few hundred, 100 rakeback might be appealing, but right now, it’s questionable.
One may wonder why someone would want to own more than one token, since only one token can be paired with an account and multi-accounting won’t be allowed. Bitnplay advises that the tokens could be quite useful for affiliates who want to offer rakeback deals. It appears that an affiliate could own the token and earn a customer’s 100 rakeback by attaching it to that player’s account. That affiliate could, in turn, give the player a sweet rakeback deal themselves. The player gets a large rakeback percentage without having to buy the token and the affiliate can possibly earn ongoing revenue without having to actually play poker.
The token could also theoretically be held as a simple investment. Buy it now for two Bitcoin, sell it later for more if the demand is there.
