15:40

07 Aug

In the world of online gaming, cryptocurrency is fast becoming king, as more and more sites are seeing the flexibility, anonymity and financial upside to operating via the likes of Bitcoin, Ethereum and the countless other currencies out there.

Poker, of course, is joining the party too – something we’ve seen a lot of recently with pros and amateurs alike cashing in big time on the recent surge in crypto values – and the hope is that new ventures will see poker as one of the mainstays of their offerings.



One site who certainly understand that the game of kings and queens has a rightful place in the online gaming market is BetKing, the biggest-ever crowdfunded Bitcoin casino who are now set to relaunch on the back of an ICO, an Initial Coin Offering which starts tomorrow.







BetKing came to my attention because of their phenomenal pre-sale which sold $1.45 million and made the headlines – just as I was reading on Cryptorial.com that:

“The price growth of ICO tokens post-sale has seen investors pocket some astronomical profits recently.”

Serendipity? Well, as with all ‘new technologies’ involving money you have to be careful, but this is where BetKing have a clear edge as the crowd-funded bankroll of 6000 Bitcoin were returned to investors when they closed in December 2016, having made a profit of almost 7400 Bitcoin in a little over two years.



So this relaunch already has a proven and trusted track record - 2015 saw BetKing record the most-wagered volume of all crowdfunded gambling sites (400,000 Bitcoin, almost more than all competitors combined as they gleefully – and rightly -point out) “with the highest betting limits” too.



So what does this have to do with poker – or rather where will our game fit in? Well, as with all crowd-funded gaming sites, be they cryptocurrency-based or using ‘old money’, the more people invest, the more the site can offer.







BetKing’s plans are to open with the traditional fare of roulette and blackjack, as well as their ridiculously successful and profitable dice game, a hi-lo variant responsible for much of the 7400 Bitcoin surplus in their earlier incarnation, but poker always follows – a casino is a casino after all and you have to give the punters what they want.

“Soon after launch we will add sports betting , more casino games , poker games and tournaments and native mobile apps ,” says BetKing Dean Nolan .

When the man in charge describes himself as a “poker donk”, as well as an “investor, entrepreneur and developer” you know you’re onto a good thing – at least you’re likely to take him to the cleaners at the poker table if not in the business world.





BetKing’s plans are quite – ok, very – clever, stating:

“We will also allow casino websites and app owners to integrate with our platform. We'll take care of user accounts and betting and let casinos develop their own unique games and promos while not having to worry about bankroll funds or security issues.”

This is of great interest to poker fans, of course, as it will offer much greater choice of games and a wider variety of platforms – and although we’ll have to wait and see just who gets involved in this sphere of the BetKing activities I imagine they will be many.







The 4-week ICO sale, which begins at midnight on August 7th, sees some ‘early bird’ bonuses for those in from the start: week 1 investors saving 15%, week 2 getting 10% off, the third week at 5% and the 4th week? Well, let’s just say you are probably on to a winner anyway, so don’t be greedy!



Although there are other online gaming sites doing similar stuff, this BetKing offer seems to be the biggie given their excellent history and exciting plans, and for more information you can visit their site here to check out the details of what’s in store and how to get involved.

