Pokerstars missing on a great opportunity

[hugolp]

Sure, that's all fine. The issue is not taxation or tax-evasion. My question is basically: how does the gov draw the line of what's considered play-money and what's considered real-money? This is clearly relevant since gambling with real-money in the US is only legal in select physical jurisdictions, yet playing poker on Zynga, as noted above, is perfectly legal despite the fact that there is effectively an exchange rate between USD and Zynga chips... But, if a poker site denominated in Euros allowed US players, it would pretty quickly get some Department of Justice attention. So where's the distinction?

This might be the reason:

Zynga is the only authorized seller of Facebook chips (or MySpace poker chips, etc.) in its games. Everyone else is engaging in fraud and/or breaking various laws.

http://www.zynga.com/about/poker-chips.php

Any buying and selling of the chips is ilegal and thats why they dont care. They are hard to sell. Its not really competition for the dollar.

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[guywhogotgoxed]

Pokerstars are not missing out on anything.

Ask yourself why the major poker rooms are not flocking to bitcoin. Therein lies the answer.

I dont understand what you mean. Why wouldnt they want to accept BTC?

[bitcola]

Pokerstars are not missing out on anything.

Ask yourself why the major poker rooms are not flocking to bitcoin. Therein lies the answer.

I dont understand what you mean. Why wouldnt they want to accept BTC?

Let's go back to my question: Why would they want to accept BTC?


You've got to give someone a reason to use a new currency. You don't just assume they use it anyway and only stop using it if they have reason not to.


I'll start with one reason (there are many more): volatility. What business wants to accept a highly volatile currency? Now I know that bitcoins have been more stable the last few weeks. But weeks are nothing. Companies hate it when currency changes even 10% over one year.

[BTCSports]

This might be the reason:

Zynga is the only authorized seller of Facebook chips (or MySpace poker chips, etc.) in its games. Everyone else is engaging in fraud and/or breaking various laws.

http://www.zynga.com/about/poker-chips.php

Any buying and selling of the chips is ilegal and thats why they dont care. They are hard to sell. Its not really competition for the dollar.

Just because they put it on their website doesn't make it a fact. 

It is neither fraudulent nor illegal to sell Zynga Poker chips, it is simply against their TOS.  Their TOS is "illegal" in that it doesn't comply with the First-Sale Doctrine as it applies to copyrighted material; which basically states that a person who purchases something that is copyrighted has the right to sell, lend or it give away.  Zynga's main offensive weapon against anyone selling Zynga Poker chips on the secondary market is to claim copyright infringment when the first-sale doctrine specifically immunizes a reseller from such liability.

[Anonymous]

They should use bitcoin on google plus.

Bye bye facebook.   

[Cryptoreflector_666]

Pokerstars is missing on a great opportunity to use bitcoins as a stakes medium.

1. Since it isn't technically cash or any "valid" currency per US standards US players could play with BTC without any legal consequences whatsoever.

2. They can incorporate a micro mining component to their pokerstars client which can give players some microbitcoins and a chance to start playing with minimal stakes sort of like giving away play money. Alternately they could produce the bitcoins themselves and give them away in micro quantities to their new players much like they already do with their own play money (which has actual cash value too about 1 million PS playmoney per $5 USD).

3. they can offer introductory games and tournaments with extremely low stakes given bitcoins divisibility nature. They can easily hold the customers bitcoins in their super secure servers and super easily accept and payout bitcoins.

I am just wondering wtf are they waiting for? Are they planning on making their own virtual currency just for pokerstars? That would be dumb IMO.

I think you can write to the support and development service of poker stars (or any other poker platforms, of which thousands) with a specific proposal to introduce cryptocurrency into their platform on mutually beneficial terms. If the creators are really interested in profit, then they will certainly do it.

[Cryptoreflector_666]

If major poker sites will start accepting bitcoins it's not a problem, if they allow US players gamble through BTC it may bring potential heat on to them, like what happened few month back with couple of sites.

All right. Only there is a possibility that some other project aimed at online games based on the blockchain will bypass them. It is only a matter of time and if people can play poker without investment, using mining as a means of Deposit then PokerStars will be forced to switch to crypto.