Is PokerStars About To Introduce A Bitcoin Service?

If rumours currently circulating online are to be believed, PokerStars is seriously contemplating adding a bitcoin service to its site, with its integration functionality development already at an “advanced stage.” If confirmed, the move would be a game-changer, and could potentially provide a way back for US players shut out from PokerStars since the Black-Friday clampdown of 2011. As pokersites.com reporter Brian Corlisse explains:
“Because the currency isn’t overseen by a government and doesn’t exist outside of the internet, it would, technically, be legal for operators to use it as a real money gaming option.”
While that point isn’t at all clear, introducing the crypto-currency would still be welcome news for PokerStars’ millions of other customers, who would then be presented with a fast and safe means of depositing and making withdrawals online. Furthermore, financial transactions could be carried out at a reduced cost without the need for an intermediate financial institution, while customers would remain anonymous, and their bankrolls safe from the various authorities. As Bitcoin expert Steve White, elaborates:
“If done right, pokers sites that accept only Bitcoins allow for the player to manage the wallet rather than the poker room. The poker rooms don’t necessarily act as a bank and they can charge very little rake because they don’t have processing fees. The poker room offers the site to play on and the way for managing the bankroll is up to the player- they can deposit, play and withdraw in the same day holding their own rolls in a secure and encrypted manner.”
Another compelling reason why PokerStars may be keen to introduce a Bitcoin service would be in order to maintain its pioneering position in the online poker industry, as well as the need to offer its alternative to the products currently being offered by such sites as sealswithclubs.eu, Breakout Coin (BRO), and GetLuckyPoker.com.
Adding an internal bitcoin exchange would present few difficulties for the world’s biggest poker room, which already offers currency exchange options in dollars, pounds and euros. PokerStars would also be well placed to profit from any surge in bitcoin prices such a move may induce. While stories of a PokerStars bitcoin serice are currently just rumours, poker enthusiasts will certainly be eagerly awaiting any news that might confirm the exciting new development.