Virtue Gaming is launching a play-to-earn crypto model for US online poker players. The platform is currently backed by the World Poker Tour champion and popular professional poker celebrity Phil Ivey.

A decentralized online poker platform known as Virtue Gaming built on the Ethereum blockchain just recently announced its very first P2E or play to earn online poker casino in the United States.

Six States in the US that Legalized and Regulated Online Poker

As of the moment, there are only six states in the US that have legalized and currently regulate online poker. These states include Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The country has been quite slow to act regarding concerns of international poker platforms taking revenue from domestic, land-based gambling venues as per the story by CoinTelegraph. Even states that are listed, poker platforms still have to obtain licenses from every single jurisdiction they are operating in.

How the P2E Setup Will Work

As of the moment, US residents weren’t able to access online poker platforms like 888 Poker or PokerStars that are available to other players from around the world. To give a solution to this issue, Virtue Gaming is now proposing a P2E setup where players get 500 virtual player points or VPP that are worth around $147.37 USD.

Players will get the points for free when they sign up and when players hit the minimum playtime requirements through cash games and tournaments, they will be able to exchange their VPP for USDT.

Platform Gets Ethereum or Other Cryptos

US players will have to compete against players coming from the rest of the world who transfer VPP, Ethereum, or even other cryptos into the online poker platform’s locked sidechain smart contracts to stake within the game.

In order to prevent cheating, the platform uses peer-to-peer encrypted shuffling for every deck. As per the legislation, points or credits given to participants for free are outside of the scope of legal definition of a wager or bet and could give the P2E model some leeway.

25,000 Players on the Platform

During the time of publication, there were already 25,000 players from outside of the United States on the platform. This new online poker method could be an interesting way to allow US citizens to participate in poker over the blockchain.

As of the moment, however, this is still very new and it might take some time to see whether or not the platform will be a success or not in the US market. Despite already being used elsewhere, operating in the United States could still be quite tricky for the platform.