Online poker has a trust problem, and the blockchain is here to solve it.
A company called Virtue Poker is currently holding a token sale to fund the development and marketing of a blockchain-powered poker platform that prides itself on fair play. In the same way that cryptocurrency technology keeps financial transactions honest and transparent, the same technology can be used to keep digital card sharks out of online gambling.
The first step in playing online poker isn’t to place a bet, but to top up an account balance by sending money to the company. “This requires an extraordinary level of trust,” said Ryan Gittleson, co-founder and CEO of Virtue Poker.
“Online poker sites have stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from players over the years.” It’s true: there’s no shortage of scandalous examples of poker site owners unfairly scamming players out their money. Naturally, blockchain technology can come to the rescue.
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Virtue Poker doesn’t hold a player’s money in any main account. Instead of sending their funds to the company directly, players send them to a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain that handles payouts automatically and without human involvement. There’s no room for abuse of mismanagement on the platform—blockchain technology ensures that all money goes exactly where it’s supposed to go.