The Current: BetRivers Poker Is Here, And This Is Why It's Cool
TCL will offer a short piece on something new in the US gambling space in The Current every Tuesday.
It’s Election Day in America, so are you really going to read a gambling newsletter? Well, since you’re here, I’ll provide some words.
Online poker: Remember that game? It used to be big business in the US, then poker’s Black Friday shut most of it down in America. And while we’ve seen some states legalize it over the past decade-plus alongside online casinos, the nature of a state-by-state rollout has mostly meant it’s a side quest in the larger story of online gambling in the United States.
(It’s also crazy to think there’s arguably a lot more skill in poker than some other things that are not classified as gambling in states around the country, but I digress.)
So what’s new in poker? Well, we have a new online poker room from BetRivers, and they are giving it a real push with a proper deposit bonus and everything. The poker room finally opened up its virtual doors a couple of years after poker pro Phil Galfond sold his RunItOnce business to Rush Street Interactive (dba BetRivers).
Right now BetRivers Poker is just in Pennsylvania, with plans to expand in the future. The status quo of online poker is there are legal sites in just a handful of states (including Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware), with player pooling across some of these states and some operators.
As a revenue-generating business by itself, online poker in the US is not in the greatest spot with a relatively small audience with which to generate liquidity. That’s why it’s so interesting and refreshing to hear Galfond, who is still with Rush Street, say “who cares?” and lean into what poker can be very good at — customer acquisition and retention.
Read more from Galfond here:
At a large, multi-vertical gaming company, the primary purpose of poker is not to generate poker revenue. It’s to acquire and retain players for the other, more lucrative verticals. And it serves its purpose – poker players cost companies less to acquire than casino or sportsbook players, and casino and sportsbook bettors who enjoy poker will often bring all of their action to a platform that has it all over one that’s missing poker.
As a part of that, BetRivers Poker is lowering rake beyond industry standards and then soon, by Galfond’s words:
We plan to keep none of it, giving our share of rake away in rakeback, rewards, incentives, freerolls, and more.
Galfond is getting a window to prove this somewhat radical idea works to create new customers and meaningful cross-sell into casino and sports for BetRivers. I love the logic, and in theory, it should work. And I think poker players would love to have a true home at a regulated poker site.
I come from a poker background before all else. I played a ton in my younger days, both in home games and online. I wrote poker content before I got into what I do today. And I very much want to see poker make a real comeback in the United States someday. So I am rooting for Phil and BetRivers as a fan of the game I love.
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