Betcoin.ag Discontinues Poker Offerings
Bitcoin-based online poker site Betcoin.ag has announced that it will be ceasing its poker offerings, effective tomorrow, Christmas Day of 2017. Betcoin was one of the oldest Bitcoin-based online-gambling sites, arriving on the online scene in 2014, and it joined into a loose affiliation with the Winning Poker Network in late 2014 for MTT play. That relationship with WPN is seemingly terminated as well.
Betcoin.ag’s departure from the online-poker scene raises as many questions as the answers it provides. Betcoin.ag has long been among the most secretive of all online sites; its owners have never been identified, and its withdrawal of poker services is attributed solely to the site’s claim of being sold to another entity.
“We’ve been acquired,” reads a notice offered by Betcoin.ag recently by way of explanation. (The site’s complete announcement is offered below.) But acquired by who is as much as mystery as who owns owned Betcoin.ag in the first place. Clues to that identity are scarce, and though some other industry entities must know, it’s been intentionally hidden from the public. Betcoin.ag operates from an Antiguan server hub, and its home-domain registration has long been falsified. Some of what’s there has pointed to a possible Paris, France registry, but being munged, it’s hard to say what’s real and what’s not.
That said, and despite Betcoin.ag being among the older BTC-based sites in existence, it’s departure from the poker world might not be a bad thing. The site does have a loyal cadre of fans and players, but it has also been involved in or alleged to have taken part in several shady shenanigans, ranging from excessive rake being taken to fund an at-that-point-undisclosed bad beat jackpot to a major slots-jackpot win that the site largely refused to honor.
Other allegations made against the site include the confiscation of funds from a large collusion ring, then using those funds to promote a large freeroll while the colluders went largely unpunished. The site has also been accused of allowing large numbers of bots to clog its cash-game tables, likely to boost overall traffic numbers. A large US-based affiliate published a “good riddance” feature just yesterday about Betcoin.ag’s cessation of poker services, while the site’s malfeasances have frequently been brought up on user forums such as Todd Witteles’ PokerFraudAlert.
Here’s the complete notice offered by Betcoin.ag, which runs to several paragraphs but doesn’t offer much in the way of facts:
Betcoin.ag has been acquired and we regret to inform you that the new Betcoin will be discontinuing its poker service as of Monday, December 25, 2017. There are lots of fond memories to look back upon including the Betcoin Cage, the Daily Coin and hundreds of Bitcoin awarded in freerolls. We enjoyed posting about the achievements of our many players who hit it big with wins in major tournaments. But most of all, we have truly enjoyed providing a home to our great poker players these last 3+years. Betcoin poker hasn’t been just a place to play, but a community filled with unique individuals. The dynamic has been almost like a family, in that we loved, we fought, sometimes even dined together (virtually). While this is a big disappointment to us all, we hope to continue that type of camaraderie going forward as Betcoin moves into its next chapter.
Moving Forward
Betcoin will continue to offer the same great service, VIP program, INSTANT DEPOSITS and INSTANT WITHDRAWALS going forward. Our great casino and live casino (where available) will still be accessible to our great members and will soon include many new casino providers and provably fair games. We will continue our tradition of bringing you the best, most exciting new casino offerings, including our virtual games and Provably Fair options. The new sportsbook will also continue to be available and we will be improving that as well, including the addition of a log of pending bets which should be completed this week! We will also be continuing our great affiliate program, which can earn you Bitcoin from a simple recommendation.
Thank You
We know this is a sad day for all of our poker players and it is unfortunate for us as well. To all our fantastic poker players, thank you so much for making Betcoin your home for poker. To those of you who use our casino and sportsbook, those will remain untouched (with the exception of improvements). To those who don’t we hope you will continue to stop by the player chat and let us know how you are doing. We wouldn’t be here without you and cannot express enough gratitude to you all.
We will be giving out tickets to the last Thank You Freeroll to people who comment below. Please let us know what Betcoin Poker has meant to you. Tell us about a great experience you had. Now is the time to get sentimental. We will be accepting entries through Friday and will award tickets to everyone who replies. All we ever wanted to do at Betcoin Poker was provide you with the very best environment and poker opportunities and we are happy that many of you made Betcoin Poker your home. Thanks for everything!
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