A new blockchain-based poker site featuring an innovative loyalty system is set to host its first freeroll with real prizes on March 9.
Branding itself the “world’s first free online proof of loyalty poker game,” nOS uses blockchain technology to combine cryptocurrencies and MTTs in a new way.
Blockchain-Based Poker to Enhance Loyalty
Although the concept of freerolls is nothing new, the way in which players register for nOS Poker tournaments is. Known as proof of loyalty, the system requires players to hold a certain number of digital tokens before they ante up.
Every freeroll has it’s own “required balance” and each one will have a different prize. However, founder Dean van Dugteren has stated that no credits are taken from a user’s balance. .
Interestingly, any tokenized project can apply to sponsor a tournament. This means a company can create their own cryptocurrency and nOS will build an MTT around it.
This feature is important because it serves as a way of increasing the number of digital coins a company has in circulation. Because players can only enter a freeroll if they hold the required number of coins, they may have to buy/top up their balance to participate.
The reward for showing a certain level of loyalty to a particular digital coin is the chance to play a freeroll and win digital tokens linked to the tournament’s sponsor.
Online Poker Moving in New Directions
Where nOS Poker stands in terms of legality is unclear. Although there are no entry fees, players are winning digital tokens which could be sold or traded for real money.
Potential regulatory issues aside, the emergence of blockchain-based poker sites has been brewing for the best part of two years. As the Bitcoin (BTC) boom of 2017 reached its peak, a number of startups began exploring the use of blockchains in online poker.
CoinPoker became one of the first blockchain-based poker sites to process payments and verify its random number generator (RNG) using Ethereum (ETH) smart contracts. Championed by Tony G, the site has since offered a reward to anyone able to show its RNG isn’t 100% fair.
Although blockchain-based poker remains a niche part of the industry, Litecoin (LTC) founder Charlie Lee believes further innovations are inevitable.
nOS Poker taken the relationship between cryptocurrencies and online poker in a new direction. Although it may not revolutionize the industry, it does show that blockchain technology can be used for something other than payments and RNGs.
