Things have been externally quiet and internally VERY busy at Virtue Poker. We completed our Final Beta program in June, one of the last steps on our journey to launch. As we discussed in our last update, our exclusive focus right now is on acquiring our gaming license from the Malta Gaming Authority. We are now in the MGA’s audit process - more on that in the Regulatory section below.
Development
The Dev Team is 100% focused on making sure that the Virtue Poker system is fully implemented and ready for the Malta Gaming Authority audit. The majority of new features in our last three releases are implemented for this purpose. These include:
- Full deck decryption on hand completion
- Geolocation restrictions
- Transaction histories
- Financial reports
- Robust data backup in Malta
- Responsible Gaming features including reality checks, and deposit limits
- Win/Loss reports
- Rake implementation and attribution
The team has also focused on clearing the backlog of reported bugs, the vast majority of which have now been fixed. This is a continuing process, of course.
Marketing
As we wound down the Final Beta program, we got to have some fun - we ran two final tables during which we gave away over 100 ETH (more than $30,000 USD).
The first of these was the Sit & Go World Series Final Table on June 28. The top three players on the Sit & Go Leaderboard sat down with three players who won entries in a random drawing, playing for a top prize of a World Series of Poker $10,000 Main Event entry and $2,o00 travel money, plus 21 ETH in other prizes. Final results:
- Salah: $10,000 Main Event entry + $2,000
- bitcoiner: 10 ETH
- King10: 5 ETH
- BadBitBoy : 3 ETH
- karinka: 2 ETH
- SapFear: 1 ETH
Then, five players had the opportunity of a lifetime: they got to play in a Sit & Go with Phil Ivey, holder of 10 World Series of Poker bracelets and generally considered to be the greatest player in the game. Three players won their entries by achieving top places on a special Short Deck Leaderboard (Ivey's favorite game), and two players won entries in a random drawing.
On August 30, those five players sat at a Sit & Go with Phil Ivey himself, playing for a first place prize of $5,000 plus a $1,000 bonus for busting Ivey. Final results:
- Machint0s: $5,000
- dani13: $3,500 + $1,000 bonus for busting Phil, total $4,500
- VenturaBay: $2,500
- ajbos: $1,000
- tober1chsoon: $500
- Phil Ivey
dani13 busted Phil at the 90 minute mark after a number of lead changes and jockeying of position, locking in the $1,000 bounty.
The Marketing Team is now solely focused on the launch plan. While we can’t disclose launch plan details, we are entirely focused on building and maintaining liquidity during the first few months of operation.
A few of the things you can look forward to once we launch:
- Weekly and monthly leaderboards
- Referral program
- Deposit bonuses
- Game-starter bonuses
- Random Bust-a-Host games that include Phil Ivey and Brian Rast
Token Listing
This is a new heading that we’re thrilled to add to the Update. We are in the process of negotiating with exchanges about listing the VPP token. Once the MGA informs us that our license has been granted (see Regulatory), we will provide a concrete timeline on token unlock and listing.
Regulatory
We are finally rounding the last turn in our quest for a gaming license from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA)!
The process of acquiring a gaming license is a long and complex one. Virtue Poker’s gaming license application is considerably more complex than most because we are applying for a first-in-the-world license to operate an online gaming platform primarily on the blockchain.
We have submitted thousands of pages of documentation and thousands of files to the MGA. These include code, architectural details, network details, operational plans and information about all of our staff. While this has been a long and labor-intensive process, it’s needed to ensure that all online gaming operators are held to the highest standards.
The MGA has given us a lot of feedback and has recommended many changes, all of which we have made. The version of our gaming application that is now in their hands is the final revision. We are now awaiting the final step - the audit. This is a process that we go through jointly with the MGA in which we demonstrate that the Virtue Poker system fully complies with MGA and industry standards.
Once the audit is complete and the MGA certifies it, we’re done! We expect that our gaming license will be issued within four weeks after certification.
Partnerships
We are working with another well-respected crypto gambling company to improve our onboarding and wallet creation experience and potentially share player liquidity. Through this partnership, we aim to make it easier to sign up, create a wallet and purchase cryptocurrency to deposit and play. More details and specifics will be released in a joint press release within the next few weeks.
Roadmap
Virtue Poker is currently preparing all of our systems - the poker platform, support services, marketing programs, security and network management - for mainnet launch. The team is focused on improving the stability and durability of the Virtue Poker platform while we wait to receive our gaming license.
Conclusion
We are as anxious as you - probably much more - to have Virtue Poker launch on the Ethereum mainnet. We are finally at the point where this is in the hands of the regulators, so now all we can do is wait. The feedback we have received from the MGA and our counsel leads us to believe that our license will be forthcoming very soon, and our launch will follow quickly once the license is issued.