One of the oldest cryptocurrency-based poker rooms is coming back. Betcoin.ag, one of the very first online gambling sites to operate solely on cryptocurrencies is returning to the online poker scene after a series of shut-downs and apologies.
Betcoin announced in December 2017 that it will be discontinuing its poker service starting Christmas day. The closing of the virtual poker tables were attributed to the change in management as Betcoin has been acquired by a new anonymous party.
Betcoin has been one of the most secretive online casino sites in the market, true to the promise of anonymity provided by blockchain technology. Throughout its operation, its owners have never been identified and the new acquiring company was not named as well. Even its home domain is unknown to the public, save for its server hub that operates from Antigua and Barbuda—thus its web country code of .ag.
Three days after the virtual poker rooms folded, Betcoin came out with another apology, now pertaining to the bad beat jackpot that wasn’t awarded before the poker rooms shut down.
Betcoin Bad Beat Jackpot Not Paid Out
When Betcoin poker was still offering its services, some of its rooms were bad beat jackpot-eligible, where players contribute a price for the bad beat jackpot. The bad beat jackpot is then won when an already strong hand is beaten by an even stronger hand. According to the rules specified by Betcoin poker in 2016, the losing hand must have 4 Jacks or better. When the bad beat jackpot is hit, the bad beat player gets 70 percent of the bad beat jackpot, while the winner of the hand gets 20 percent, and the other players at the table are even rewarded with 10 percent of the prize money.
But after so many tables and months of building its bad beat jackpot, no one was able to win the bad beat jackpot. This is why when Betcoin poker closed, they found it necessary to issue an apology and create a way to distribute the money to everyone who contributed to the prize pool. When Betcoin closed, they released a post which said that the online poker room would be distributing the total bad beat jackpot money based on the percentages of all players who contributed to the pool. All payouts will be made and completed by the second week of January.
But during the second week of January, when players were waiting to receive their percentages of the bad beat jackpot, Betcoin poker came out with another announcement stating that they will not proceed with the distribution of the bad beat jackpot. Betcoin surprised everyone and announced that it would once again reopen its poker rooms and start online poker services once again.
Betcoin Unable To Calculate Bad Beat Jackpot Percentages  
According to a post dated January 17, Betcoin has determined that the distribution of the bad beat jackpot could not be completed with 100 percent transparency and accuracy. Because their blockchain technology guarantees transparency and accuracy at all times, they have decided to reopen the bad beat jackpot poker rooms with lower requirements to dispose of the jackpot prize in the way it was supposed to be won.
In a statement, the online poker site said, “During this review process we consulted poker executives and players and all confirmed that the most transparent and best way was to open poker back up and lower the requirements of the bad beat jackpot until it is earned by the players. Our goal is to do the right thing and remain fully transparent.”
Betcoin Poker Players Not Very Happy
Betcoin’s decision to backtrack on their word to distribute the bad beat jackpot had many Betcoin players up in arms, since many are disappointed by the fact that all players will have equal chances to get their hands on the jackpot no matter how high their stakes are. Many players who contributed to the original bad beat jackpot may also be missing out since many have already cashed out with no plans to redeposit. Betcoin has promised to start re-opening their virtual poker tables by January 26.