Virtue Gaming, a decentralized online poker platform developed on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, reportedly introduced the first play-to-earn digital poker casino in America. 

Specifically, In the U.S., only six states (Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Michigan) have received proper regulation and legalization to facilitate online poker. 

The nation has reportedly been showing a slow approach upon the matter because of fear of potential loss in revenue of domestic, land-based gambling venues from international poker platforms. 

Consequently, people living in America normally are not able to tap into popular online poker platforms, which are accessible by the rest of the globe. 

Virtue Gaming reportedly rolled out a play-to-earn setup, where the platform offers users 500 Virtual Player Points (VPP), with its value equivalent to $147.37 USD.

These bonuses will reportedly be sent to players when they finish the registration process. The ones satisfying the minimum mandatory playtime via cash games and tournaments will then be able to convert their VPP to Tether (USDT).

U.S. players would then have the power to compete with players for the rest of the world, who transfer VPP, Ether (ETH) or other cryptos into Virtue Gaming’s locked sidechain smart contracts to stake in the game.

To minimize cheating, the platform reportedly finalizes the implementation of peer-to-peer encrypted shuffling for all decks. 

“points or credits that the sponsor of the game or contest provides to participants free of charge and can be used or redeemed only for participation in games or contests offered by the sponsor” The legislation reportedly reads, which is not included in the scope of the legal definition of a bet or wager, and hence could theoretically give the play-to-earn model some regulatory leeway.