In what will probably raise the ire of the online poker community even further, PokerStars has announced new guidelines that will go into effect in 2017 for their VIP program.
Amaya Gaming, the ownership behind the number one online gaming site in the industry, announced these changes in an e-mail to players on Friday. “In 2017, date still to be determined, we will launch a new rewards program that recognizes your play on poker, casino, and sportsbook (where available) and rewards you for recent activity, not monthly or annual play volumes,” the e-mail stated. “As a result, from January 1, Supernova VIP status will become a monthly status for players until the launch of the new rewards program.”
As noted, the biggest move of all is from recognizing just the poker players to moving the rewards system to the entirety of potential offerings from PokerStars (BetStars, the sportsbook for the company) and the online casino). “You won’t be required to play on any specific product, but your activity on all products will help you progress on your path to earning rewards,” the e-mail says.
There is also an emphasis being placed on “recent” activity versus a longer time span. “Currently, your VIP progress resets each month, but our rewards should be personalized to your recent gaming activity and profile, not your monthly or annual play volumes, to improve player retention and engagement at all levels,” the PokerStars e-mail continues. “As a result, our current VIP statuses will be discontinued upon launch of the new program and replaced with a new program rewarding your recent activity.”
This also means that such programs as Supernova will be moved to a monthly status rather than a year-long effort, as it was previously. “From January 1, Supernova will be a monthly status for players who achieve it in 2017, while players who earn Supernova status in 2016 will retain it until the launch of the new rewards program,” PokerStars says. “The value of VIP rewards and monthly VIP status requirements for 2017 are still subject to change.”
So what is the reasoning behind these changes? PokerStars addresses that in the same e-mail, stating that “While we understand that the 2016 VIP Club changes have impacted some of our highest-volume players, they have had a positive impact for the vast majority of our players, improving the overall game experience,” PokerStars contends. “A higher percentage of hands are seeing the flop in cash games, player deposits are lasting longer, which along with other such trends indicate a (healthier) poker ecosystem, with long-term sustainability.”
The general reaction from online poker players isn’t exactly glowing. Many are contending that this is just the latest cash grab by Amaya Gaming, but some are contending that there’s a more sinister element to the changes. In effecting these changes, some believe, PokerStars is forcing out the “professional” online poker player because there aren’t enough rewards for the effort being invested and that the multi-tablers will have trouble keeping up with the rake (in line with the elimination of high stakes tables on the site). Of course, PokerStars would deny this, but in catering to the “recreational” player, it is something that has to be considered.
There are many that are also looking towards a potential savior for the online game. In a much ballyhooed announcement at the end of August, professional poker player Phil Galfond has stated that he will be launching his own online poker site, Run It Once Poker, which is scheduled to begin operations in the first quarter of 2017. While there are few details involved, Galfond himself has said, “A poker site can’t seek to please everyone by making changes that hurt the business, but it shouldn’t ignore the public,” Galfond says. “It should be held accountable for the decisions it makes. It should be able to explain itself in a way that reasonable customers will understand.” These statements have whetted the appetite of players, including those in the United States who may not be able to play on the site at all.
Although there have been several symbolic protests of PokerStars changes, it has done little to affect their standing in the industry. According to PokerScout.com this morning, there are 168,085 players on PokerStars (including 16,447 cash game players). This massively dwarfs any other online site; the nearest competitor with documentable numbers (888poker and Bodog do not list current players online), Winamax.fr, has 12467 players online and 1437 cash game players. Even PartyPoker cannot contend with only 4497 current and 1209 cash game players on the site.
