PokerStars is set to implement more changes to its rewards program, Séverin Rasset, Director of Poker Innovation and Operations for the online poker room revealed in a post in its corporate blog. The changes will take effect in May and Denmark will be the first regulated jurisdiction those will be implemented in.
Mr. Rasset explained that the modifications aim to provide players of all levels with “rich, exciting, and personalised experience”.
How Will PokerStars’ Rewards Program Change Exactly?
Once the modifications are implemented, PokerStars will reward players within every single session, instead of on a monthly basis. In other words, the long-known monthly rakeback model will be scrapped in favor of rewards on volume, deposits, stakes, and how often a given player plays.
The new program will encompass not only poker, but also PokerStars’ other offering – casino and sports betting. StarsCoin will thus be a common currency across the operator’s all products and players will be rewarded for opting for any of the gaming and betting options. PokerStars pointed out that StarsCoin will maintain its value from before the changes.
How Are Players Expected to React to the Changes?
PokerStars’ new rewards program will probably be highly contested by players who play online poker professionally or for a living, in other words. The poker room is set to contact all those players to inform them how they will be affected by the changes. According to preliminary estimates some of those who play high-volume poker may see rakeback reductions of up to 85%.
In other words, the new program will appear more friendly to recreational players. Mr. Rasset explained that it had been crafted so as to attract more depositing players and to encourage them to play more.
How Did It All Start?
It was in late 2015 when PokerStars announced that it would refurbish its loyalty program completely. The planned remodeling began with the introduction of changes in the VIP Club program. Those were implemented in early 2016 and hit severely higher tier players by reducing their rewards substantially.
The next wave of changes became effective a year later and, among other things, made the Supernova VIP status a monthly one. That particular modification will be effective until the new rewards program is rolled out later this year.
PokerStars has explained its moves from the past two years with its determination to change players’ focus from volume to the pure feelings of joy and competitiveness the game evokes.
Although highly contested by many players, the poker room has pointed out that the changes implemented have so far yielded positive results and have achieved PokerStars’ goal. According to the operator, these have made players more competitive, pots have increased, and more and more players have been playing the flop.
The first wave of changes resulted in popular poker players being quite vocal about their discontent. Online and live poker pro Isaac Haxton even quit PokerStars Team Online following the implementation of the new rewards policy early last year.
