Run It Once Poker folds site to focus on securing US entry
Three-year-old, in-house-built online poker room founded by high-stakes pro Phil Galfond concedes “hill was too steep”
Run It Once Poker has taken the decision to cash in its chips and close after almost three years of being live.
Announcing the move in a blog post, Run It Once Poker founder Phil Galfond said his team had “poured their hearts, minds and souls” into the product but that the “hill was too steep”.
The former professional poker player said traffic had “dwindled below pre-pandemic levels and that “it became clear to me that we weren’t going to break through and reach the volume we needed to just by completing our platform and doing a bit more marketing”.
Gameplay was halted on 3 January and players were given the option to withdraw account balances up until 3 April 2022.
It was revealed that the Malta-based operator will “pivot” to enter the regulated US market after shutting down its ‘Rest of World’ offering.
“My goal when we started this was to become a major competitor in the markets we launched in, and then work towards getting into the US.
“While we’re on our way to half of that, it makes me sad that we didn’t first achieve the other half,” the American explained.
Launched in 2019, Run It Once Poker was a standalone poker room running on proprietary technology that secured licences from the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority.
It also drew praise from players for its innovative product, particularly its dynamic avatars to determine who was playing tight, loose, passive, or aggressive, as well as its novel Splash the Pot rewards system.
The site divided opinions, though, with its decision to ban heads-up displays in a bid to create a level-playing field for customers.
Furthermore, the fact that Run It Once Poker never offered the ubiquitous multi-table tournaments meant it struggled to compete with the more established poker operators when it came to offering and liquidity.
Galfond said further details on US plans will be announced in due course. Online poker in the US is currently legal in seven states: Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan and Connecticut.
However, there hasn’t been much appetite to regulate it elsewhere as intrastate poker in many US jurisdictions doesn’t offer the liquidity to warrant the investment.
Last year, there were rumours DraftKings was poised to acquire Run It Once Poker and its technology to add poker to the Boston-based operator’s sports betting, casino and DFS product suite.