GGPoker Confirms Migration to WSOP.ca Will Happen this Month
GGPoker players in Ontario will have their accounts migrated to WSOP.ca on Sept. 30 to ensure the operator complies with local gaming regulations.
The long-awaited switch not only marks GGPoker’s latest venture in a newly regulated market but the extension of its partnership with the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Details of the move were sent to registered players on Monday. As per the email, anyone in Ontario with a GGPoker account will be registered with WSOP.ca. Many of the “amazing” features users are familiar with will “remain in place” after the migration.
Ontarians making the move to WSOP.ca will also get access to a variety of new features, including “exclusive WSOP tournaments” and “live event satellites,” explains the email. Finally, all player balances, including tournament tickets and bonus dollars, will remain intact.
September Switch Will See GGPoker Become WSOP.ca
The migration for registered players will begin on Sept. 19, ahead of a full launch on Sept. 30. After that, GGPoker will cease to exist in Ontario but, in its place, WSOP.ca will offer an almost identical service with a few subtle differences.
As per Ontario’s online poker laws, only people aged 19+ and in the province can use licensed gaming sites. That means anyone moving over to WSOP.ca will be ring-fenced. Specifically, this means Ontarians who are used to competing against Canadians in other provinces, as well as people around the world, will have to change their expectations.
I’ve been quite enjoying the nightly gg poker schedule lately. Will be a sad day.
— Shawn Taplin (@Danglers30) September 19, 2022
Poker reporter Mike Patrick put it best when he tweeted that the “last domino” had fallen. His tweet was met with a reply from Shawn Taplin who said he’d been enjoying the GGPoker schedule lately, so it will be a “sad day” when the switch happens.
There is some merit to Taplin’s concerns. GGPoker’s international network currently attracts more players than its competitors. With over 10,000 cash game players at peak times and 100,000+ people logged into the network at any one time, GGPoker is bigger than PokerStars, IDNPoker, and Winamax.
Regional Ring-Fencing Will Reduce Competition
Once you break away from the international network and focus on ring-fenced regions, traffic drops. Even though Ontario has a population of 14.5 million, the number of active players using the province’s poker rooms is a fraction of that figure.
Data from GameIntel showed an average of 200 concurrent players on PokerStars ON in June. BetMGM Poker had 186 players, on average, during the same month, while 888Poker Ontario had less than 50.
The silver lining, although faint, is that Ontario’s online poker economy is already performing better than most U.S. states that poker is available.
Even though it’s still early days, the region’s licensed operators are currently attracting more players than their counterparts in Michigan and Pennsylvania. In fact, the combined average of 427 concurrent players across all sites is also better than the shared liquidity networks of New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware.
GGPoker Ontario Welcome Bonus Will be Open to All
So, while the move from GGPoker to WSOP.ca will reduce the amount of competition registered users can expect, the Ontario poker market has potential. Additionally, GGPoker’s promo team is giving players a reason to ante up with a unique welcome bonus.
As well as being open to new customers, the welcome bonus is available to current users of GGPoker in Ontario. Giving registered users access to a welcome bonus is almost unprecedented and clearly a statement of intent from GGPoker/WSOP.
Giving all customers in Ontario added value suggests that GGPoker wants to retain its position as the top destination for online gaming in Canada. Therefore, even with new rules and a different name, Ontarians can expect the same level of service from GGPoker after the switch.
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