- Five skins lined up for a June launch.
- Each has agreed to commit $10k to the upkeep of the network, which will redistribute all profits back to the skins.
- Founded on principals of encouraging player acquisition, and player fund security.
Clive Archer, formerly of BetOnsports and Action Poker Network, has announced the Equity Poker Network, a new non-profit B2B online poker platform.
Tentatively slated to launch in June, the new Equity network promises a “fairer future” at a fixed price, with the network organized as a non-profit collective controlled by its members with transparent accounting and a “Clearing House Functionality,” whose goal is to keep players’ funds accessible while ensuring enough funds are held to cover liabilities.
As envisioned, the network will also implement a “shark tax” to compensate member operators who supply a greater share of revenue-producing fish to the network.
At least five operators have committed to skins for the network’s startup, according to Archer, the creator of the concept.
The as-yet-anonymous operators are each agreeing to a flat-rate fee of $10,000 per month, which goes into a communal pool for the network’s operation and upkeep.
EPN will initially be based in Costa Rica, home to several other poker networks, and will utilize the same software that supports Chico Poker Network (formerly Action Poker Network). That software has been in use for a decade and for several years has been owned and marketed by the Swedish software firm Playsafe Holding AS.
The creation of the Equity Poker Network represents the next step in Archer’s tumultuous career. Archer was formerly the Operations and Marketing Director for BetOnSports PLC, the former US-facing online sportsbetting giant that collapsed in 2006 following a pre-UIGEA crackdown against the firm.
Archer moved on to a role as an independent eGaming consultant before becoming the COO at the Action Poker Network and the CEO of BetOnline.
The Chico Poker Network, owned by Julian International Holdings Ltd., is ranked #31 among all online networks according to PokerScout. Though the network does accept US players, Chico and its member sites have struggled to build a sizable player base amid widespread slow-pay/no-pay complaints and generally low reviews. Whether the creation of the new Equity Poker Network spells the eventual demise of Chico remains to be seen.
“Equity is a non-profit cooperative which means that it will redistribute any profits it makes to the Operators on the network,” Archer told pokerfuse.
“It operates on the basis of a fixed fee of $10,000 per month and this is used to pay for the operation of the network. The cooperative means that the members of the network make up the management committee which runs the network with voting power based on what volume they have of the network’s business.”
A similar initiative was launched by Microgaming back in September 2011 with the formation of a Network Management Board, allowing the larger skins on the network to vote on key network decisions, “essentially ceding control of the [network] to the primary operators,” according to Head of Network Games.
EPN promises such cooperation at its core.
Archer offered similar thoughts to CalvinAyre.com in a feature about Equity’s upcoming launch: “We’re rewriting the rules to provide small and medium size businesses with an opportunity to offer their players online poker without losing their shirts each month to cross cage and sharp players. We understand how valuable player wallets are to operators, and can now offer a solution with our new cooperative poker network where everyone wins.”
Access to online casino games including blackjack and slots will also be provided as part of the Equity software, which includes the following selling points for player and operator security as part of its general call to action:
Player and Operator Security:
– Clearing House – basic version of Securities Clearing House
– Holds amounts to cover Cross Cage liabilities
– Ensures that Players funds are always available to Operators
– Ensures against Operator failure
– Funds held separately – ensures against Network failure.
– Player rake always benefits the Operator who originally attracted him.
As Archer notes, the need for initial liquidity is vital for a concept such as Equity, with its “non-profit” operational hub, to succeed: “Obviously since it is a new network it is important that I have sufficient [operators] to all join simultaneously at launch to ensure liquidity.”