GameFi developer Gala Games has announced its collaboration with PokerGO, a Las Vegas poker streaming platform, to launch a new Web3 social poker game. The upcoming platform, called PokerGO Play, will provide players with an immersive Web3 environment, enhancing their poker experience. Users will have the opportunity to upgrade their players and redeem real-world prizes. Beta testing for PokerGO is scheduled for June, and the full release is expected later this year.
In May 2022, PokerGO introduced its Genesis non-fungible tokens (NFTs) collection, consisting of 1,326 tokens representing all possible starting hand combinations in Texas Hold’em. The collection has generated approximately 52 Ether (ETH) in cumulative trading volume, with a floor price of 0.1 ETH. NFT holders were granted various perks, such as opportunities to win cash, memorabilia, and merchandise when their hand appeared in winning moments. As part of the recent announcement on May 22, Gala Games developers stated that PokerGO Genesis NFT holders would receive special status within the game and that both parties plan to host exclusive events at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.
Gala Games is known for developing Ethereum-based play-to-earn blockchain games. On May 18, Gala developers announced the burning of over 21 billion Gala (GALA) tokens, valued at approximately $640 million, following the v2 airdrop of the protocol. In December 2021, Virtue Gaming, a decentralized Ethereum online poker platform, launched a digital poker casino utilizing cryptocurrencies and a play-to-earn model. The platform is supported by Phil Ivey, a World Poker Tour champion and renowned poker celebrity.
In November 2022, the Gala Games token bridge experienced an exploit involving an infinite minting glitch, resulting in an estimated $4.5 million being extracted from its liquidity pool. Gala Games is currently engaged in a $28 million legal dispute with pNetwork, the cross-chain interoperability bridge used on the BNB Smart Chain, over the alleged involvement of pNetwork in the incident.