Hello, I'm working on a project for a rake-free poker room, where I would monetize through non-intrusive ads and a VIP subscription.
What do you think?
Is it possible, considering today's technology costs, to sustain such a room?
Would anyone be interested in participating in the project as a beta tester?
With the endless different regulations of different countries, bank policies, support, technical staff, tracking hands to protect players from cheating or collusion... I am a pessimist.
You will need a serious financial kickstart. You will need to promote your room yourself which will be a money pit on it's own. And for them to work, the ads promoting your room will need to be intrusive and expensive. You will also need to give away bonuses to make people try it out.
As for the ads that will monetize your site - no way you will be able to support the site, your staff, yourself and pay taxes with non-intrusive ads. Then there are these gambling audits that need to happen regularly to make sure you yourself are keeping your games fair.
To get money from ads, you need to have a lot of players! Your rakeless room can be enticing for the serious grinders. But for your average losing or breakeven gambler - not so much. They simply don't care about the rake. They just need fast action and exciting events or bonuses (jackpots and whatnot).
Don't get me wrong, I love people that try to do something good for their community. I used to be one myself until I realized how big of a hassle it is. And the projects I've started were absolutely nothing compared to the hassle you are gonna have. I'm talking about a simple forum like this one, an equity calculator for all games and a hand history replayer. Those things are hard and time consuming on their own - some of them will need to be incorporated in your room anyway.
Sorry for bursting your bubble. Hopefully you can prove me wrong! Start small, see where it goes.
As for testing it out - I'm preoccupied with personal bullshit that are going on in my life right now. I certainly can consider it in the future.
Good luck! 
Originally posted by nsavov
With the endless different regulations of different countries, bank policies, support, technical staff, tracking hands to protect players from cheating or collusion... I am a pessimist.You will need a serious financial kickstart. You will need to promote your room yourself which will be a money pit on it's own. And for them to work, the ads promoting your room will need to be intrusive and expensive. You will also need to give away bonuses to make people try it out.
As for the ads that will monetize your site - no way you will be able to support the site, your staff, yourself and pay taxes with non-intrusive ads. Then there are these gambling audits that need to happen regularly to make sure you yourself are keeping your games fair.
To get money from ads, you need to have a lot of players! Your rakeless room can be enticing for the serious grinders. But for your average losing or breakeven gambler - not so much. They simply don't care about the rake. They just need fast action and exciting events or bonuses (jackpots and whatnot).
Don't get me wrong, I love people that try to do something good for their community. I used to be one myself until I realized how big of a hassle it is. And the projects I've started were absolutely nothing compared to the hassle you are gonna have. I'm talking about a simple forum like this one, an equity calculator for all games and a hand history replayer. Those things are hard and time consuming on their own - some of them will need to be incorporated in your room anyway.
Sorry for bursting your bubble. Hopefully you can prove me wrong! Start small, see where it goes.
As for testing it out - I'm preoccupied with personal bullshit that are going on in my life right now. I certainly can consider it in the future.
Good luck!
Don't be sorry, I know how hard it is. But that's why it need to be done. When we manage to win, It will never have a second Room like ours. So, maybe it's good that is hard.
From my experience, the key to sustainability will be balancing those non-intrusive ads and the VIP subscription in a way that doesn't detract from the user experience. Technology costs are a big factor, but with efficient management and a solid user base, it seems feasible.
As for participating as a beta tester, I'd be intrigued to see how it compares to other online poker experiences. The concept of cutting out the rake and relying on alternative monetization strategies is quite innovative in the poker world.
I remember reading something like that on this review site for online poker platforms. You might find some more info and reviews for such a concept.
