The Asian Poker Tour has issued a statement saying that its planned APT Macau Championships 2018 will have “no association, involvement from, or usage of, cryptocurrency”.
In an earlier press release, the poker brand had stated it had a sponsorship agreement with CoinPoker, described as a “worldwide cryptocurrency-based” online poker room.
Under the deal, CoinPoker envisaged offering players around the world the chance to enter online qualifying events for APT Main Events, Super High Roller events and other APT tournaments
Jeff Mann, the APT’s chief executive, said in the Wednesday statement: “Clearly, each APT event is different and we are mindful of local operating guidelines. I can confirm that APT Macau Championships will not be associated with cryptocurrency in any way and I apologise for any confusion in the market.”
The gaming bureau had earlier referred GGRAsia to guidelines – issued by the Monetary Authority of Macao in June 2014 and reiterated in September 2017 – that cryptocurrency was “neither a legal tender nor a financial instrument subject to supervision” of the Macau authorities.
The APT Macau Championships 2018 is scheduled to take place in the city from April 25 to May 6 and the brand said a record number of players were expected to attend. The poker provider said that at a recent APT event held in Manila last month, 46 nationalities made up the player base and it was expecting an even wider range of nationalities at the Macau tournament.
Mr Mann was indirectly cited in Wednesday’s release as saying that the APT had been considering cryptocurrency as a “novel, new additional marketing tool” to expand the reach and appeal of the APT globally and to attract more players, particularly from Europe, to the APT’s Asian events.
