Official X accounts for online poker game apps targeting the Japanese market—such as “Edge Poker,” developed and operated by DeNA; “Poker Chase,” developed and operated by Skyfall; and “M Hold’em,” developed and operated by Sega Sammy—have been issuing a series of announcementsposting announcements stating that “unauthorized events in which our company is not involved are being held” and that “our logos and other materials are being used without permission.”
This may be due to the fact that top players from these poker apps are being invited without authorization to the “JOPT,” one of Japan’s largest live poker tournaments
The reason these poker apps are issuing such announcements appears to be in response to the “Japan Open Poker Tour (JOPT)”—one of the country’s largest live poker tournaments, organized by a well-known company and bounty site in the poker industry—which announced without permission from the apps that “top-ranked players can participate in JOPT tournaments.”
According to an article in Poker Magazine Light Three, an announcement was made stating that top-ranked players from various poker apps, as well as from the poker room “ROOTS”—produced by poker influencer Mr. Yokosawa—would be invited to participate in select JOPT tournaments.However, this announcement was made without permission from the respective parties, and furthermore, the logos of these entities were used without authorization at the time of the initial announcement.
Furthermore, while no information regarding the operating company can be found anywhere on the Poker Magazine Light Three website, the fact that it publishes detailed information about the JOPT suggests it may be operated by a “hunter site.”
While there have been instances in the past where the JOPT officially partnered with “Poker Chase” or the now-defunct arcade poker game “Poker Stadium” (the author has also participated in the JOPT via “Poker Stadium”), this invitation was issued without any formal partnership.
This is believed to stem from the conflict between the Japan Poker Federation—effectively led by Hunter Site—and the Japan Poker Promotion Council, whose board of directors includes executives from Hakuhodo, Sammy, and DMM.
Skyfall, the operator of “Poker Chase,” has also become a member of the Japan Poker Promotion Council, and since then, “Poker Chase” has not partnered with any poker tournaments involving hunter sites.
News articles reporting that JOPT satellites would be held on “Poker Chase” have also been removed by the “Poker Chase” team (Reference:Internet Archive).
Furthermore, the decision to award condoms as prizes to top finishers in the JOPT Ladies Tournament scheduled for October 12 has drawn widespread criticism (Reference: Search “JOPT condoms” on X).
As someone who has participated in the JOPT in the past, I honestly can’t help but wonder, “How did it come to this?” in light of such sloppy management. In any case, I would like to ask all operators to take the necessary precautions to ensure players can enjoy poker with peace of mind.
