Casino News
| Published On May 8, 2026 5:00 pm CEST | By iGaming Team

Spartans.com Owns the Mat: The RAF Partnership That Changes the Game for PokerStars and Rainbet

Share

The online bitcoin casino market has never been louder or more competitive. Three names are standing out for very different reasons, and the gap between them says a lot about where this industry is heading. PokerStars Ontario is doubling down on regulated poker inside a single Canadian province. Rainbet is running a crypto-first casino and sportsbook loaded with thousands of games and a long list of promo codes. 

Spartans.com, meanwhile, just signed a multi-million dollar deal with Real American Freestyle, locked in an August 1st global launch, and openly set its sights on the number one spot worldwide by the end of 2026. The real story is only just starting.

PokerStars Ontario: A Poker-Focused Site for One Province

PokerStars Ontario launched in June 2022, shortly after online poker became legal in the province. It is available only to players physically located in Ontario, which sets it apart from most options in the wider online bitcoin casino market, since the site runs on fiat payments like Visa, MasterCard, Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, bank transfer, and ecoPayz. 

The platform focuses almost entirely on poker, with cash games in No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, and 6+ Hold’em, along with tournaments, Sit & Go games, and Zoom Poker. Rake sits between 3.3% and 5% on cash games, with tournament fees at 6% to 10%. Customer support is handled only by email, and the brand is currently preparing to transition to a new platform offered exclusively on FanDuel later in 2026.

Rainbet: A Crypto-First Casino and Sportsbook

Rainbet is a crypto gambling platform that brings together a casino, live dealer section, sportsbook, and provably fair originals under one account. It is licensed in Curacao and supports dozens of tokens, from Ether to smaller meme coins, which makes it one of the more flexible options in the online bitcoin casino category. 

The library holds more than 6,000 casino games, covering slots, table games, and in-house originals that use RNG mechanics. The sportsbook adds coverage of major sports and eSports. Rainbet runs a tiered VIP program, with automatic rakeback claimable every ten minutes, daily wager races with $25,000 prize pools, weekly leaderboards, and a $500,000 monthly elite race. The platform is browser-based with no dedicated mobile app, and it is restricted in the US, UK, and parts of Europe.

Spartans.com: The RAF Powerhouse Built to Dominate

Spartans.com just pulled off one of the biggest moves in the online bitcoin casino industry this year. The platform signed a multi-million dollar, 12-month partnership extension with Real American Freestyle (RAF), the first unscripted professional freestyle wrestling league, becoming its exclusive iGaming partner. 

This is not a quiet logo deal. After headlining RAF08 as the main and co-main event sponsor, Spartans.com now owns main-event presence across twelve months of RAF cards, a promotion that pulls more than 250 million social views per event and has already driven eight figures in merchandising and ticket sales. 

The next card, RAF09 in Dallas on May 30, is absolutely stacked: Gable Steveson versus Alexandr Romanov, Colby Covington versus Chris Weidman, plus two title bouts. The Spartans.com brand is about to be everywhere.

Then comes the real earthquake. August 1st, 2026, is the official global launch date, the moment Spartans.com steps out of beta and goes worldwide. And here is the wild part: the platform is already ranked the 10th largest crypto casino on the planet while still in beta. 

The stated target is to become the number one online bitcoin casino in the world by the end of 2026, and every signal on the roadmap is pointing that way. Casino, live dealer, poker, and a deep sportsbook covering soccer, the NBA, boxing, and cricket all sit under one roof, alongside a one-of-a-kind predictions market covering politics, business, tech, and sport. No other operator is running this combination at this scale.

Conclusion

Each of these three sites serves a different crowd. PokerStars Ontario handles regulated poker inside one Canadian province. Rainbet offers a crypto casino and sportsbook for users chasing promo codes. But in the online bitcoin casino race, Spartans.com is the one pulling ahead, and the facts make the case. 

Already ranked the 10th largest crypto casino worldwide while still in beta, riding an exclusive RAF partnership that pulls more than 250 million social views per event, and headed into a full global launch on August 1st, the platform is aiming for the number one spot globally by the end of 2026. Serious bettors are choosing Spartans.com, and the reasons are only getting louder.

Find Out More About Spartans:

Website: https://spartans.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spartans/

Twitter/X: https://x.com/SpartansBet

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SpartansBet