Thanks to blockchain’s transparency, more and more casino operators are integrating blockchain technology into their casino ecosystem. From integrating crypto payments to building a virtual casino, blockchain is now used for everything.
Lately, the crypto gambling space is flooded with positive news. One of the major news is that Wyoming in the United States has legalized cryptocurrency bets. As a result, players can place crypto bets in online sports betting.
Other than this regulatory relief, the crypto gambling ecosystem is buzzing with innovations, funding, and casino launch updates. This post will discuss the top four stories in the crypto gambling world so far in 2021.
Let’s get started!
Soon you would no longer need to use Bitcoin ATMs in casinos. You could directly transfer your crypto holdings into casino gaming accounts. This is no pipedream. IGT, the largest manufacturer of casino tech such as slots, lotteries, etc., received a patent that would enable customers to pay using crypto in casinos.
International Gaming Technology, or IGT, has secured a patent for a crypto transfer system from the United States Patent and Trademark Office on January 5, 2021. Their method enables gamblers to transfer crypto from their wallets into a ‘gaming establishment account’, a crypto wallet connected to casino accounts. IGT patent filings demonstrated payments in Bitcoin(BTC), Bitcoin Cash(BCH), and Ether(ETH).
How does IGT’s crypto transfer channel work, you ask?
The process is simple. You would transfer cryptocurrency into your casino gaming accounts. There, your crypto deposit will convert to fiat money after the payment of the casino fee.
IGT’s patent filings had drawings of a mobile application for placing deposits in casinos. It also included drawings of a slot machine that would facilitate the actual bet. Interestingly, IGT’s patent is not limited to slot machines. Instead, it also covers the way for transferring crypto into the gambler’s account.
On the same day of securing the patent, IGT announced that it had received the regulatory nod in Nevada for allowing players to use their native Resort Wallet. Essentially, it is a cashless wagering system that allows players to pay for casino games using their smartphones. Nonetheless, this cashless system had no mention of crypto integration.
In April 2021, Virtue Poker raised $5 million in a strategic investment round. Virtue Poker also announced it would conduct an initial DEX offering (IDO) in May 2021, before their mainnet goes live.
Virtue Poker is a decentralized gaming platform built on top of Ethereum. Virtue Poker claims to be the only blockchain-powered company with a license from Malta’s gambling regulator. Moreover, Virtue Poker is backed by ConsenSys, Pantera Capital, and DFG Group.
The company uses Ethereum smart contracts and sidechain infrastructure to power gambling withdrawals and other functions. As it is powered by blockchain technology, Virtue Poker brings transparency to online gambling. Virtue Poker is also exploring several gambling use cases of blockchain, such as building a casino in Decentraland and hiring real-life workers to staff virtual tables.
On March 8, 2021, Atari announced that they would develop a cryptocurrency casino in collaboration with Decentral Games. Atari is the company behind iconic games like Packman, Asteroids, and Pong.
The Atari casino will be located in ‘Vegas City’, a virtual gaming district in Decentraland’s metaverse. For those who don’t know, Decentraland is an Ethereum-based platform that hosts a virtual world. Atari plans to lease their virtual casino on an initial two-year term.
Atari’s virtual casino will feature Atari-themed games such as Atari Special game, centered around skill rather than luck.
To interact with the virtual world or ‘metaverse’, players need to inhabit a character’s body. Also, if you play using MANA and Atari crypto tokens you will earn Decentral Games’ native crypto token – DG. Holding DG tokens gives you voting rights in Decentral Games’ decision-making process.
If you recently played a new video game, you must be guided through unfamiliar spaces in the game. Well, you were guided by bots. Modern video games have several computer-generated bots for overseeing new players.
Decentraland, a blockchain-powered virtual world, also has non-player characters (NPCs) to guide new players. However, Tominoya Casino, a virtual casino in Decentraland, hires real people to guide newcomers on their casino floor.
Imagine playing a virtual casino where you interact with real people. Insane, isn’t it? Tominoya Casino is taking the virtual casino experience to the next level by adding a personal touch to their virtual gambling experience.
Tominoya Casino calls these guides greeters. These greeters help new players with digital roulette, blackjack, slots, etc. Greeters work in shifts, and every four hours, the staff changes. At the end of the month, greeters are paid in DAI or DG crypto tokens. Well, as a greeter, you can make upwards of $500 per month. As of May 2021, Tominoya Casino has hired 20 part-time greeters and a full-time manager to run their virtual casino.
Talking about work responsibilities, the hosts in the virtual casino are tasked with helping first-time players with the unfamiliar interface. Also, these hosts explain tasks such as placing a bet and spinning a roulette wheel and complex functions like loading crypto into our metaverse wallets. The host also offers tours of the Tominoya casino floor. Well, this virtual casino also has a showroom for expensive NFT artwork.
As for the manager’s duties, they are tasked with all the real-world casino manager work. The hosts handle everything – recruiting new hosts, assigning shifts, solving disputes, tracing performance, organizing schedules, and supervising the casino floor.
Online gambling was always taken with skepticism as the traditional gambling infrastructure wasn’t transparent.
Enter blockchain!
The introduction of blockchain in the gambling space has brought transparency to the online gambling world. As a result, everyone from users to casino operators is adopting blockchain-based gambling.
As we consider the recent developments in the crypto gambling universe, it would be wise to say that there will be massive blockchain adoption in the future. Perhaps the adoption is already in full swing.
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