Blockchain technology has entered the mainstream since mid-2017. This technology offers countless benefits to most industries and businesses, including the gambling sector. CashBet, a gaming platform based on blockchain has just raised $38m (£28.8m).
Popularity of blockchain technology
The year 2017 was very significant for the blockchain and cryptocurrency spaces. Values of cryptocurrencies skyrocketed across the board. Bitcoin, for example, increased from around $1,000 (£758) at the start of the year to nearly $20,000 (£15,000) by the end of the year.
People began to come to grips with the benefits blockchain technology can offer, and the general public became more educated about the topic. There was an explosion in popularity for a new method of fundraising.
Called an initial coin offering (ICO), it is a way to raise funds by issuing digital tokens to investors in exchange for funds. This method helped a lot of startups in this space to get funds for their operations without having to go down the often treacherous venture capital route. In total, $6.8bn (£5.2bn) was raised through ICOs in 2017, a figure that has already been passed this year.
CashBet’s fundraising efforts
CashBet, a gaming platform provider that started operations in 2012, currently has over 450 different games to choose from on their platform. They have announced that they managed to raise $38m (£28.8m) through their recent ICO. They will be using this money to develop an iGaming platform for mobile that is crypto-ready.
Investors from more than 100 nations took part in this token sale for the CashBet coin. The sale has now ended and the tokens are being readied for issuance, a process that will take till the end of the month.
CashBet already has some notable partners, such as Arsenal Football Club and Lottery. Its partnership with Arsenal was the first significant deal made between a cryptocurrency and a well-known football team. As a result, CashBet can advertise inside the Emirates Stadium.
The aim of their upcoming platform will be to provide the optimal platform for gaming sites and apps from around the world. When game developers use the CashBet software, they can launch their new online games legally without having to have any licenses.
These operators will have access to the CashBet platform and be able to access different aspects such as campaign management, player segmentation, and other notable features that will make this a profitable platform from the day of launch.
CashBet already has licenses from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission and the Alderney Gambling Commission.
Talking about the successful token sale, CashBet co-founder and CEO Mike Reaves said: “We look forward to continuing to build the CashBet community and deliver on our roadmap to develop the world’s first complete crypto-ready mobile iGaming platform.”
Potential blockchain gambling benefits
There are a few notable applications of blockchain technology that could revolutionize the way online gambling is conducted. For one, deposit and withdrawal times and fees can be significantly lowered.
A wider variety of people can now gamble online, as cryptocurrencies are a viable option when depositing. The trust and integrity of betting transactions can be unequivocally improved due to the blockchain distributed ledger system, which cannot be compromised.
One of the main attractions of blockchain technology is the trust factor. All previous records are visible through a public ledger, so if there is ever a problem with one party not fulfilling their obligations, it will be publicly documented.
This can help bettors to decide which companies they should deal with and those that should be avoided. It also ensures that funds are kept safe. You will no longer necessarily have to make a deposit; instead, you will be more or less be able to play different games using funds directly from your cash wallet.
Smart contracts are a type of escrow service that can be used to honor bets. These contracts work in such a way that money is placed in escrow by one party and, once the outlined conditions are met, the funds will be released.
The rules of a bet will be clearly outlined and, once the conclusion of the bet is reached, the payout will be guaranteed. This means that the company cannot hold onto winnings for whatever reason and the bettor instantly gets paid all winnings immediately, with no issues.