Just last week our friends at CoinGeek succeeded in several firsts- one being the execution of their first digital installment of a CoinGeek conference and the other being the inclusion of a gambling industry-specific track within their portfolio of BitcoinSV (BSV) blockchain conferences, the 6th one to be exact.
Before getting into any of the gambling industry content covered during CoinGeek Live 2020, I’d like to extend a gigantic congratulations to everyone at CoinGeek who made the event happen. After participating in a number of digital events this year and working closely with organizers in our space, I know how much work goes into the production and team CoinGeek took it all to a new level.
Why do I say this?
Number one- the event was simultaneously broadcasted from studios in New York City and London at TV production quality, with the exception of a handful of remote speakers who appeared on screens above the stages within the studios.
Number two- every single aspect of the event was live- absolutely nothing pre-recorded- over the course of three days, featuring over 90 speakers. 90!
Number three- due to the COVID situation, what the team had originally planned was thrown out the window last minute and they still pulled it off.
For those of you who missed this impressive event and its relevant content, please consider setting aside a few hours to indulge in the video below which includes all three of the gambling industry tracks, the first focusing on esports, the second focusing on cashless casinos and land-based gambling and the third focusing on the future of iGaming.
Big thank you to all the fabulous speakers who shared valuable insights and to Jimmy Nguyen and Nick Hill for doing a fantastic job moderating:
To give you a taste of what was covered on October 2nd during the gambling industry track, here are some of my key takeaways to consider and digest. While adopting blockchain technology may not be at the top of your list today, it’s coming towards us at full speed and my question is, who will be the first adopters?
Esports & blockchain- a match made in heaven
For me personally, within our industry, I see the greatest immediate potential for blockchain tech within esports. A number of the leaders in the esports space are young innovators and they tend to be on top of the latest technology. Regulations are still in flux surrounding esports, so perhaps there’s an opportunity to work blockchain technology into the regulations as they are formed.
I see another huge opportunity within esports for blockchain-based wallets or payments, especially micro transactions, for betting on esports or the purchase of virtual items. Esports enthusiasts also tend to be younger and on top of the latest digital tech, meaning they would be more likely to try out payments in Bitcoin or payment options presented in a “non-traditional” manner.
Potential for Land-based operators
2020 has been a difficult year for all of us, but in particular for land-based properties who are battling with the basics such as bringing foot traffic into their casinos safely, reworking their food and beverage offerings, adhering to social distancing guidelines, stepping up cleaning and the list goes on. Now is likely not the best time to be presenting land-based operators with a new technology until there are specific solutions available that the regulators already approve of.
That being said, anything that will cut costs for land-based operators- such as more streamlined reporting, cheaper payment processing, cutting-edge compliance solutions- is surely welcomed in such hard times, so perhaps the timing is ripe for blockchain-based solutions to be presented.
Online gambling will lead the way
The online gambling side of the industry is much more nimble than the land-based side and I think we could see some real progression with blockchain technology coming soon, especially in payments. Imagine instant payments for affiliates, suppliers and players with 100% guaranteed accuracy. With smart contracts, this can happen and already happens on the BitBoss platform.
Regulators at the forefront
One of the points made on the CoinGeek Live iGaming panel is that regulators need to be at the forefront of the conversation and BSV, for example, should have some sort of ambassador for educating them. Without the regulators on board, innovating with blockchain tech is not going to happen within the online gambling industry space. It would simply be too risky.
Bite-sized adoption
Another important point made on the iGaming panel is that blockchain-based solutions need to be presented to the iGaming industry in “bite-sized chunks” for adoption. Blockchain tech is a broad term and it’s too overwhelming for most iGaming businesses to take in all at once.
The future is bright
While there are clearly some big road blocks to deal with- for example, regulators- the potential for blockchain tech and how it can simplify the way we do business is blissfully obvious. BSV’s ability to massively scale and its incredibly low transaction fees position it as a superior technology to support the gambling industry. After watching the three panels in their entirety I felt inspired.
I hope some of the BSV enthusiasts in the audience felt inspired like I did, to create something new for the gambling industry to adopt. I also hope gambling industry professionals were inspired to look more deeply into blockchain opportunities, so they can be one of the first adopters and make history in our space.
