Proof of Toss chief marketing officer Eugene Malahov shares some of his thoughts on the too-often unseen potential of blockchain in gaming.
"It is a well-known fact that online gaming is one of the fastest developing industries. Since the launch of the first online casino back in 1996, the industry has continually evolved and it was also one of the first to accept Bitcoin payments just a year after its inception back in 2009.
"The next step, we believe, is moving to blockchain – a technology that has been making rapid progress and disrupting the online world for the last couple of years.
"As a newcomer at ICE, I was obviously blown away by the sheer magnitude of the exhibit. Over the course of three days at London ExCel, I made it my mission to talk to as many online companies as possible.
"Based on my observations of the conference, I’ve made my own key points of what I believe the gaming community should focus on.
“Firstly, blockchain is democratising and securing online gaming for everyone. It brings decentralisation and transparency that protects all the participants in gaming from human mistakes and fraudulent activities. For example, in our betting ecosystem, Proof of Toss, we are using the wisdom of the crowd in all our judging and challenge mechanisms: employing the “prisoner's dilemma” with clear risk and reward for any action taken by the crowd and relying on our random number generator to select judges we ensure that every decision will be right and true.
"Next, blockchain improves payment processing. The problems like postponed payouts, transaction limits or chargebacks are solved by blockchain. Payments are made straight out of the personal wallets and all transactions are irreversible. Provided by blockchain technology, direct transfers also increase liquidity by reducing processing time.
“Blockchain is also a solution for the development of trust. In online gaming all participants are forced to put a lot of trust in intermediaries. Blockchain gives an opportunity to exclude third parties from the decision making process and money exchange. As all rules and business logics are embedded in smart contracts, it makes any users’ actions transparent and irreversible. When all parties are represented by a “faceless” wallet they are given equal opportunities and this in turn increases trust for the whole industry.
“Finally, blockchain technology is changing the online gaming industry today. There are a lot of new projects that are entering the scene with solutions for the market. Blockchain brings many advantages and gives an opportunity to make a business more functional. Blockchain technology is a real chance for businesses in online gaming to form a forward thinking, efficient and fair market.
"I may be wrong, but talk is certainly widespread that online gaming is expected to be one of the busiest niches taken by blockchain companies in 2018. I, myself, will not pass up a chance to witness the transformation at ICE 2019."
