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Exclusive Interview with Matthew Stafford, CEO at BlockChain Innovations Corp

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It is my great pleasure to bring to you my latest interview. This week we once again focus on the role of blockchain in the gambling industry as it still is a trending topic. And what better way to get a glimpse into the vertical, then asking the experts of the industry. Matthew Stafford has been appointed as CEO of BlockChain Innovations Corp. this April and he has since than given speech at many industry events. It is high time we got the chance to pick his brain in our unique style. See below our interview with Matthew.

Let’s start with a few words about yourself. Our readers love to hear top-class professionals describing themselves.

Matthew: Thank you for a very kind introduction. I’ve spent 10 years in regulated gaming and public markets as an attorney, most recently with Scientific Games and NYX Gaming Group where I helped take that company public in Toronto in 2014 through its acquisition of Openbet Technologies Limited; the world’s largest sportsbook platform provider in 2016. I’ve had the opportunity to work with hundreds of gaming clients both brick-and-mortar and in the digital space, as well as payment providers, data and compliance vendors and the multitude of gaming software platforms around the world.

You took over as CEO of Blockchain Innovations Corp (BCI) about four months back. What are your early reflections on the job?

Matthew: It’s a very exciting and busy time. We are bringing a disruptive technology to two markets – both the commercial gaming industry for operators and the public market in Toronto for investors.

There is a lot of interest in both sectors around the technology and what it can do. In the capital markets, it’s about building blockchain companies as a value-added segment that gives depth to cryptocurrencies beyond price speculation and mining. For the gaming industry, it’s about building a modern gaming and payment platform that is compatible with conventional technologies so that our operator clients can offer blockchain wagering now and be poised for the future.

You studied law and started your career as a legal intern. How does your legal background help in your functioning as the CEO of BCI, especially as cryptocurrencies and other blockchain financial solutions are still viewed with suspicion by the regulators in several countries. 

Matthew: I was fortunate enough to work in gaming – at leading slot manufacturer Aruze Gaming America, Inc. – before graduating law school. As the Assistant General Counsel there, I obtained over 150 gaming licenses for the company worldwide and won approval for hundreds of devices. I also oversaw regulatory compliance at NYX and that foundation provided me with the ability to navigate complex regulatory issues, just like the treatment of crypto and blockchain with regulators. A working partnership and understanding of the regulatory schemes behind those agencies is crucial in terms of finding a viable solution for the industry in any circumstance.

What is important to note regarding uncertainties around crypto and blockchain is that, although perhaps skeptical, regulators are addressing the issue. There is positive movement towards adoption; the regulation/licensing frameworks that are being considered are being conducted by many jurisdictions and the outcome is to find that balance of providing the industry with competitive technology while meeting the regulatory objectives within a particular jurisdiction.

Can you tell us more about BCI’s soon to launch cryptocurrency wallet, Pebwallet, and its PebbleShare tipbot?

Matthew: Pebwallet.com is our fully-functional cryptocurrency wallet for users to manage and exchange multiple cryptocurrencies for smart-contract coins. They can also buy, sell, and exchange wagers via our PebbleShare tipbot. The wallet communicates to any existing operator’s PAM via an API and, in addition to standard transaction accounting and reporting, operators may permit wagering between players using pay-as you-go cryptocurrency where no money is on deposit as well as players with fiat currency on deposit, in their existing operator account.

Once activated, users with popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum may then exchange those coins for PebbleCoin and begin placing smart-contract wagers. PebbleCoin, the gaming-by-design crypto-currency BCI’s technology utilizes, is one of the first cryptocurrencies to use smart contracts and trade them as freely as coins.

BCI claims that its blockchain social betting solution has something unique and innovative that the competitors, especially Bitcoin and Ethereum, do not have: basically, BCI’s solution does not have a lag in provable transaction confirmation. Could you explain about its practical real-time implications?

Matthew: BCI has provably instant confirmation of transactions, or bets integrated within its technology and our cryptocurrency PebbleCoin. The confirmation time for Bitcoin is 1 hour and Ethereum is 180 seconds. The implication of that 180 seconds to 1 hour is that live wagering environments are not possible with Bitcoin or Ethereum since there is an ability for one side to “roll-back” the transaction on the blockchain. If this were the case, users could cancel bets when the line prices move against their position – that’s not feasible in a betting market.

These are good times to be a betting solution provider in the USA, as the US supreme court has repealed PSPA, which would inevitably lead to the legalization of sports betting in many US states. How do you see the prospects for BCI?

Matthew: We see a lot of opportunity for operators to be “born on the blockchain”, that is to have a blockchain wagering offering for their players as their sole platform or a complementary offering to their player base. With the 6-3 United States Supreme Court decision striking down a 1992 law prohibiting such sports betting outside of Nevada, and the American Gaming Association estimating there is over $250 billion wagered annually in the US, it is a promising time for the sector.

Those figures mean that the demand for suppliers in the US will exceed the capabilities of conventional platform providers. We anticipate operators that want to be live when authorized by their state will look to blockchain as a modern technology that is able to offer a full solution for their sports wagering operations. Along those lines, because of the near-zero cost to operate our system, Tribes and state sports lotteries stand to gain the most from a blockchain solution since those savings go directly back to the taxpayer or tribal entities managing gaming operations for the tribe.

About BlockChain Innovations Corp.

Blockchain Innovations is headquartered in Las Vegas. The company designs and develops market ready blockchain technology for public and private real-money wagering and peer-to-peer gaming companies across the globe.

The company’s blockchain technology consists of a fully functional crypto-currency wallet, a tipbot – PebbleGo for easily sending and receiving smart contracts, and its smart contracts platform – the ideal wagering eco-system for instant confirmation, where contracts are tradeable, divisible, transferable and new wagering not available in traditional retail or online markets.

The company’s technology is built around PebbleCoin, a gambling-by-design cryptocurrency that has been mined since 2015. Pebblecoin’s unique features make it the only crypto-currency that can facilitate real-time wagering.

For more details visit www.blockchaininnovations.info

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Bitcoin Miner celebrates two years of hugely successful collaboration with ZBD

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Bitcoin Miner, the world’s number one Bitcoin game, is celebrating two years of its collaboration with ZBD, a leading fintech company powering digital economies for gamers and developers. Since the partnership began, Bitcoin Miner has gone from a forgotten title with no players to becoming one of the largest play-and-earn games ever, with over 2 million lifetime users.

ZBD’s Lightning-powered payments technology enables developers to inject instant rewards into their games to boost retention and community engagement. Fumb Games, the studio behind Bitcoin Miner, partnered with ZBD in March 2022 to help revive its flagship title, enabling it to reward players with fragments of Bitcoin for playing the game as normal. From the outset, the integration of ZBD’s tech had a marked impact, leading to a 12x boost in 30-day retention. Two years on, Bitcoin Miner is achieving 40,000 daily active users, making it the biggest Bitcoin game by user count.

Besides the retention benefit of rewards, which leads to player retention that exceeds 6 months, the success of Bitcoin Miner has also been fueled by community-based features such as regular live events. The majority of Bitcoin Miner players are US-based millennial males who enjoy engaging with gaming communities, with weekly events leading to a 20% increase in revenue. As well as its own community of engaged players, Bitcoin Miner benefits from the ZBD app user base of more than a million gamers.

Paul West, Founder of Fumb Games, said “Bitcoin Miner has proven that US players love games that are fun, snackable and rewarding. The  game is not only sustainable, but has soared to new heights since the partnership with ZBD. It’s no surprise that I’m very excited for the future of bitcoin and player-friendly rewarded games.”

Ben Cousens, Chief Strategy Officer at ZBD, said “The two-year collaboration with Paul and Fumb Games on Bitcoin Miner has been a quintessential success story for what we’re building at ZBD. It proves the value in offering rewards for gamers and the success of ZBD’s rewards and payments tech at making it possible at speed and scale. We will no doubt see further impressive numbers for Bitcoin Miner that cement its status as world’s number one Bitcoin game, and we also look forward to extending the potential benefits of Bitcoin rewards to more developers.”

In November 2023, Fumb Games also integrated ZBD’s technology in its idle tycoon RPG SpaceY. ZBD works with more than 100 game developers worldwide, including major brands such as Square Enix, and is also used by innovative adtech companies like Slice and AdInMo.

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Time to Invest in Crypto? SOFTSWISS 2023 iGaming Market Overview

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In 2023, crypto bets expanded by more than 20%, as reported by SOFTSWISS. The leading technology company, with over 15 years of expertise in iGaming and number one in crypto-optimised software, shares its analysis of the dynamic crypto landscape.
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In 2023, crypto bets expanded by more than 20%, as reported by SOFTSWISS. The leading technology company, with over 15 years of expertise in iGaming and number one in crypto-optimised software, shares its analysis of the dynamic crypto landscape.

According to industry research, the global iGaming market is projected to double by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate of 11.7%. Revenues are expected to exceed 140 billion euro, with a significant share attributed to crypto gambling. 

SOFTSWISS, as the innovator in crypto iGaming software development, regularly conducts research to track the dynamics of crypto within the iGaming market. Using extrapolation, comparative and correlative analysis, experts analyse the data gathered from over 600 crypto-friendly brands powered by the company.

iGaming Market Overview

Based on SOFTSWISS data, the iGaming market had a stable expansion in 2023. In absolute terms in euro, the Total Bet Sum grew by 38.2% year-on-year. At the same time, the Total Bet Count displayed an even stronger increase, surpassing 51.2%

The average bet is slightly decreasing for several reasons. One significant factor is the broader reach of online gaming, fueled by advanced technology and increased internet availability. This trend is more evident in emerging markets like LatAm and Africa, where bets are usually smaller. Additionally, the increasing number of players under 30 with budget constraints adds to the decline in the average bet size.

State of Crypto

The in-depth quarterly analysis, initiated at the beginning of 2022, reveals that fiat bets are undergoing more substantial growth compared to crypto bets. In Q4’23, the Crypto Bet Sum saw an 8.2% rise in absolute terms, while the Fiat Bet Sum surged by 16.4% compared to Q3’23. At the end of 2023, the crypto share in the Total Bets Sum (27.5%)  decreased by 3.9 p.p.

The comparative analysis of the 2023 Crypto Bet Sum against  the previous year shows 21.1% growth. Simultaneously, the Crypto Bet Count increased by 50.5% year-on-year. The growing number of bets indicates rising interest in crypto gaming, but the greater availability of digital currencies may lead to slightly more economical bets.

“The advantages of employing digital currencies, such as swift transactions and anonymity, are key drivers for many players. Given these dynamics, the market demands expanding iGaming projects’ opportunities for crypto players. The in-game currency conversion, for example, allows operators to engage players with cryptocurrency assets in games initially designed for fiat transactions. The projects that embrace such possibilities continue gaining more advantageous market positions,” shares Vitali Matsukevich, Chief Operating Officer at SOFTSWISS.

Crypto Bet Stabilisation

The average fiat bet remained steady at around 0.82 euro throughout the previous year. Despite fluctuations in the average crypto bet during 2023, ranging from 1.59 to 1.88 euro, the changes appear modest compared to the twofold drop observed in the average crypto bet during Q4’22, which reached 1.56 euros. This indicates a certain level of stabilisation in the average crypto bet throughout 2023. 

Vitali Matsukevich, Chief Operating Officer at SOFTSWISS, comments: The dynamics of the average crypto bet align with crypto market fluctuations. When digital currency values stabilised in H2 2022, the average crypto bet also levelled out. Another thing is that the average crypto bet is almost two times higher than the average fiat bet, which testifies that digital currencies are potentially used by players with higher incomes. Operators should consider this to increase project profitability.”

Cryptocurrencies Rating

The Top Five most operated digital coins in iGaming landscape have remained stable during the last two years. 

In 2023, the cryptocurrency structure looks as follows:

  • Bitcoin – 73.3%
  • Ethereum – 9.9%
  • Litecoin – 6.6% 
  • Tether – 4.6%
  • Dogecoin – 3.1%

In Q4 2023, Bitcoin experienced a slight decline by a 5.7 p.p. compared to Q3 2023. Conversely, Ethereum and Litecoin showed growth of 4.7 p.p. and 2.2 p.p., respectively, during the same period.

Vitali Matsukevich, Chief Operating Officer at SOFTSWISS, summarises: “The digital currencies market is rapidly expanding, with estimates showing over 50% growth in capitalisation in 2023. Despite the risks caused by the high volatility of crypto and its dependence on various factors, using it can bring extra profits for operators. The iGaming industry is promising for investments due to growth in both fiat and crypto markets, but success depends on trustworthy and experienced partners.

 

About SOFTSWISS 

SOFTSWISS is an international tech company supplying software solutions for managing iGaming projects. The expert team, which counts over 2,000 employees, is based in Malta, Poland, and Georgia. SOFTSWISS holds a number of gaming licences and provides one-stop-shop iGaming software solutions. The company has a vast product portfolio, including the Online Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with thousands of casino games, the Affilka affiliate platform, the Sportsbook Platform and the Jackpot Aggregator. In 2013, SOFTSWISS was the first in the world to introduce a Bitcoin-optimised online casino solution.

 

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Evgeniy Babitsyn from Bets.io Comments on the Future of BTC

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Evgeniy Babitsyn from Bets.io Comments on the Future of BTC
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In January 2024, the SEC approved 11 Bitcoin ETFs, marking a significant announcement for Bitcoin and the wider crypto-market. This approval demonstrates the growing integration of traditional finance with decentralized finance. The announcement has sparked mixed reactions, with crypto experts questioning what this means for the future of tradable crypto assets. On the back of the announcement, the news that BlackRock will now be the biggest holder of Bitcoin has made the issue more complex.

Evgeniy Babitsyn, CMO of Bets.io, is an expert crypto commentator who has been closely monitoring these latest developments.

“There are pros and cons to the BTC ETF. On the one hand, it gives retail investors another avenue of access to the crypto market, allowing them to invest through a traditional finance instrument. This is important because investors not well-versed in crypto investing can find it difficult to access and invest in crypto assets,” he said. “However, the bigger point here is that BTC’s incorporation into an ETF goes against the founding principles of cryptocurrency. Its evolution is a consequence of advanced technology removing the ‘middleman’ in transactions, empowering individuals to make transactions free of bureaucratic institutions.”

When it comes to the regulation of crypto assets, Evgeniy does admit that there is a role for regulators to play. However, he advises it should not go against the fundamentals of cryptocurrencies. “While there is a role for regulation to play, having an ETF in play goes against what BTC initially set out to achieve as an alternative to traditional financial systems.”

Increased institutional involvement in crypto trading can also distort the market, posing significant questions for the future. “News is now emerging that the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, is on track to becoming the biggest holder of BTC because of the ETF,” Evgeniy said. “Coupled with this, the ongoing developments from state entities to regulate crypto assets, the question now is whether the institutional embrace of BTC marks the beginning of the end for the coin, at least in its original form.”

Bets.io is a renowned brand within the world of crypto iGaming. It was launched in 2021 and has been rapidly expanding ever since. In 2022, the brand was acclaimed as The Rising Star Operator of the Year by SiGMA Europe for its ambition, results, and potential in the online entertainment industry. As such, it has been keenly watching the developments of crypto assets unfold.

Looking to the future, Evgeniy sees big announcements on the horizon. “For now, we know that 2024 will be a monumental year for the future of BTC, cryptocurrencies, and Web3.”

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