Cryptocurrency
Global Gaming Marketplace Kinguin Partners With Immutable X
Offering 10 Million Gaming And esports Customers Access To The Most Advanced Platform For NFTs
Immutable X, the first layer-2 scaling solution for NFTs built on Ethereum, forms a partnership with Kinguin, a leading global video games marketplace, with over 10 million registered users. Both companies share a vision to create a new lightning-fast, low-cost, and eco-friendly NFT marketplace for gamers.
NFTs are essentially an evolution of digital ownership, a concept already familiar to gamers. Early NFT projects largely consisted of static images and art, while innovations in the space have led to the proliferation of dynamic digital collectibles, including trading cards, digital art, and other in-game items.
Unlike digital items of the past, the minting of digital collectibles in the form of NFTs enables verifiable ownership, uniqueness, and scarcity. NFT game items cannot be taken away from you by game developers, and can be sold for real money. The top NFT-centric projects, including popular games like Gods Unchained, Axie Infinity, and Aavegotchi, have experienced explosive growth, producing over $750 million in secondary sales volume in Q1 of 2021.
The Kinguin team is aiming for technical excellence in the build-up to their NFT offering that will include NFT Gaming Cards and more blockchain products in parallel to their existing digital marketplace, focused on games and software. Working closely with partners, game developers, influencers and gamers, Kinguin will welcome customers to the world of NFTs in a way that feels familiar and is easy to use from day one. Kinguin’s influence in the esports world spans from sponsoring major Counter Strike leagues, and they are well known for their Kinguin Esports Performance Center and Kinguin Esports Lounge in Europe.
“We are excited to partner up with Immutable X to bring innovative NFT offerings to gamers and eSports enthusiasts worldwide. We see the ultimate value in creating new rich experiences and functionality to these global communities”, said Viktor Romaniuk Wanli, Founder and CEO at Kinguin.
Immutable X was created by Immutable, the team behind one of Ethereum’s highest-grossing trading card games, Gods Unchained. It is the first layer-2 solution for NFTs on Ethereum, solving for all three issues related to NFT scaling: accessibility, scalability without compromising user custody and true decentralization.
Immutable X launched in Alpha this March and aims to unlock digital economies at scale by enabling NFTs to be traded, earned, shared, gamed and collected completely gas-free and securely with the power of ZK-rollup technology by StarkWare.
“Kinguin comes in with massive marketplace building knowledge, structures and experience, and we’re very excited about the unique trading experiences that they’ll be able to create and scale on Immutable X”, said Robbie Ferguson, co-founder of Immutable.
After observing and analyzing the NFTs industry for the last couple of years, Kinguin decided to introduce new structures, allowing the brand to enter the NFT market. Their goal is to leverage the existing ecosystem and enable their clients and partners to create unique NFT collections and trade them on the most advanced platform on the market.
“It is a natural next step for Kinguin, as our digital marketplace will expand its offering, according to the needs of our customers and incentivize them with new bounties and special deals built using NFT tokens”, added Viktor Romaniuk Wanli, Founder and CEO at Kinguin.
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Crypto
Jackbit Rebrands as Jack.com, Launches Volume 2.0 Platform Upgrade
Jackbit, the fast-growing crypto gaming destination, has officially completed its transition to Jack.com, unveiling a new brand identity and simultaneously launching Volume 2.0 — a comprehensive platform overhaul designed to power its next stage of international growth.
The rebrand comes after years of building a loyal user base on the back of lightning-fast crypto withdrawals, transparent operations, and a player-first philosophy. Securing the Jack.com domain signals the company’s commitment to becoming a major global player in the crypto gaming space.
“Jack.com represents the beginning of a much larger global expansion strategy. We will continue introducing new features, community tools, and strategic partnerships as the ecosystem evolves,” the company said.
Volume 2.0 brings sweeping changes to the platform. Wallet 2.0, a rebuilt payment infrastructure, now features cleaner transaction tracking, improved deposit and withdrawal flows, and expanded visibility across all payment activity. Navigation has been redesigned for speed, and security enhancements have been applied across the board.
The social fabric of the platform has also been strengthened. New community features including a Live Bets Feed, Recent Big Wins display, and High Rollers leaderboard allow players to engage with live platform activity. A new Tips Function enables peer-to-peer tipping directly within the platform — a first-of-its-kind feature in the crypto gaming sector.
On the loyalty side, Jack.com has launched a fully redesigned VIP program offering Instant Rakeback, Weekly and Monthly Bonuses, Level-Up Rewards, and dedicated VIP managers for top-tier members.
Jack.com offers thousands of casino games, live dealer experiences, original titles, esports betting, sportsbook markets, and tournaments — all accessible with seamless crypto payment options.
Existing Jackbit users will experience no disruption to their accounts during the transition. Jack.com operates under a Curaçao gaming license and was founded in 2022.
The post Jackbit Rebrands as Jack.com, Launches Volume 2.0 Platform Upgrade appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Cryptocurrency
Paysafe Research: Crypto Payments to Transform US Online Sports-betting
About 83% of U.S. bettors are keen to use cryptocurrency to fund wagers with online sportsbooks, when permitted, according to research issued by leading payments platform Paysafe. The company’s All the Ways Players Pay: Crypto Edition report also suggests that when a state permits crypto payments, sportsbooks supporting deposits by digital assets and even payouts will gain a competitive edge in player acquisition and retention.
As well as bettors in states where crypto deposits aren’t yet permitted – Florida, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania – Paysafe surveyed Illinois and Virginia, which have the regulatory latitude to give operators specific permission for crypto-to-cash funding products. Importantly, the study included the two states which explicitly permit crypto deposits, Colorado and Wyoming, where 59% and 45% of bettors, respectively, have already funded a bet with a digital asset.
With 64% of active U.S. bettors owning cryptocurrency, deposits using digital assets would almost certainly trend even higher in other states when permitted. In New York, 92% of players have appetite for crypto deposits, with demand in Illinois and Florida almost as high (88% in both).
When permitted, crypto would be a top-3 payment method for funding wagers, with 45% of players listing crypto as a preference after digital wallets (favored by 55%) and debit cards (50%). In New York, crypto would be second only to wallets (54% versus 59%), with a similar dynamic evident in Illinois, where 52% list crypto as a preference compared to 58% digital wallets.
Despite crypto’s potential to rival wallets and bank cards, other payment methods would remain relevant. Even if digital assets were permitted, credit cards (a preference for 37%) and pay-by-bank solutions and bank transfers (also 37%) would still be relatively popular. And even niche payment options would not be completely overshadowed if crypto were thrown into the transactional mix, with almost a quarter of bettors (23%) still listing local payment methods like peer-to-peer apps and 14% eCash solutions like PaysafeCash.
Players also have interest in cashing-out their winnings in crypto, which is not yet permitted by any state. Well over eight out of 10 bettors (85%) are keen for crypto withdrawals.
Given bettor appetite for cashing-out and crypto funding, it’s unsurprising that digital assets would play an influential role in their selection of a new sportsbook. While brand trust dominates sportsbook choice (prioritized by 36%), crypto payment factors are almost as important, including seamless crypto withdrawals (prioritized by 29%), ability to transact with crypto or other preferred payment methods (28%), and seamless crypto deposits (26%).
Crypto payments’ value extends to player retention. Seven out of 10 players (71%) feel that transacting using digital assets would improve their overall betting experience, with just 18% disagreeing and the remaining 11% unsure.
While crypto will invariably enhance customer stickiness, operators need to carefully evaluate crypto payment products as a poor transactional experience will risk churn, with 71% likely to abandon a sportsbook as a result. Players in some states are even less forgiving, especially New York (80% would switch brands), but also Florida and Illinois (75% in both).
Zak Cutler, President of Global Gaming at Paysafe, said: “While crypto payments are only currently permitted in a relatively modest cohort of U.S. states, our latest research indicates that there’s strong player appetite for crypto at the cashier in not just these jurisdictions but across the broader market. As regulation evolves and as more iGaming markets embrace digital assets’ impressive value at the cashier, we’re confident that crypto will not just become an important payment method, but arguably pivotal to the industry’s transactional future.”
The post Paysafe Research: Crypto Payments to Transform US Online Sports-betting appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
British Gambling Commission
UK Heading For Crypto Gambling, But Will Consumers Care?
The UK Gambling Commission has begun scoping out how it will allow crypto gambling to exist within its regulatory framework, but there are concerns that embrace of cryptocurrencies by one of the world’s largest online gambling markets might make very little impact.
The UK’s gambling regulator announced in February that it was seriously considering allowing its licence-holding operator to allow gambling with crypto.
The move is driven in part by a project at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to beef up rules around exchanges and other virtual asset providers.
This bedrock, the commission believes, will give it a solid foundation to open up the world of gambling, while addressing concerns around potential money laundering and value fluctuations.
Speaking in London earlier this week, the commission’s enforcement director, John Pierce, confirmed that he is leading a team within the regulator that is scoping out the project.
He said that formal regulations are unlikely to emerge until 2027, but speaking at the annual CMS Conference on Tuesday (May 12), he was clear that “we are moving increasingly towards crypto”.
Pierce added that he is keen to hear from members of the gambling industry on how they would like to see crypto regulations structured, primarily through the regulator’s Industry Forum, but admitted that the staff currently at the regulator lack skills in this area.
This skill gap is an area the Gambling Commission will need to close if it is to create a workable framework for crypto gambling, with some key players in the industry apparently unimpressed with the regulator’s efforts so far, sources say.
Pressure builds
While the regulator is being careful not to fully confirm that it will develop a model for crypto gambling, there’s good reason to believe it will push forward with the project.
This is due to several factors, including the growing threat of the black market. The commissions’ own research into what motives consumers to look offshore found a desire to gamble with their crypto holdings is a key motivator.
There’s also growing pressure from the international anti-money laundering (AML) establishment to do more than simply prohibit the use of cryptocurrencies.
Current advice from the watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is that nations should look to bring crypto within their regulatory framework so as to better protect against its potential misuse for fraud and terrorism funding.
This position has influenced the FCA’s move to develop more complete crypto regulations and in turn has spurred the Gambling Commission to make its own moves.
The suggested date of 2027 for new regulations is no coincidence. FATF will commence its next mutual evaluation of the UK that year and will expect officials to show how they are limiting the flow of crypto from British shores to potentially illicit offshore operators.
Will it work?
There are real concerns that very few crypto casino players would actually be interested in wagering in the regulated market.
“In the UK, the demand is relatively small,” said Maria Rodriguez, the head of payment strategy for operating giant Flutter.
“It’s a very niche service, but it’s consumer that we don’t have access to at the moment,” she added, also speaking at this week’s CMS event.
One of the key questions is what kinds of crypto will be permitted in the UK market.
Pierce hinted that his team is leaning towards only allowing stablecoins, which rules out a large potential consumer segment who own currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
This is primarily due to concerns around volatility. Stablecoins are pegged to supposedly stable currencies or commodities, like the US dollar, and are less susceptible to sudden market movements.
Pierce and Rodriguez both pointed to potential issues where coins with rapidly fluctuating values, such as bitcoin, drop massively while they are being held by operators as a customer deposit.
There are also other potential issues around financial services. Operators need banking partners in order to do business and they will likely resist any drift towards uncertainty.
So, while that makes a stablecoin-only regime the safe option, it’s a choice that risks alienating much of the current black market gambling which the commission is explicitly hoping to tempt onshore.
“You think about the segment that is the pure native crypto customers, even if we get to the point that we offer it, are there really going to come?” wondered Rogriguez. “I still have a question mark of whether we are going to attract those customers or not.”
The post UK Heading For Crypto Gambling, But Will Consumers Care? appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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