Cryptocurrency
Trading Blows: Cloudbet’s expert take on the new NBA season
As the NBA prepares to go back to work, the trading team at Cloudbet, the leading crypto sportsbook and casino, assesses the latest market movers and shakers
The wait is almost over: The NBA is ready to go again, just two months after Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers trounced the Miami Heat in last season’s finals. The victory put an emphatic exclamation mark on the Covid-19 iteration of America’s premier basketball competition, which played out its final months in the league’s Disney World bubble in Florida.
Since then, there have been a flurry of draft and free-agency dealings, along with a few superstars returning to injury, which promise yet another humdinger of a season – all with the spectre of Covid looming in the background.
Cloudbet takes this opportunity to preview the action, with the first games tipping off on December 22. Buckle up, folks!
The West – A Lakers dynasty in the making
Champs get stronger
If last season made just one thing clear, it’s that the Lakers are back for good – and ominously, they’ve had probably the best off-season in the league, making all the right moves to improve in all positions over last year.
First of all, they re-signed Anthony Davis to a five-year, $190 million contract, a move that confirms that nothing less than a repeat this year is acceptable.
Trading Dennis Schroder from the Oklahoma City Thunder, while adding depth to the Center position through free agents Marc Gasol and reigning sixth man Montrezl Harrell has stacked the roster even further. Wesley Matthews taking Danny Green’s spot is the last piece of the puzzle.
They remain the team to beat in 2021 and are deservedly the No.1 title favourites. Cloudbet is offering odds of 2.88/+188 on the Lakers lifting the title and 1.85/-177 to take the Western Conference.
Clippers to contend
The Lakers’ cross-town rivals are looking to reboot their fortunes after their huge summer letdown, giving up a 3-1 series lead in the Western semifinals against the Denver Nuggets.
The Clips have a new head coach in Tyronn Lue and the team has locked in Paul George until 2025 with a contract extension. Meanwhile, the gap at center created by Harrell’s departure has been filled with Serge Ibaka – who has now been reunited with Kawhi Leonard: The two both shared a championship title with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
The Clips will be looking for Ibaka’s defensive game to better contain players like Anthony Davis and the Nugget’s Nikola Jokic more effectively, especially in the post-season.
The Clips are currently at 8.18/+718 to take the title and you can get odds of 2.12/+112 that they end the regular season with a greater than 67% win percentage.
A nod to the Nuggets
While the hunt for the six remaining Western Conference playoff spots includes several teams in the mix-up, one looks to stand out from that group.
The Denver Nuggets seem to be a few steps (or years) away from going all the way, with a great young core by way of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Under the guidance of Head Coach Mike Malone, the Nuggets have built on strong foundations and will be a force to be reckoned for the foreseeable future. Denver is 20.9/+1996 to win it all this season.
The East – up for grabs
In the Eastern Conference, things look a bit more fluid.
The Milwaukee Bucks seem to have found a way of killing it during the regular season – and played some great basketball before the March shutdown – but still lack the knack of transforming these home-court advantages into deeper postseason quests for glory.
Giannis Antetokounmpo joined the elite company of only Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon by winning both MVP (his second in a row) and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season last year. The Greek Freak looks hungry as ever to make the leap into the finals.
The most notable move made by the front office saw Jrue Holiday join from the New Orleans Pelicans in the off-season, while the waiting game around Giannis is over – on Wednesday he signed the full five-year, $228 million supermax contract. He’s committed to Milwaukee now for a long time.
Milwaukee’s title odds are currently 6.36/+536.
It was the Miami Heat (23.0/+2201 for the title) that knocked Milwaukee out in the bubble. The Bucks had no answer for the Heat’s physical and tactical approach, led by alpha dogs Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Butler’s unquestionable fighter mentality and work ethic is paired by a unique two-way talent. Bam was dominant in the paint while young sharpshooters Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson set the tone for a balanced offence that sets the bar high for 2021.
This season’s Brooklyn Nets (7.55/+655 for the crown) are perhaps the most intriguing entity in the East. The return of Kevin Durant (10.5/+959 for regular season MVP) and Kyrie Irving (92.9/+9192 for the same) at full strength automatically flips the switch on the Nets to contender status, while Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert should again play integral roles having had their best professional seasons in 2020.
The arrival of Steve Nash as head coach was the story of the off-season. The hiring of the former Suns two-time MVP has been met with some skepticism though, mainly due to his lack of experience in the position. No doubt both fans and pundits will be watching closely.
The Covid elephant in the room
We can’t end any major competition preview without a generous nod of the head to the bogeyman du jour. The NBA’s solution to covid last season – the Disney World bubble – was an enormous undertaking and an undeniable success. Building on that experience, the league now has strict protocols and a slightly rejigged playing schedule in place this season.
Perhaps the biggest change for players, aside from the relative isolation, will be road-trip restrictions and playing matches back-to-back while visiting. It’ll be interesting to see how teams (and betting odds) respond to sudden line-up and venue adjustments if Covid rears its ugly head.
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BurraPay
Byte Federal Announces Successful Launch of Custom-Built Integration Supporting BurraPay’s Historic Entry into America’s Regulated Gaming Market
Byte Federal Inc. announced the integration of its payment and exchange services with BurraPay, the first cryptocurrency payments processor to operate inside Nevada’s regulated gaming market. Byte Federal is enabling BurraPay’s secure, compliant cryptocurrency transactions within licensed casino and sportsbook environments – a barrier that, until now, has kept digital assets entirely out of the regulated U.S. gaming ecosystem.
BurraPay announced its U.S. debut last week with its first client, Circa Resort & Casino in downtown Las Vegas, home of The World’s Largest Sportsbook. On June 4, the platform processed the first legal cryptocurrency-funded sports wager in Nevada history.
“The Nevada Gaming Control Board’s willingness to engage with compliant crypto infrastructure reflects the forward-thinking regulatory leadership that has kept Nevada at the forefront of the global gaming industry for decades. Nevada has set a blueprint. Our focus now is to continue working directly with regulators in other jurisdictions to replicate that – giving them full visibility into our compliance framework and the proven infrastructure we’ve deployed with Byte Federal, so they can move forward with confidence,” said Luke Millanta, CTO and Co-Founder of BurraPay.
Players wishing to fund their wagering activity using cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin, can now do so by visiting the sportsbook at Circa Las Vegas.
28% of U.S. adults own cryptocurrency and nearly half of all global crypto holders use digital assets for gambling. Yet billions in wagering volume has been flowing offshore to unregulated operators – outside the consumer protections, outside the tax base, outside the rules. BurraPay built the compliance-first platform to bring that activity onshore. Byte Federal provides the purpose-built exchange layer to make it run.
“This is what we’ve been building toward since 2016: digital assets that aren’t just held, but used. A patron walking into a Las Vegas sportsbook and funding a wager with Bitcoin, fully compliant, fully legal – that’s the promise of this technology meeting physical reality. We’re proud our infrastructure is part of the stack,” said Paul Tarantino, CEO of Byte Federal.
Byte Federal will continue working alongside BurraPay as it signs new operators, expands into additional jurisdictions on a state-by-state basis, and scales to meet growing demand – with BurraPay now approved in five key gaming states across the US.
“Earlier this month, a patron walked into a Las Vegas casino and funded a sports wager with Bitcoin. That has never happened before. That’s what a compliance-first platform makes possible. Byte Federal’s exchange solution is key to making this work, and as BurraPay expands into every state in the country, they’ll be right there with us,” said Millanta.
And the opportunity doesn’t stop with gaming: Byte Federal is already in talks with other industries about facilitating custom builds tailored to their unique needs.
The post Byte Federal Announces Successful Launch of Custom-Built Integration Supporting BurraPay’s Historic Entry into America’s Regulated Gaming Market appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Cryptocurrency
WSOP to Bring Crypto to Events Through Solana Tournament Purchases
The World Series of Poker (WSOP), the longest-running and most prestigious poker tournament series in the world, announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the Solana Foundation to bring cryptocurrency directly into the global poker experience.
This will be the first time in WSOP history where players can purchase tickets to tournaments directly with cryptocurrency, and by leveraging Solana’s technology, this payment method will have zero processing fees.
The integration will expand further at the 2026 WSOP Paradise in The Bahamas this December, where tournament winners can receive settlements in stablecoins on Solana, enabling near-instant access to payments and reducing the friction traditionally associated with international tournament settlements.
As part of this collaboration, Solana Foundation will also serve as the official Presenting Sponsor of the 2026 World Series of Poker and 2026 World Series of Poker Paradise.
The World Series of Poker, Dealt by Solana
The poker community has long been at the forefront of cryptocurrency adoption, with players embracing decentralized technology, like Solana, for its efficiency and transparency. As a high-performance blockchain, Solana is celebrated for its industry-leading transaction speeds – capable of processing thousands of transactions per second – and ultra-low costs, with average fees remaining below $0.001. By enabling players to make purchases through Moonpay, and cashout in stablecoins on Solana, these initiatives allow:
• Faster settlement and streamlined payment processing for eligible events
• Greater accessibility for international players traveling to WSOP events
• Near-instant global settlement, with reduced friction for users
• Expanded payment flexibility for players participating in marquee tournaments worldwide
Introducing Solana-powered purchases and settlements modernizes how money moves through the poker ecosystem and reduces friction for players around the world.
Where Poker and Cryptocurrency Converge
This initiative bridges the digital space and the poker world, reinforcing the growing demand among players for faster financial tools that simplify participation in global events. Beyond payments, the collaboration brings together communities that are closely aligned.
“We are incredibly proud to bring such an innovative and passionate community into the fold. Solana’s ecosystem, like the WSOP, constantly challenges conventions and remains laser-focused on the consumer experience. Solana’s speed and efficiency mirror the fast-paced energy of our tournaments, and we are excited to showcase their technology to our global audience,” said Ty Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of WSOP.
“Solana is a digital economy where people can own and trade millions of assets, make payments, earn on their money, and more. Trading in particular has been a huge area of growth on Solana over the last few years, generating over $4 trillion in volume. At its core, trading shares many of the same characteristics as poker: hard decisions, incomplete information, minding your bankroll. We’re incredibly excited to grow the game of poker with the WSOP and bring these two worlds together,” said Vibhu Norby, Chief Product Officer, Solana Foundation.
“Poker players have always lived at the forefront of innovation. They think in probabilities, move fast, and adopt the tools that give them an edge. Cryptocurrency is a natural fit. By powering purchases and settlements through MoonPay on Solana, we’re meeting that demand directly: faster, borderless payments that make it simple for players anywhere to take their seat at the world’s biggest tables,” said Jim Walker, President of MoonPay Commerce.
Beyond the Felt: Ambassadors and Hospitality
The Solana Foundation is set to sponsor a select group of individual poker player ambassadors who will represent the ecosystem at this summer’s WSOP event. Additionally, the Solana ecosystem will host exclusive hospitality events at the Paris and Horseshoe venues in Las Vegas, as well as a premier experience during WSOP Paradise in The Bahamas this winter. Solana users can also look forward to collaborative onchain poker products, developed with WSOP, to follow.
The post WSOP to Bring Crypto to Events Through Solana Tournament Purchases appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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.
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