Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN JAN 2019 30 T h ere was a significant amount of media focus in 2018 on the positive disruption cryptocurrencies (crypto) and blockchain are having in the iGaming sector – and with good reason. Estimates from research bodies already categorise 60% of Bitcoin-based transactions as iGaming related and this is likely only the start. Putting 2018 aside, if we are to shift our focus onto what effect crypto and blockchain based technology is going to have on gambling in 2019, my prediction is that the next wave of positive disruption will be the shift of crypto and blockchain adoption from beyond just online and towards land-based casinos. So what place does crypto have in a physical casino? It is interesting to think of a time when a player can walk into a casino in Macau armed with only a crypto e-wallet on his or her smartphone – no dollar bills, no credit cards – but I can assure you, it’s going to happen soon enough. Crypto is fundamentally different to the traditional paper currency (fiat) currently used in land-based gambling and leveraging any blockchain technology to facilitate payments and wagering will do far more than a traditional gambling chip ever could. In many ways, crypto is perfect for the casino environment. It is limitlessly divisible, transparent and liquid. One can easily use a “wallet” to send and receive as much (or as little) as they like and expect it to be validated safely and then spent outside of the casino without the need to physically convert currency back from casino chips. Why am I so confident of this coming change? Blockchain, which is the technology that underpins all COLUMNISTS