On Friday, July 7, William Anthony Parker, 34, was found guilty of aggravated online casino fraud by the District Court of Central Finland, according to Yle, the Finnish public broadcaster. Parker was able to infiltrate the casinos’ systems by exploiting a security vulnerability to “obtain a financial benefit for himself.”

The report didn’t say exactly how he went about this. However, a Yle article from May that focused on the investigation suggested that he had distorted the results of games in his favor. He did this while using legal software that is intended for use as a cybersecurity tool.

Lone Wolf

The crimes took place between April and May 2023 in Vantaa, a city in southern Finland, although Parker is a resident of the UK. Prosecutors believe he acted alone. He was arrested in central Finland in January of this year and initially charged with gross data breach and financial fraud.

Assets found in his possession at the time of his arrest were frozen by court order during the preliminary investigation. These included more than €9K (US$9.7K) in cash as well as 100 gold coins, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of more than three years for Parker. The court’s verdict in the case isn’t final, meaning that the ruling is still subject to appeal, Yle reported.

Major Breaches

The case highlights how cybercriminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to target both online and land-based casinos. In September 2023, hackers stole around $41 million worth of cryptocurrency from crypto gambling site Stake.com.

It was a “sophisticated breach” that exploited a service that the casino uses to authorize crypto transactions, according to Stake.com founder Edward Craven.

The FBI has attributed the attack to North Korea and its infamous state-sponsored cybercrime unit, the Lazarus Group.?

In the same month as the Lazarus attack, land-based casino giants Caesars and MGM Resorts were hit by ransomware attacks organized by a hacking group called “Scattered Spider.”

MGM refused to pay out and saw disruption to its operations that lasted for days, causing an estimated $100 million in damage. Caesars paid a ransom of around $15 million to have normal services restored.

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On Tuesday, US District Judge Denise Casper ruled that the suit can proceed because the Howey Test barrier was met regarding the digital trading cards sold on Marketplace to participants in DraftKings’ Reignmakers fantasy games.

The Howey Test is derived from the landmark 1946 Supreme Court case SEC v. W.J. Howey Co. Since then, the high court set forth four criteria to determine whether or not an asset is a security. Those benchmarks are the investment of money, expectation of profits, common enterprise, and investment success dependent upon parties beyond the individual investor. Casper ruled that plaintiffs met those thresholds in the complaint against DraftKings.

Thus, while the Howey test remains crucial in discerning the line between securities and non-investments, its application has varied based on jurisdiction, the specifics of the case, and changes in the types of financial products being offered,” according to Investopedia.

An NFT is a unit of data stored on the blockchain. NFTs can be applied to various digitized items, such as audio and video files and pictures. The suit was filed in March 2023 in US District Court in Boston was brought by Illinois resident Justin Dufoe. He claims he lost approximately $14,000 on NFTs he bought on DraftKings Marketplace.

Bad Timing for DraftKings NFT Efforts

In mid-2021 as the NFT market was booming, DraftKings unveiled plans for DraftKings Marketplace. Reignmakers, which functions on the Polygon blockchain, was the fantasy sports addition to Marketplace.

The suit also contends that during the class period, DraftKings failed to register its NFTs as securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). If that is proven, DraftKings could draw regulatory scrutiny because the SEC has taken enforcement actions in which it classifies NFTs as securities.

Casper’s decision indicates that DraftKings Marketplace is much more than a digital equivalent of trading card shop. Rather, the judge said it’s a securities exchange, potentially implying DraftKings is allegedly dealing securities in unauthorized fashion.

Recent Precedent Doesn’t Favor DraftKings

While NFTs are a young asset class, there is already some legal precedent that could favor the plaintiffs in the DraftKings Marketplace case.

In 2023, US District Judge Victor Marrero ruled the NBA trading cards offered by NBA Top Shot — controlled by Dapper Labs — were securities. Dapper raised a combined $153 million from the sales and resales of those NFTs on its platform and last month, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered the company to pay plaintiffs $4 million. Those plaintiffs sued Dapper claiming NBA Top Shot NFTs are securities.

Additionally in 2023, the SEC garnered a combined $1.5 million in fines from two NFT issuers the commission said were selling unregistered securities.

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Rashawn Russell, 28, of Brooklyn, promised his victims returns on their investments of up to 100% through cryptocurrency trades via his company, the R3 Crypto Fund. But federal prosecutors said Russell used the fund for gambling and other personal expenses while he stole from Peter to pay Paul.

In a separate fraud, Russell stole at least 140 credit, debit, and ID cards, often from gym lockers in New York and New Jersey. He used the stolen cards to open online gambling accounts and make fraudulent purchases, according to prosecutors.

False Promises

Russell used his credentials as a financial highflyer to convince his victims that the fund was legitimate. He worked for Deutsche Bank in New York for six years, first as an investment banking analyst and then as an associate.

He fabricated documents to convince investors their funds were safe. This included sending a screenshot of a purported bank balance, which he had doctored to show $355K. In reality, there was around $35K in the account.

When the scheme began to unravel and some investors asked to be repaid, Russell bought time by sending falsified screenshots that purported to be wire transfer confirmations proving he had sent them money. But there were no wire transfers.

‘Leadership Potential’

Russell emigrated with his family to the US from Jamaica when he was 15. As a teenager, he won a scholarship to the?High School of Economics and Finance in New York City, thanks to his “extraordinary leadership potential.” From there, Russell studied at?Babson College in Boston, where he received a?Gates Millennium Leadership Scholarship.

The Holy Spirit had made him “new,” he added, “revitalizing my moribund body with purpose.”

Russell was jailed in February after prosecutors accused him of continuing his identity theft scam after his arrest. He has been ordered to pay victims more than $1.5 million in restitution.

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Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, the Australian billionaire entrepreneurs behind Stake.com, told the Australia Securties Exchange (ASX) last Friday that they recently boosted their PointsBet position to 16 million shares, or more than 5% of the bookmaker’s shares outstanding. That’s up from 4.2% at the end of December.

The duo have been amassing their PointsBet position through Easygo Gaming — a Melbourne-based gaming software company.

Easygo was established in 2016 by young entrepreneurs Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani and has quickly become one of Australia’s fastest growing companies. Our brands attract over 200 million visits per month! More than the population of Australia, Mexico, and Italy combined!,” according to the company’s website.

Stake.com is what’s known as a gray-market operator. That label implies that while it’s not officially licensed and regulated on par with a white-market equivalent, it is safer for consumers than a black-market counterpart.

Not Clear if Stake.com Founders to Acquire PointsBet

In initiating the PointsBet stake, Craven and Tehrani signaled an intent to better capitalize on more traditional forms of wagering – something the sports wagering company certainly delivers. However, it’s not clear if the duo want to acquire PointsBet outright.

Executives acknowledged that despite the fact that DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKGN) and privately held Fanatics engaged in a small bidding war for PointsBet US, that business was sold at a loss.

However, the gaming company makes money in its home market and it retained its Canadian operations, which are also viewed as a potentially valuable asset. Still, it’s not clear if Craven and Tehrani want to eventually gain majority control of PointsBet or if they’ll become activist investors.

Some Synergies Between Stake.com, PointsBet

While Stake.com is widely viewed as a cryptocurrency casino, it does have a sportsbook, indicating that Craven and Tehrani are knowledgeable of that business and there are potential synergies between their company and PointsBet.

Again, the Stake.com founders haven’t overtly said that they want to acquire PointsBet, but their company has been the subject of takeover rumors of its own.

Nearly a year ago, reports surfaced that the internet casino operator was kicking the tires on Chicago-based Rush Street Interactive (NYSE: RSI) — another gaming name often tied to takeover speculation — but a deal didn’t materialize.

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That valuation is based on the company’s “fully diluted equity capitalization, plus the implied fully diluted value of warrant.” Founded by Zach Bruch, Paul Martin, Max Bruch, and James Seibel, Miami-based MyPrize is the first firm of its kind to garner backing from Silicon Valley investors hailing from the cryptocurrency, entertainment, and technology spaces.

MyPrize offers a unique platform where players can play directly alongside their favorite creators and friends, allowing them to play with broader communities for the first time. MyPrize transcends boundaries, and gives players and fans what they have been desperately craving, a unified open platform that combines the best of both online gaming and streaming,” according to the company.

MyPrize is a web3 gaming platform that encourages an element of collaboration and social gaming that’s often not found on traditional wagering sites.

Crypto Casinos Gaining Popularity

Crypto casinos have boomed in popularity in recent years, providing an avenue for increased adoption and use of bitcoin and other digital currencies.

Some experts believe unregulated online gaming entities, including crypto casinos, could be prime targets for digital fraud. However, to the credit of MyPrize, the founders are steeped in experience in the digital assets realm, potentially implying they have the expertise needed to offer robust security features on the platform.

MyPrize integrates with streaming platforms such as Kick, LivePeer, and Twitch, among others. The crypto casino is available in 44 U.S. states, according to the operator’s website.

MyPrize Sports Vaunted Investor Roster

MyPrize’s investor roster reads like a Who’s Who of venture investing, as well as the gaming and cryptocurrency arenas.

MyPrize’s two rounds of venture financing were led by Dragonfly and Boxcars Ventures respectively, with participation from Mechanism Capital, Arrington Capital, Luca Netz (CEO of Pudgy Penguins), Peter Smith (Founder and CEO of Blockchain.com), a16z Scout, 640 Oxford, 2 Punks Capital (Marc Andreesen, Alexis Ohanian, Chris Dixon, and more), Breed VC, JST Capital, Steve Rosenthal (Co-Founder of casino giant, Jack Entertainment), the Kadoorie Family, Jeff Feng (Co-Founder of Sei), Jason Leung (former Global Head of Trading at Cumberland DRW), Tian Zeng (Founder and CIO of Nirvana Capital), Joshua Kaufman (Founder of Atly), Shiliang Tang (Former CIO of LedgerPrime), Spencer Noon, David Choi (founder of MetaStreet), and Joshua Lim (Former Head of Trading at Galaxy Digital & Circle),” according to the statement.

As just one example, Andreesen’s venture firm, Andreesen Horowitz, has backed such well-known companies as Coinbase, Facebook, Pinterest, and Slack, among others.

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At an unveiling event of its new-look C44 race car in London, Sauber Group managing director Alessandro Bravi said the team’s identity would be changed in locations where its main sponsor, online crypto casino Stake.com, might be unpalatable. Not least of these is Sauber’s native Switzerland, whose Federal Casino Commission (FCC) has initiated legal proceedings against the team because of the unlicensed status of Stake.com.

Sauber has competed as Alfa Romeo since 2018. But the Italian luxury car manufacturer pulled out of Formula One at the end of the 2023 season.

Sauber will become the Audi factory team in 2026. That allowed Australia-based Stake.com to step in and secure naming rights for the interim two seasons.

Stake.com’s Meteoric Rise

Since its launch in 2017, Stake.com has become the biggest crypto-gambling platform in the world. As well as landing the Sauber gig, it boasts singer Drake as its brand ambassador, and sponsors English Premier League club Everton. Edward Craven, the site’s founder, has an estimated net worth of more than $1 billion, according to The Australian Financial Review’s “Rich List.”

Stake.com is ultimately licensed in Curacao and authorized to operate with different URLs in countries such as Mexico or the UK, although not always for cryptocurrency.

Online gambling is heavily regulated in Switzerland, which has a licensing framework for operators and has explicitly banned the unlicensed variety, which includes Stake.com. It also has very strict laws about online gambling advertising. That means Sauber could face a hefty fine due to FCC litigation.

Kick Into Gear

Bravi attempted to appear upbeat about the Stake.com partnership and its confusing repercussions in London this week.

We will have also this year two different team names according to the different countries where we are going to race in order to comply with applicable local laws,” Bravi explained. “Where Stake is prohibited because there are restrictions on gambling advertising, we will use Kick within our team name,” he added.

Kick.com is an online live-streaming platform subsidiary of Stake.com’s parent company, Easygo Entertainment.

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For the previous five seasons, the team flew the Alfa Romeo flag. Stake.com will be the team’s primary sponsor for 2024 and 2025, before a rebranding to Audi in 2026. Financial terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed, but it expands the gaming company’s growing F1 footprint. Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu remain as the Sauber drivers. Stake held a sponsorship role with the Alfa Romeo team last year.

Last season represented the start of Stake’s journey in Formula 1, and the brand’s new role headlining Stake F1 Team represents the natural and exciting next step on this path,” said team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi in a statement.

Currently, Stake.com is what’s known as a gray-market operator. That label implies that while it’s not officially licensed and regulated on par with a white-market equivalent, it is safer for consumers than a black-market counterpart.

Stake.com No Stranger to Limelight

While cryptocurrency casinos aren’t regulated in the U.S., and thus don’t derive much benefit from this market, the concept is embraced by bettors in other regions.

“Drake is one of Stake’s celebrity, sport, and lifestyle partners, which also include English Premier League football club Everton and the UFC, and is likely to make appearances at Grands Prix as part of the partnership,” according to the statement.

Australia-based Stake.com is also a major sponsor of the African Warriors Fighting Championship (AWFC), that continent’s equivalent of UFC.

F1 Increasingly Intersecting with Gaming

Confirming that F1 is increasingly comfortable at the intersection of racing and wagering, news of the Stake.com/Sauber agreement arrived less than two months after the Las Vegas Grand Prix. That was the series’ first stop in Sin City in four decades, and by most accounts, the event was wildly successful as it underpinned one of the best weekends on record in terms of gaming revenue in the U.S. casino center.

The series has also become an epicenter of activity for blockchain and cryptocurrency companies seeking sponsorship opportunities. Binance, ByBit, OKX, OpenSea, and Tezos, to name a few, are among the related entities that have recently sought F1 exposure.

As for Stake.com, the gaming company and Sauber are planning a new look car for the upcoming F1 season. But a date hasn’t been set for when the vehicle will be revealed to the public.

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At the time of that announcement, Polygon, which is based on the ethereum blockchain, was the number 21 digital currency by market value. Today, it ranks 14th. A new article calls into question the nature of the DraftKings/Polygon relationship, suggesting the Web3 firm may have given the gaming company preferential treatment.

An article published earlier Thursday by Danny Nelson of CoinDesk indicates Polygon paid DraftKings “millions of valuable MATIC tokens” to run a Polygon validator network. That arrangement stemmed from a March 2022 announcement in which the Boston-based online sportsbook operator said it’s partnering with Zero Hash to stake digital assets it holds in its treasury to support the Polygon (MATIC) blockchain network.

With this collaboration, DraftKings is optimizing its working capital and liquidity as it operates a validator node that contributes to Polygon’s governance and network security,” according to a statement issued by the sportsbook operator at the time.

The CoinDesk article pointed out that Polygon didn’t disclose that it was compensating DraftKings to run one of its validator networks. Now, the validator isn’t operational, which could be a sign Polygon suffered losses on the arrangement with DraftKings. Neither company commented on the matter to CoinDesk.

On-Chain Data Confirms Relationship

In the cryptocurrency space, on-chain data serves as a digital ledger used to identify various transactions made in digital assets.

There were benefits for Polygon as well. When the deal with DraftKings was announced in October 2021, the cryptocurrency traded at $1.76. By Dec. 27, 2021, it had surged to $2.77. It trades at 76.22 cents at this writing.

Polygon solves pain points associated with blockchains, like high gas fees and slow speeds, without sacrificing on security. This multichain system is akin to other ones, such as Polkadot, Cosmos, Avalanche, etc., according to the token’s developers.

The asset looks to beat those rivals by fully leveraging ethereum’s network effects, while being more powerful and secure.

DraftKings ‘Not Equal’ in Polygon Community

An unidentified Polygon executive told CoinDesk DraftKings was not an “equal community member,” with blockchain data confirming the gaming company received unusually large compensation to run the now-defunct validator network.

That arrangement ran contrary to what Sandeep Nailwal, cofounder of Polygon, said in a March 2022 statement.

“DraftKings will take its place among existing validators as an equal community member,” he said in the release.

Last month, Polygon booted DraftKings from the validator program, but the two entities maintain an NFT relationship. A DraftKings staffer told CoinDesk the company is working to be reinstated as a Polygon validator.

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Ryan “Brodie” Crawford, 30, told investors he was a highly successful licensed stockbroker who had made a fortune through shrewd crypto and stock market investments.

In fact, Crawford wasn’t even smart enough to operate a regular Ponzi scheme, where the fraudster pays the high returns promised to earlier investors by using cash obtained from later investors.

Crawford didn’t return any of the victims’ money. Instead, he blew it on casino gambling, luxury rental cars, and, presumably, the Dolce & Gabbana cheetah-print shirts that were integral to his social media image of freewheeling wealth.

Dud-Coin

On several occasions, when jittery investors did approach him to inquire about their promised returns, he wrote them checks from closed bank accounts.

Crawford also launched his own cryptocurrency, ironically named, “Cheetah Coin.”

“We are about to take over the world,” he said in a video posted on social media on Dec. 5, 2021.

The currency’s launch party was also a celebration of Crawford’s birthday, a lavish affair at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.

Victims now claim that Cheetah Coin was little more than a pump-and-dump scheme. The currency traded at an all-time high of $0.000045. Its current value is a whopping $0.0000000300465.

The trading app unveiled at the launch party was a sham, according to victims. But the event enabled Crawford to milk $140K from a collective of NFL players, whose money he lost trading.

More than 100 investors were scammed out of $988K between June 2020 and March 2022. Prosecutors said Crawford “caused significant financial hardship” and was driven purely by “greed and self-interest.”

Victims Fight Back

One such investor was Alberto Rivera, who was lured into investing after he met Crawford at a Scout camp attended by their children.

Rivera subsequently created a website, brodycrawford.com, to expose the fraudster. He reported Crawford to the FBI and the SEC and encouraged other victims to do so.

Many would hold silence out of fear of being thought of as being foolish for having fallen for the scam, while others would hold silence hoping that it was just a hiccup in the master plan to financial freedom,” Rivera wrote on brodycrawford.com.

Speaking to NBC News, Miami-Dade Police Sgt. Bridget Doyle praised the sentence Wednesday.

“The Miami crypto environment is growing. So I think this was a landmark case for the region to show these cases can be pursued, they can be prosecuted, and this is not a victimless crime,” she said.

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On September 6, the FBI released a statement revealing its findings following an extensive investigation. The probe focused on identifying the individuals behind the attack, which led them to the infamous group.

This cybercriminal organization has gained notoriety due to its suspected connections to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), more commonly known as North Korea. The Stake.com attack is just one in a long string of cybercrimes designed to give the regime of Kim Jong Un, that country’s leader, money any way it can get it.

Lazarus Up to Its Old Tricks

The FBI released a comprehensive list of locations where the stolen money wound up. These include the bitcoin, ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and Polygon networks. In an effort to combat the situation, they have called upon all blockchain monitors and cryptocurrency exchanges to closely monitor the addresses associated with the hack and refrain from any transactions involving them.

The FBI also recommends that companies review the cybersecurity advisory issued on TraderTraitor, a complex malware program that’s in the wild, and thoroughly investigate the blockchain records associated with the mentioned cryptocurrency addresses used in the Stake.com attack. These entities need to remain cautious and avert any direct transactions that may potentially originate from such addresses.

One of the primary advantages of cryptocurrency is that there is no centralized control for most blockchains. This means no individual or controlling group manages all transactions. However, monitoring agents, miners, and others can follow the activity and help exchanges prevent money from moving from one wallet to another or from being withdrawn.

Stake.com founder and CEO Ed Craven never seemed overly concerned about the hack. After the news broke, he said on social media that users’ funds were safe and that the theft only affected a “small portion” of the company’s reserves.

North Korea Loves to Hack

The FBI also puts Lazarus as the group behind the cyberattacks on Alphapo, Coinspaid, and Atomic Wallet. It added that these malicious attacks resulted in $200 million vanishing into Lazarus’s pockets so far this year.

This past April, the Ronin Network, an ethereum sidechain linked to the crypto-based game Axie Infinity, suffered an attack and lost $622 million. An investigation by the U.S. Treasury placed the blame on the Lazarus Group.

Latin America is a popular target for hackers. The region suffers five banking Trojan attacks per minute, according to Kaspersky Labs, and cryptocurrencies are in an arms race against AI-powered scams. Behind them are North Korean hackers who have allegedly stolen $2 billion in cryptocurrencies since 2018.

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The attack was initially made public via X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) via digital security company Cyvers Alerts. It revealed that the hack was because of a private key leak, adding that it could monitor the hack in real-time.

The theft reportedly hit the Kick backer’s holdings only – not user funds. However, Stake.com turned off withdrawals shortly after it became aware of the attack, restoring them a few hours later.

The account that withdrew the funds has been labeled as “Stake.com Hacker” by Etherscan. The first theft occurred just before 1 p.m. Monday when the hacker(s) transferred approximately $3.9 million of the stablecoin Tether (USDT). Two other transactions for 6,001 Ethereum (ETH), approximately $9.8 million, also occurred.

Three hours ago, unauthorised tx’s were made from Stake’s ETH/BSC hot wallets.

We are investigating and will get the wallets up as soon as they’re completely re-secured.

User funds are safe.

BTC, LTC, XRP, EOS, TRX + all other wallets remain fully operational.

— Stake.com (@Stake) September 4, 2023

Big Losses

The hacker(s) later withdrew $1 million in USD Coin (USDC), $900,000 in Dai (DAI), and 333 Stake Classic – the latter’s value was less than $100. The hacker(s) then distributed the funds across various accounts.

A report from Beosin, a security firm, estimated the total loss to be $41.3 million, which included $15.7 million on the Ethereum blockchain and $7.8 million on Polygon. Another $17.8 million from the Binance Smart Chain was also lost.

Stake.com resumed services for users about five hours after halting its activity. It said on social media that Bitcoin, Ripple and Litecoin wallets were unaffected.

Blockchain Security

Most cryptocurrencies operate on public blockchains, meaning all transactions are recorded on a decentralized and transparent ledger. While these transactions are pseudonymous, they can still be traced through addresses.

Exchanges and blockchain analysis firms use sophisticated techniques to cluster multiple addresses together, often called “address clustering.” This helps them determine which addresses are controlled by the same entity, accomplished by analyzing transaction patterns, common input ownership, and other heuristics.

In some cases, hackers may use privacy-centric cryptocurrencies like Monero or employ mixing services to obfuscate the origin of stolen funds. While this makes tracing more challenging, it’s not impossible. Some blockchain analysis tools are adapting to track privacy coins, and law enforcement agencies are increasingly focusing on this area.

Beosin recently reported that $656 million in crypto was lost through various scams, hacks, and rug pulls in the year’s first half. This is only 34% of the $1.91 billion reported in the first six months of 2022. It added that 45.5% of the assets had been recovered – only 8% was recovered a year earlier.

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Just over two years ago, the Boston-based sportsbook operator announced plans for DraftKings Marketplace, democratizing access to NFTs in the process. Through Reignmakers, users accumulate collections of gamified NFT cards via auctions, pack drops, and secondary market transactions. Participants then use those cards in NFL, PGA Tour, and UFC fantasy contests over those seasons.

Each player card represents an athlete and scores points based on the player’s statistical performance in a given event or game, according to DraftKings. “Weekly in the football season, there is a large variety of fantasy contests posted in the Reignmakers lobby that cater to participants with both large and small Reignmakers’ player card collections.”

Reignmakers, which functions on the Polygon blockchain, is proving fruitful for the operator and may not be getting the credit it deserves in the investment community. Matthew Sigel and Rylan Wood of VanEck’s digital assets team note that in year one, Reignmakers accounted for $52 million in sales, or 2% of DraftKings’ total revenue over that span.

They estimate that over the next four quarters, the NFT-based fantasy game will drive revenue north of $70 million, or more than 3% of DraftKings’ total, while accounting for as much as 5% of the gaming company’s profits.

DraftKings Reignmakers Tapped Receptive Market

An NFT is a unit of data stored on the blockchain. NFTs can be applied to a variety of digitized items, such as audio and video files, as well as pictures.

“Reignmakers’ success showcases the advantages of minimizing blockchain components within a game, enabling developers to target wider audiences while optimizing economic factors, such as marketplace fees,” according to VanEck.

Sigel and Wood add DraftKings specifically targeted fantasy sports, meaning the company was able to real cost savings in creating Reignmakers because it didn’t need to generate new, potentially costly intellectual property.

Marketplace, Reignmakers Might Deserve More Credit

While the DraftKings investment thesis largely revolves around online sports betting and iGaming, the NFT marketplace and Reignmakers arguably deserve more credit than is currently being ascribed to those businesses.

As noted by the VanEck duo, for the 30 days ending Aug. 18, Reignmakers ranked sixth in terms of NFT sales. Importantly, DraftKings Marketplace ranked first in terms of NFT fees generated.

With DraftKings taking a 10% fee on all secondary transactions, our base case indicates that Reignmakers’ revenue could drive just over 3% of DKNG’s top line,” concluded the experts. “While we don’t have access to the data showing the cost of this revenue, we assume the margins to be about 90% as there is basically no cost of production, and customer acquisition costs can be mitigated via cross-selling opportunities. In our base case, we estimate that the profits from the Reignmakers business line could boost DKNG EPS by ~$0.15, representing 5% of their 2022 EPS of -$3.16.”

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BetDEX Exchange emerged as a pioneering player in the decentralized betting landscape, offering users an innovative and transparent platform to place bets on a variety of sporting events using cryptocurrencies. Utilizing blockchain technology, BetDEX operates on a peer-to-peer network that removes the need for intermediaries.

In doing so, it ensures instant and secure transactions while claiming to eliminate the risk of tampering or manipulation.

Obtaining the Irish Sports Betting License

Securing a sports betting license in Ireland is no easy feat, as it requires compliance with rigorous regulatory standards. The decision to grant BetDEX a license comes as the company had to survive the FTX implosion. The crypto exchange was one of its original investors in 2021, over a year before users lost as much as $8 billion on the platform.

The blockchain technology behind BetDEX guarantees transparency, enabling users to verify the fairness of bets and payout mechanisms. Additionally, the elimination of intermediaries leads to reduced fees, allowing for more competitive odds and higher potential winnings for bettors.

Furthermore, the sports betting license ensures that BetDEX complies with responsible gambling practices, providing features like deposit limits, self-exclusion options, and age verification measures. These efforts promote a safe and responsible betting environment for users, mitigating potential risks associated with excessive gambling.

What will still have to be seen is how the platform navigates the changing environment of Ireland’s gambling regulations. New gaming legislation is in the works that could alter the environment.

There is also greater oversight of blockchain activity coming. The European Union is finalizing its new Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation to create a unified framework for cryptocurrency and blockchain. This will also impact Ireland.

Boosting Blockchain Adoption

The licensing of BetDEX Exchange in Ireland can have a profound impact on the wider adoption of blockchain technology in the country. As a licensed and regulated blockchain-based platform, BetDEX showcases the potential of distributed ledger technology to revolutionize traditional industries like gambling.

This validation could encourage other sectors to explore blockchain solutions. Should that happen, it might lead to increased innovation and investment in the Irish blockchain space.

Additionally, BetDEX must maintain strict compliance with Irish regulatory requirements, as any misstep could lead to the suspension or revocation of its license. Adhering to anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) protocols will be crucial to prevent illicit activities on the platform and help it maintain a strong reputation.

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HypeDrop, an online platform that allows users to purchase “mystery” boxes, was among the first to indicate there was a problem. Later, as the details became known, the extent of the hack proved to be much more serious than initially anticipated. While most indications put the theft at around $31 million, there are also reports that as much as $100 million may have been stolen.

Uncovering the Hack

Alphapo officials were alerted to the security breach early on July 22, when they noticed suspicious activity on the platform. The company’s cybersecurity team began investigating the incident, only to discover that hackers had gained unauthorized access to its hot wallets, a form of internet-connected repository, possibly through a wallet address leak.

https://twitter.com/DeDotFiSecurity/status/1683007492844929025

The hackers managed to compromise multiple layers of security, exploiting the address or addresses to withdraw substantial sums of various cryptocurrencies. Initial reports suggest that the stolen assets include bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and Tron (TRX).

HypeDrop also suspended its crypto deposits as a result of the attack, publicizing the move through its social media accounts. There’s no indication that Bovada, Ignition, or any other online gaming operator Alphapo supports addressed the hack publicly, nor is there an indication of whether they took steps to mitigate any potential damage.

A request for comment remained unanswered at press time.

Another cryptocurrency platform, the decentralized financial protocol Conic Finance, was also hit by hackers recently. It suffered two breaches, one that led to the loss of $3.26 million in ETH, and another that had $300K stolen.

The incidents have raised concerns among investors and users about the safety of their assets on cryptocurrency platforms. Following soon after major crypto scandals like the FTX collapse, they’re making the calls for greater regulatory oversight and accountability in the industry much louder.

Crypto in Focus for the Wrong Reasons

The hack of Alphapo has broader implications for the entire cryptocurrency industry. While blockchain technology promises robust security, incidents like this, and the use of crypto by criminals, expose vulnerabilities that malicious actors can exploit. As cryptocurrencies gain mainstream adoption, the need for robust cybersecurity measures becomes even more critical.

Some lawmakers in the UK believe crypto should be regulated like gambling, and even tried to give the UK Gambling Commission control of the sector. That idea ran into a brick wall.

Striking a balance between security and maintaining the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies will be crucial for the industry’s growth and acceptance. For this to happen, global regulations and understanding of crypto are needed.

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Christopher Freeman claims Stake.com, stole his idea, and last year he sued the website’s founders Bijan Tehrani and Edward Craven. Freeman was an investor and cofounder in PrimeDice, a forerunner of Stake.com, according to the lawsuit.

Freeman was a childhood friend of Tehrani in their home state of Connecticut. The pair set up PrimeDice while still at university, along with Australian citizen Craven. PrimeDice was a single dice-game interface that allowed users to gamble with bitcoin, according to court documents.

PrimeDice

Freeman originally held a 20% stake in PrimeDice, although he claims this was reduced to 14% to reward other members of the development team. He says he raised the idea of a cryptocurrency casino with Tehrani and Craven in 2016, which they dismissed.

Later that year, Tehrani and Craven launched a new business that became Stake.com and Stake.us. They allegedly dissuaded Freeman from joining the venture by saying he would have to move to Australia, where Stake.com is based. They also claimed the new business would only deal in fiat currencies.

Later, when Stake.com launched as a virtual casino that included a competing online dice game and many other features Freeman had proposed and helped design, Tehrani and Craven affirmatively tried to assuage Freeman’s dismay at having been misled by affirming that he still retained his stake in Primedice,” the lawsuit alleged.

“Eventually, Freeman’s access to the Primedice account was blocked and never returned,” the lawsuit claims.

Stake.com, which boasts singer Drake as its brand ambassador, and which sponsors English Premier League team Everton, was a runaway success and is now probably the biggest crypto gambling site in the world. The Australian Financial Review’s “Rich List” recently estimated Craven’s net worth to be more than $1 billion.

Social Network Parallel

In a September 2022 statement, Stake.com said the allegations in the lawsuit were “internally inconsistent, intentionally misleading, and provably false.”

US District Judge Ronnie Abrams dismissed the case for the plaintiff’s failure to establish complete diversity of citizenship between the parties, a prerequisite for a federal civil case. However, he granted Freeman leave to amend his claim within 30 days. Freeman could also choose to file a claim in Australia.

Freeman’s complaint – which reads not unlike The Social Network’s account of the creation of Facebook – alleges that Craven and Tehrani stole his idea for developing an expansive online cryptocurrency-based casino, subsequently launched Stake.com, an online cryptocurrency casino now worth more than a billion dollars, and through a series of corporate transfers, left him without any real partnership stake in the original Primedice venture,” Abrams said.

“Although the complaint’s factual allegations related to the purported theft of Freeman’s work in the launch of Stake.com are themselves detailed, its allegations as to the court’s subject matter jurisdiction are lacking in critical respects.”

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Just like with conventional money, there are different views of the value crypto holds, which causes lawmakers some confusion. The European Union (EU) just approved new regulations to provide guidance on crypto, while the US federal government still can’t figure them out.

In the UK, according to the media outlet Evening Standard, a new push is underway that indicates a lack of edification on the topic among the top policymakers in the country. A group of parliamentarians has determined that crypto has “no useful social purpose” and put it in the same class as gambling.

Crypto Confusion Continues

The Treasury Committee of the House of Commons, which has oversight of almost all financial activity in the UK, conducted a study on crypto. It published its results, which closely mirror a similar study conducted five years ago.

In addition, they believe unbacked cryptocurrencies (as opposed to the UK government’s attempt to create a central bank digital currency tied to the pound) have no underlying asset to support their value. As Laurence J. Kotlikoff, a professor of economics at Boston University, pointed out in his 2006 paper “Is the United States Bankrupt?,” no mainstream currency today – neither the US dollar nor the pound – is backed by physical assets.

Because of the market swings that have occurred with bitcoin and other digital assets, the committee believes investing in crypto is similar to gambling. It asserts in its findings, “We therefore strongly recommend that the Government regulates retail trading and investment activity in unbacked cryptoassets as gambling rather than as a financial service, consistent with its stated principle of ‘same risk, same regulatory outcome.’”

If the government were to agree with that idea, the UKGC could then, in theory, oversee the crypto ecosystem. That means crypto companies would have to apply for a gambling license and pay licensing fees and taxes in accordance with the regulator’s policies.

That would also give the UKGC an excuse to request a larger contingent of personnel and even more money to operate. There’s no indication that the government, which has bigger issues to worry about right now, will accept the committee’s findings.

14 Years On, the Debate Continues

CryptoUK, a self-regulatory trade group for the crypto space in the UK, hopes not. Ian Taylor, the head of crypto and digital assets for KPMG and an adviser to CryptoUK, is quoted as saying that the trade group is “concerned and disappointed” about the findings.

That’s true to a degree, but there’s much more to it. Crypto was never intended to be an investment vehicle. It was created to be currency – an alternative to the dollar, the pound, or the euro – that the governments couldn’t control.

Fourteen years after bitcoin emerged, that concept still escapes many people, especially among those in various governments.

There was a time, albeit 3,200 years ago, when seashells were currency. There was also a time when the US paper dollar, when it first appeared, was used as wallpaper, as that was the value people prescribed to it.

Once enough people understand that certain digital currencies have value as a fiat alternative, crypto’s real purpose should likely be realized.

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The email, which customers received around 11 a.m. Eastern time today, had the earmarks of what’s known as a phishing scam. In a phishing scheme, culprits use bait — in this case, the promise of free crypto — to lure unwitting email recipients.

It’s easy to understand how some PointsBet customers may have fallen for the rouse. The email in question came from a PointsBet domain and was identified as a message from the gaming company’s customer relations department.

Still, there were obvious signs it wasn’t legitimate. Those included the use of the word “urgent,” grammatical errors, and the promise that if clients replied and sent crypto to the perpetrators, their crypto accounts, not their PointsBet accounts, would double in value.

In the US, state regulators don’t allow sportsbook operators to transact in crypto, nor can bettors fund accounts or withdraw proceeds in digital currencies.

PointsBet Says Sensitive Data Wasn’t Breached

In a follow-up tweet, PointsBet said it had rectified the matter and that the scammers didn’t access sensitive client data, including email addresses and financial account information.

Thank you for your patience as we quickly resolved an issue related to a phishing attempt this morning. PointsBet would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused to customers,” according to the gaming company’s tweet. “We can confirm this was a phishing attempt made to our mailing list and the 3rd party did not have visibility of individual email addresses. There was no breach of core player account management or internal systems.”

While the US sports wagering industry is barely five years removed from the Supreme Court ruling on the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), like any other business that relies on technology and mobile devices, it’s vulnerable to cyber breaches like those that have played out in recent years.

For example, last December, BetMGM confirmed its online platform suffered a data breach in May 2022. A November 2022 hack resulted in the theft of about $300K in funds from 68K DraftKings client accounts.

Probably Coincidence, But …

The timing of the attempted phishing scheme on the PointsBet platform is interesting, to say the least. The crime was attempted as the Australia-based company is said to be in advanced discussions to sell its US business.

In North America, PointsBet offers mobile sports wagering in Ontario, Canada, and is live in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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The allegations were revealed Tuesday by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC), equivalent to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC, in that Western Canadian province. From 2016 through 2019, EzBtc clients deposited more than 2,300 Bitcoin and over 600 Ether on the platform. Those are the two largest digital currencies by market value.

“EzBtc transferred incoming Bitcoin and Ether to two online crypto gambling sites without customer authorization. Although the value of the assets fluctuated greatly, as of July 1, 2019, the value of the fraudulently transferred assets was about $13 million,” according to a statement issued by BCSC.

The regulatory agency didn’t identify the crypto casinos in question. Crypto casinos have boomed in popularity in recent years, providing an avenue for increased adoption and use of Bitcoin and other digital currencies.

While some of these gaming outlets may be considered safe, many are licensed outside of Europe and North America and aren’t regulated to the extent of comparable offerings from the likes of BetMGM, Caesars, and DraftKings. Internet casino and online sportsbook operators doing business in the US aren’t allowed to accept crypto as payment.

EzBtc Allegedly Lied to Customers

EzBtc told clients that 99% of their crypto assets on the platform were held in cold storage. That’s a crypto industry term for holding the asset offline, intended to enhance security.

The broker, which is no longer in business, also showed users profit, loss, and holdings and position values online, but that was allegedly a rouse, according to BCSC.

“The platform did not use cold storage, didn’t retain custody of customers’ assets, and most of the holdings that were displayed didn’t exist. From 2016 to 2019, the platform’s daily balance didn’t exceed 11 Bitcoin and 20 Ether,” added the regulator. “As a result, many customers weren’t able to withdraw the crypto assets they believed were held on the platform.”

Today, 11 Bitcoin would be worth approximately $330K while 20 Ether would be valued at close to $40K, not nearly enough for a legitimate broker to adequately service investors.

Futures Contracts Could Incriminate EzBtc

Around the world, including in the US, regulators have struggled with classifying digital currencies. In the EzBtc case, that scenario isn’t at play because the assets in question are futures contracts, which are regulated under Canada’s Securities Act. Thus, EzBtc could be held liable for committing securities fraud.

Regardless of the underlying asset, a futures contract is a legally binding agreement between a buyer and seller under which the buyer will purchase the asset at a predetermined price at a specific date in the future.

“The BCSC’s allegations have not been proven. The Commission requires the parties involved to appear at the BCSC’s offices on June 27, 2023, if they wish to be heard before a hearing is scheduled,” concluded the commission.

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Reginald “Reggie” Fowler, 63, pleaded guilty to fraud charges in April 2022. He was due to be sentenced Thursday, but his lawyers instead submitted a request to have his sentencing adjourned by a week.

Crypto Capital operated as a shadow bank for crypto exchanges, like Bitfinex, that had been unable to obtain normal banking relationships at a time when banks were reluctant to handle crypto.

When Bitfinex sent Crypto Capital $850 million at some point in 2017, the latter decided to keep the money, according to prosecutors. No contract was ever signed between the two parties, and a nervy Bitfinex did not inform investors of the loss.

The money was later traced to a bank account in Poland and seized by authorities there.

Meanwhile, Fowler’s company, Global Trading Solutions, provided crypto exchanges with illegal access to the US banking system, processing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of transactions, even though Fowler didn’t have a banking license. He did this by including false information on wire transfer instructions to deceive banks about the nature of his business.

Alliance of American Football Demise

Fowler is also accused of defrauding — and causing the demise of — the short-lived professional football league, the Alliance of American Football.

Fowler was a member of a group of investors, led by Zygmunt Wilf, who acquired the Minnesota Vikings in 2005. By 2014, Fowler had sold his stake in the team.

Gambling Spree

Meanwhile, prosecutors are incensed by Fowler’s casino gambling spree, which continued after his guilty plea. In court filings, they said they had obtained records “from a casino company in Arizona that indicate that during the pendency of the defendant’s criminal case, he has gambled hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Every dollar the defendant has risked at these casinos is a dollar less likely to be paid to victims in restitution, and to the government in forfeiture. The government therefore respectfully requests that the court add a bail condition that bars the defendant from gambling,” they wrote.

Prosecutors have asked for a seven-year prison sentence for Fowler.

The post ‘Shadow Banker’ in $850M Fraud Case Lost $200K at Casinos While Awaiting Sentencing appeared first on Casino.org.

Vancouver-based GeoComply is a gaming industry leader in geolocation, fraud, and risk services. The company’s flagship product is “PinPoint,” which can isolate the location of a mobile device or computer seeking to gain access to a legal online gaming platform.

GeoComply’s newest executive is Michael Dawson, a former Secret Service special agent who served more than 23 years. During his time with the federal law enforcement agency that’s tasked with protecting US leaders and visiting heads of state, Dawson emerged as one of the country’s leading investigators of cryptocurrency crimes.

Proactive Approach

GeoComply Director of Risk Services Danny DiRienzo said Dawson will assist the company in better detecting new cybercrime technologies. DiRienzo said it’s an ongoing task to stay ahead of the illicit groups that are working to infiltrate secure online networks.

While automating fraud alerts is a big part of what we do to protect our customers, we have found that machines still don’t learn as fast as fraud evolves. Our fraud-fighting capabilities are therefore rooted in a blend of human analysis meshed with the very best that data science can provide,” DiRienzo told Casino.org.

GeoComply’s Risk Services team handles fraud and risk management for the company. Dawson is joining the tech firm as its law enforcement liaison and will coordinate GeoComply’s business operations with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

“This feels like such a good fit for me because it allows me to continue the fight against fraud,” Dawson added. “Geolocation is such an effective tool. If more of the banks and platforms I helped had used GeoComply, it would have made investigations a lot simpler and the life of the criminals a lot harder.”

Dawson joined the Secret Service in 1999 as a member of its Electric Crimes Taskforce, when the internet was still in its infancy. During the next 23 years, he worked with federal and state law enforcement, academia, and the corporate sector to thwart fraud, money laundering, and organized crime via the internet.

GeoComply RG Study

In related news, GeoComply recently pledged to fund a two-year study into the value of self-exclusion programs. The research, which will be conducted by the International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG) in Massachusetts, will focus on how self-exclusion impacts a person who recognizes that their betting behaviors have become irrational or uncontrolled.

“We have been committed to responsible gambling initiatives since forming GeoComply over a decade ago. We need more data to support the industry’s actions around RG, and I am really happy that we can support the ICRG’s research in this important area,” GeoComply CEO Anna Sainsbury said last month.

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He allegedly raised $8 million in an unregistered offering of the token BXY and misappropriated at least $900,000 of the funds. He used this money for gambling and other personal expenses, according to the SEC filing.

Beaxy and several executives were also charged with serving as an exchange, broker, and clearing agency without registering with the SEC.

“When a crypto intermediary combines all of these functions under one roof – as we allege that Beaxy did – investors are at serious risk,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement in a statement. “The blurring of functions and the lack of registrations meant that regulations designed to protect investors were not followed or even recognized by Beaxy.”

Hamazaspyan has not responded to requests for comment via LinkedIn and has since deleted his LinkedIn account.

SEC civil charges do not preclude criminal charges by federal law enforcement agencies. They are often a precursor to criminal action.

Crackdown on Crypto

Those charges, filed in a Chicago federal court, come amid a regulatory clampdown on the crypto industry. On Monday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, which it accused of operating an “illegal” exchange and a “sham” compliance program.

As of Wednesday, blockchain data tracker Nansen said this caused investors to withdraw $1.6 billion in crypto from Binance.

The next day, prosecutors in New York charged disgraced CEO and founder of defunct crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, with foreign bribery over a $40m payment to Chinese authorities. That allegedly freed up $1 billion in crypto that Beijing had frozen.

The new charge has been added to Bankman-Fried’s rap sheet, which includes wire fraud, commodities fraud,?securities fraud, and money laundering.

Protect Investors

SEC Chair Gary Gensler has frequently criticized cryptocurrency firms. He accused them of blending several financial services that he believes should be handled by separate companies, as was the case with Beaxy and is common in the industry.

Our securities laws for decades have served to protect investors, make capital formation easier and cheaper, and improve our markets,” Gensler said about the Beaxy charges.

“This case serves as yet another reminder to crypto intermediaries that their business models must comply and adapt to the law, not the other way around,” he added.

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MVB Financial (NASDAQ: MVBF) — the West Virginia-based community bank that’s the dominant third-party financial institution for internet casino and online sportsbook operators — saw its shares slump more than 15% for the week ending March 13. That’s as some banks with cryptocurrency exposure and risky deposit bases were forced to the brink. MVB is arguably a baby being thrown out with the bathwater, as some market participants fret about a repeat of a 2008-style financial crisis.

MVB stands in stark contrast to some of its banking peers with limited crypto exposure, and importantly, nearly all of the bank’s deposits qualify for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) protection.

In comments made to Casino.org earlier today, KBW analyst Catherine Mealor said she doesn’t see ripple effects from other banks impacting MVB, noting that just $100 million of MVB’s $2.6 billion in deposits are in crypto while adding that 94% of MVB deposits are insured compared to the 90% or more uninsured rate at institutions such as SVB Financial and Signature Bank of New York, the latter of which was taken over by New York regulators last weekend.

Short Sellers Ignoring MVB Financial for Now

In recent days, encouraged by the calamity at Silicon Valley Bank, bearish traders sank their teeth into a slew of financial services stocks, but they ignored MVB Financial.

S3 Partners Director Matthew Unterman told Casino.org that short interest in the preferred bank of sportsbooks is currently just 190K shares or 1.69% of the shares outstanding. In notional dollar terms, that’s a mere $4.07 million. MVB fundamentals indicate shorts might do well to avoid the name.

MVBF is well positioned for substantial profitability improvement over the course of 2023 (1.1% return on assets in sight for 1Q23, up from 0.47% in ‘22) as the company benefits from deeper penetration in the gaming industry (deposits/payments), growth in its card acquiring business, fees and deposits from its partnership with Credit Karma,” wrote KBW’s Mealor in a note to clients.

She adds that National Insurance Board (NIB) deposits — the bulk of MVB’s deposit base — are “more valuable than ever.” That protection is important to the bank’s gaming clients and the bettors making deposits with those firms. The benefit for MVB is that it doesn’t have to pay interest on that capital, making its relationships with iGaming and sportsbook operators compelling from a margin perspective.

Sports Betting Looking Advantageous for MVB

At a time when crypto exposure is harming some banks, and Silicon Valley Bank’s decision to buy bonds in 2021 before the start of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate tightening regime now looking regrettable, MVB’s gaming ties could be seen as attractive by analysts and investors.

“We believe that MVBFs gaming vertical has substantial opportunity for deposit and fee growth as more states get approval for online betting, and the card-acquiring business has also seen some momentum, with new accounts coming online and increased penetration from current relationships (Fiserv and World Pay),” noted Mealor.

Casino.org reached out to MVB Financial and DraftKings for comment. Neither company replied before publication of this article.

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Georgia-based Bakkt Holdings offers avenues for customers to earn and redeem loyalty points across various programs and industries. The company also operates a cryptocurrency payments and trading platform that can be integrated into banking mobile applications and rewards programs.

Through this relationship, the Bakkt brand will come alive in Las Vegas as the namesake for one of The Strip’s most influential theaters. Since 2013, the newly renamed Bakkt Theater has been recognized as the epicenter of A-list entertainment in Las Vegas,” according to a statement.

The Planet Hollywood venue was formerly known as Zappos Theater — named for the footwear company started by the late Tony Hsieh. Amazon owns Zappos. Other live entertainment properties with ties to the cryptocurrency space include Crypto.com Arena — home of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Miami Heat’s home court was named for crypto broker FTX, a judge terminated that agreement in January following the company’s collapse.

Bakkt Partnership Includes Caesars Rewards

Beyond applying the Bakkt brand to the Planet Hollywood theater, Caesars Rewards will be integrated into the partnership. Pending regulatory approval, Caesars Rewards members can redeem rewards credits through Bakkt Crypto Rewards.

At least one credit is earned for every dollar spent, and there are six tier levels: Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Diamond Plus, Diamond Elite, and Seven Stars. Additionally, Caesars offers rewards program participants myriad physical locations in which to earn rewards. In Las Vegas, the company controls nine integrated resorts, and its regional network taps into marquee gaming markets outside Nevada, including Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania, among others.

“Bakkt and Caesars will share additional details on forthcoming crypto offerings soon. Legends Global Partnerships represented Caesars Entertainment in sourcing and negotiating the strategic agreement with Bakkt,” according to the statement.

Interesting Timing for Bakkt, Caesars Tie-Up

While Bakkt offers crypto custody and digital wallet services, its business model isn’t dependent on bullish price action in the digital currency universe. Likewise, the agreement with Caesars doesn’t directly expose the casino operator to what’s often a volatile asset class and one that gaming companies and regulators alike have some pause about.

Bakkt and Caesars announced their relationship just a few months following the aforementioned collapse of FTX. As a crypto bank, Silvergate said today, it is halting operations and returning deposits to clients.

That news sent bitcoin — the largest digital currency by market capitalization — to seven-week lows.

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Snoop announced this week that he’s partnered with Roobet, an online cryptocurrency casino, to become their “Chief Ganjaroo Officer.” In the promotional role, the rap legend and NFT (non-fungible token) influencer will help market the online crypto casino.

https://twitter.com/Roobet/status/1630954457013051395

Developing a Brand

Roobet cofounder Matt Duea explained that bringing on Snoop Dogg, a celebrity who rarely needs an introduction, is about building the crypto casino’s brand. Launched in 2019, Roobet claims to be one of the fastest-growing crypto casinos in the world.

Since day one, our mission has been to push the boundaries of what a gaming brand can be, and Snoop’s a real visionary,” said Duea. “Together, we’re going to truly revolutionize the online entertainment experience.”

Duea explained that Roobet seeks to provide the “most exciting and immersive online casino experience” available. “With Snoop by our side, the future of digital entertainment is looking brighter than ever,” Duea added.

Snoop said he was attracted to the sponsorship opportunity because of Roobet’s brand uniqueness.

“These guys are doing something different,” Snoop said. “This partnership just feels natural, and we’re going to blaze a trail for the future of online entertainment.”

Roobet said Snoop will lend his entertainment industry and brand expertise to the casino enterprise.

About Roobet

Roobet is a subsidiary of Raw Entertainment B.V., an online gaming firm based and licensed in Curacao. The South American island country near Aruba is a hub for offshore iGaming and online bookmaking platforms. Roobet is an online casino that allows players to gamble with cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.

Roobet is blocked in the US and throughout most of Europe.

Crypto Rebound

The December arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder and CEO of FTX, once a leading cryptocurrency exchange, devastated the crypto industry.

Before his arrest in the Bahamas, where FTX was headquartered, Bitcoin was trading above $20K. Bankman-Fried is being charged with wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance law violations. The FTT cryptocurrency went into a nosedive, and the stock traded below $17K just weeks later.

Some Wall Street observers believed FTX’s demise would permanently hurt the crypto markets, but prices have since rebounded. Bitcoin is trading above $23,300 as of Thursday morning — though that’s about 47% below where the digital currency was trading at this time last year.

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The highest soccer category in England, the EPL announced the signing of a four-year agreement with Sorare. The latter will own the rights to develop NFTs of the league’s official players.

NFTs are unique pieces of digital code that reside on a blockchain. Each represents a single item – such as a unique piece of art – and they are inherently impervious to forgeries or copies. Depending on what they represent, some can be worth millions of dollars.

Sorare Scores a Goal

Sorare will be able to release digital player cards for all 20 clubs as part of its free online fantasy soccer game. This will give fans another way to connect with their favorite clubs and players, and continue to bring blockchain technology and sports together.

EPL CEO Richard Masters explained that the inclusion of NFT options was part of the natural progression of the sports industry. He stated that the partnership is a response to fan input and is another way for them to follow their favorite teams and players.

Sorare, which has had some difficulty appeasing regulators, is a Paris-based startup worth $4.3 billion. It’s been around since 2018 and now has over three million users around the world, according to the company.

In 2022, it expanded into baseball and basketball through exclusive partnerships with the MLB and the NBA. World sports stars such as Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane, Serena Williams, and more have joined forces with the company as ambassadors and/or investors.

The platform allows people to compete in five-a-side fantasy games. The performance of the actual players in live matches decides the digital games’ outcomes.

Sorare added in the statement that it’s working on new features to include. One will give players the ability to compete against each other using player NFTs. The second will be a new feature that it’s developing to prevent player NFT holders from giving themselves an unfair advantage by creating all-star teams.

NFTs On Shaky Ground

The year 2022 wasn’t a good one for cryptocurrencies, and was even more disastrous for NFTs. Once booming, the value of sales for the digital assets plummeted 76% during 2022, reaching $638.4 million. That’s a huge drop from the $2.79 billion the market was worth four years ago.

NFT trading volume fell 90% year on year across all sectors last year. Since the cryptocurrency market crash, investor confidence in NFTs has been waning. A lack of clarity, theft, and scams have all dented their value.

There was a time when some NFTs, such as The Merge artwork, were worth as much as $91.8 million, but those days are over. However, this doesn’t mean the market is going to fizzle out completely.

Just like crypto, NFTs will probably undergo several transformations as they mature. And also just like crypto, they’ll likely survive as they settle into a stable pattern of acceptance.

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Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national living in Shenzhen, China, has been charged with laundering $700 million from illegal gambling, drug deals, and online scams, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

Formed in 2016, Bitzlato has processed $4.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency transactions since 2018, according to a complaint filed Wednesday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Hydra Market Links

Prosecutors say the exchange was closely linked to Hydra Market, a Russian-language darknet marketplace that peddled drugs and other illegal services. When it was shut down in April last year by German law enforcement, it had 17 million registered customers.

Bitzlato also processed millions of dollars in ransomware profits, according to the complaint. It allowed itself to become a “haven for criminal proceeds and funds intended for use in criminal activity,” while ignoring standard vetting procedures designed to combat money laundering, prosecutors added.

The company claimed it did not accept US customers, but the DOJ claims this was not the case, describing its business with Americans as “substantial.”

“Institutions that trade in cryptocurrency are not above the law and their owners are not beyond our reach,” US Attorney Breon Peace said at a press conference on Wednesday.

“As alleged, Bitzlato sold itself to criminals as a no-questions-asked cryptocurrency exchange, and reaped hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of deposits as a result,” she added. “The defendant is now paying the price for the malign role that his company played in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.”

Game’s Up

Legkodymov was interviewed by a US Customs officer on his arrival in Florida and was asked about his employment. He did not disclose his connection to Bitzlato, according to the complaint. But when the officer conducted a search of his mobile devices, they found numerous communications related to the exchange.

Bitzlato’s website currently shows a message in French explaining that its servers have been seized by order of the Paris Public Prosecutors Office. It includes the insignia of French law enforcement agencies, as well as the seal of the US Justice Department.

“Operating offshore or moving your servers out of the continental US will not shield you,” said Deputy US Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “And whether you break our laws from China or Europe, or abuse our financial system from a tropical island, you can expect to answer for your crimes inside a United States courtroom.”

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Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX imploded in early November, leaving the company unable to repay more than $3 billion of customer funds.

Bankman-Fried, 30,?is accused?of diverting billions of his clients’ crypto to FTX’s hedge fund, Alameda Research, and from there using it to make risky trades and to finance investments and political donations.

Bankman Fried, Friedman Grilled

On November 22, Friedman was grilled by two dozen federal investigators in New York on what he knew about his former paymaster’s alleged malfeasance. That’s according to Reuters reporters who viewed emails between attendees at the meeting.

Friedberg spilled the beans on conversations he’d had with Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives, according to a Reuters source. He also told agents how Alameda functioned, the source said.

Friedberg has not been charged, nor has he been told he is under investigation, Reuters said.

In a 2020 FTX blog post, Bankman-Fried described Friedman as his chief lawyer “from the beginning,” who had been with the company “through thick and thin.”

UB Cheating Scandal

Back in 2008, when bitcoin was still just an obscure experiment, there was another tale of corporate malfeasance doing the rounds, and Friedberg was involved in that one, too.

UB, once among the biggest online poker sites in the US, was responsible for one of the the most notorious cheating scandals in the history of the game.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission said it “found clear and convincing evidence” that UB shareholder and former World Series of Poker champion Russ Hamilton “was the main person responsible” for the cheating.

Caught on Tape

Five years later, audiotapes were leaked by Hamilton’s former assistant, Travis Makar. These allegedly recorded Hamilton, Friedberg, and other UB executives discussing their options for damage limitation around the time the scandal broke.

“I think, for the public, it just has to be, ‘former consultant to the company took advantage of a server flaw by hacking into the client, unable to identify exactly when,’” Friedberg allegedly said on the tape. He appeared to be discussing how to avoid repaying the full amount to victims.

Friedberg suggested Hamilton should claim he was also a victim because “otherwise, it’s not going to fly.” Friedberg also said he wanted to get the $20 million liability “down to five.”

I did take this money and I’m not trying to make it right, Dan, so we gotta get that out of the way right away, real quick,” Hamilton said.

All of those involved in the UB scandal escaped prosecution because of jurisdictional issues, and Friedberg was never disbarred.

Earlier this week Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan courtroom to criminal charges including fraud and conspiracy.

Reuters understands that Friedman expects to be called as a government witness against the fallen crypto mogul.

The post Ex-UltimateBet Lawyer Cooperating with FBI in FTX Probe appeared first on Casino.org.

The sports apparel giant that’s fast approaching entry into the US online sports wagering market is selling its stake in Candy Digital to Galaxy Digital for an undisclosed sum. Galaxy is a crypto banking entity controlled by Mike Novogratz and was the original coinvestor in Candy Digital alongside Fanatics.

Divesting our ownership stake at this time allowed us to ensure investors were able to recoup most of their investment via cash or additional shares in Fanatics — a favorable outcome for investors, especially in an imploding NFT market that has seen precipitous drops in both transaction volumes and prices for standalone NFTs,” wrote Fanatics founder Michael Rubin in an email to employees.

Candy Digital was born in July 2021 just as the market for digital collectibles was ramping up and as cryptocurrencies — a key element in the NFT arena — were soaring. Around that time, platforms such as NBA Top Shot rose to acclaim. In October 2021, Candy Digital raised $150 million in venture funding at a $1.5 billion valuation. However, by early 2022, enthusiasm for digital collectibles, sports and otherwise, waned, leading to massive plunge in prices.

Fanatics Maintains Traditional Collectibles Exposure

The NFT is an emerging digital asset class, and while it’s possible that enthusiasm for digital collectibles and prices eventually rebound, many collectors still prefer something they can physical hold, store, or hang on their walls.

“Over the past year, it has become clear that NFTs are unlikely to be sustainable or profitable as a standalone business,” Rubin added in the email to staffers. “Aside from physical collectibles (trading cards) driving 99% of the business, we believe digital products will have more value and utility when connected to physical collectibles to create the best experience for collectors.”

Some companies that Fanatics will soon clash with have NFT platforms. DraftKings Marketplace debuted in 2021, partnering with Autograph, an NFT collecting platform cofounded by Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.

Fanatics Sports Betting Debut Imminent

Rubin didn’t mention to employees the proceeds from the sale of Fanatics’ 60% Candy Digital stake being directed to the company’s sports wagering efforts. But it is a possibility.

Earlier today, the firm told the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) that it’s planning to launch an online sportsbook in the current quarter.

That endeavor likely pertains to multiple states and will be costly, as Fanatics enters into direct competition with the likes of DraftKings and FanDuel, among others.

The post Fanatics Sells Candy Digital Stake Amid ‘Imploding’ NFT Market appeared first on Casino.org.

DNP3 came clean via a Twitter post that began with the eye-catching phrase, “I’m sorry.” He then went into a long explanation of what he had done, admitting that he violated his backers’ trust and had illegally embezzled their money for his gambling habit.

NFTs are digital assets that represent collectible items, such as artwork, music, and more. Because they reside on a blockchain, they are immutable, verifiably unique, and immune to counterfeiting. Ownership cannot be forged and there is a permanent, openly-accessible record of all activity related to each asset.

The streamer used his Twitch popularity to gain support for three projects he started, including the Metaverse platform Gridcraft Network, the Goobers NFT series, and a cryptocurrency designed for charitable causes, CluCoin (CLU). However, he showed no restraint as he took the money and used it for his own purposes.

More Bad News for Crypto

The revelation comes on the heels of one of the largest cryptocurrency failures to date, that of the FTX trading platform. Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the exchange, will stand trial later this year for the platform’s implosion that saw around $32 billion disappear. He has pleaded not guilty in a US court after the country extradited him from the Bahamas.

I’m sorry.

Read: https://t.co/RKM1wYggnC

— (@DNPthree) January 3, 2023

DNP3’s failure isn’t on the same scale as that of Bankman-Fried, who once helped the White House form a COVID-19 prevention policy. However, it is still fraud and deception that further exacerbates an already unstable attitude toward the crypto community.

Every dollar I could find I would put into [crypto casino] Stake in hopes of winning big,” wrote DNP3 on Twitter. “Even when the big wins did happen, it wasn’t enough. Eventually, I lost everything. In addition to my own life savings, I also irresponsibly used investor funds to try and ‘get my money back’ from the casino, which was wrong for so many reasons.”

The streamer’s sudden admission comes after he confessed that he is “completely broken, both financially and spiritually.” He said he is working with gambling addiction specialists and coming forward publicly may have been part of the rehabilitation process.

No Transparency

There will now need to be an investigation to determine how much damage he caused. After DNP3’s revelation, the price of CLU lost 63% before falling to 75% at print time, and Goobers lost 9%.

The NFT series, according to its website, includes 15K unique NFTs. It is based on a fictional story about a chemical company whose products come to life and enter the wild. The series contains NFTs of varying values, ranging from 0.0169 Ether (ETH) to 5ETH (US$21.14 to $6,253, based on current ETH prices.)

OpenSea, the NFT trading platform that sells Goobers, indicates that there have been transactions for Goobers totaling 968ETH. This alone is worth $1.21 million.

Because of a lack of transparency, there is no way to determine the actual financial value that DNP3 may have accumulated or gambled. It’s unclear if Stake will have to respond to any potential legal battles that might arise.

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FTX, formerly one of the world’s biggest crypto exchanges, collapsed spectacularly earlier this month. That was after documents leaked to crypto news site CoinDesk suggested that the group’s hedge fund, Alameda, was using FTX’s FTT token to make risky loans. The revelation prompted a major sell-off of FTT by Binance, sparking a domino effect.

FTX could not cope with the run on its exchange, because Alameda had traded and lost $8 billion of FTX customer funds.

Friedberg resigned from FTX earlier this month, just as the shit hit the fan.

But back in 2008, when bitcoin was still just a fledgling fringe experiment, there was another tale of corporate malfeasance doing the rounds, and Friedberg was involved in that one, too.

God Mode

The UltimateBet (UB) cheating scandal was perhaps the darkest chapter in the history of online poker, and it has some contenders.

It was unearthed by players themselves, who suspected the existence of a so-called “God-Mode,” or “super-user” account built into the UB software. This allowed users to play while viewing opponents’ hole cards, they theorized, and they shared their evidence online.

On September 29, 2008, UB’s regulator, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, said it had “found clear and convincing evidence” that Russ Hamilton, a UB shareholder and former World Series of Poker champion, “was the main person responsible” for the cheating,

Hamilton and other UB employees had bilked poker players out of an estimated $20 million.

Caught on Tape

In 2013, audiotapes were leaked by Hamilton’s longtime assistant, Travis Makar, to the 2+2 poker forums. They purportedly recorded Hamilton, Friedberg, and other UB execs discussing damage limitation as the scandal broke in early 2008.

“I think, for the public, it just has to be, ‘former consultant to the company took advantage of a server flaw by hacking into the client, unable to identify exactly when,’” Friedberg allegedly said on the tape, as those present at the meeting discussed how to avoid repaying the full amount to victims.

Friedberg suggested Hamilton should claim he was also a victim of the scandal because “otherwise it’s not going to fly.” Friedberg also said he wanted to get the 20 million liability “down to five.”

“I did take this money and I’m not trying to make it right, Dan, so we gotta get that out of the way right away, real quick,” Hamilton said.

No Justice

Hamilton and others involved in the UB scandal escaped prosecution because of jurisdictional issues, and Friedberg was never disbarred.

Members of its sister site, Absolute Poker, were indicted by the US Department of Justice in 2011 on charges of bank fraud and money laundering.

The post FTX Lawyer Was Key Figure in Notorious UltimateBet Poker Cheating Scandal appeared first on Casino.org.

At issue are payments made by FTX to Brady and other celebrity endorsers, including NBA star Stephen Curry, before its collapse earlier this month. According to a report by Bloomberg News, Joe Rotunda, director of enforcement at the Texas State Securities Board, said his department was “taking a close look” at those payments.

Though not a priority of the investigation, according to Rotunda, the extent to which Brady and the other endorsers disclosed their financial stakes in FTX will be examined – in addition to how accessible those disclosures were to retail investors. Brady and Bündchen – who were both FTX investors and brand ambassadors – starred in an ad that humorously attempted to convince people to quit their jobs to invest in FTX.

The collapsed crypto exchange – founded by Sam Bankman-Fried – allegedly traded with customer funds when it didn’t have enough money on hand for customer withdrawals. Plummeting from a $32 billion valuation to nothing as liquidity dried up over earlier this month, FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reportedly owing creditors more than $3 billion.

Fame is Not a Free Pass

Regulators have not shied away from pursuing celebrity endorsers of cryptocurrency. Last month, reality TV star Kim Kardashian agreed to pay a $1.26 million fine to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges alleging that she promoted a crypto initiative on her Instagram feed without disclosing to her 334 million followers that she was a paid celebrity endorser. Kardashian did not deny or admit to the charges.

Kardashian, former Boson Celtics star Paul Pierce, and former boxer Floyd Mayweather were named earlier this year in a class-action lawsuit alleging that they helped artificially inflate the price of the cryptocurrency EthereumMax. Another lawsuit targeted the Golden State Warriors, who named FTX the team’s official cryptocurrency last year.

And last week, an Oklahoma resident filed a class-action lawsuit against Brady, Bündchen, Curry, Shaquille O’Neal, and other celebrities who promoted FTX.

Since FTX’s collapse, Brady has reportedly deleted a slew of tweets he posted about the exchange. These include a Fourth of July video he posted in which he used a flamethrower to melt a block of ice with an FTX token inside.

The post Texas Probes Tom Brady’s Crypto Deal appeared first on Casino.org.

Bloomberg News was the first to spot old Twitter threads from Sam Trabucco that clearly described how the 30-year-old former crypto exec applied his knowledge of gambling strategies to crypto trading and other business decisions. Trabucco resigned in August as co-CEO of Alameda Research, sister company to FTX.

The story provides insight into the mindset of those who artificially inflated cryptocurrency into a bubble that encouraged millions to lose billions when it popped dramatically earlier this month.

‘Bet Big on the Way Down’

When XRP, the native cryptocurrency of the money-transfer network Ripple, plunged amid speculation of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, “We basically just bet as big as liquidity would let us on momentum on the way down, which ended up great,” Trabucco tweeted in January 2021. “We made a list of all the bad news announcements we thought were likely, and we just kinda waited for them to come out. Bittrex delisting? Hit. Grayscale removing? Hit. Etc. We got less short once these ‘seemed over’ (this was more about intuition on timing than anything).”

In the same series of tweets, Trabucco alluded to counting cards at blackjack, posting: “I may or may not be banned from 3 casinos for this.”

While the veracity of Trabucco’s claim has yet to be investigated, his embrace of risk may have contributed to the losses that sent Alameda, FTX, and more than 130 related entities into bankruptcy court this month. The crypto exchange –? which allegedly traded with customer funds when it didn’t have enough money on hand for customer withdrawals – plummeted from a $32 billion valuation to nothing as liquidity dried up over a 10-day span. It reportedly owes creditors more than $3 billion.

Reuters reported at least $1 billion in FTX client funds is still missing. According to its report, Bankman-Fried had “secretly” moved $10 billion in FTX assets to help prop up Alameda’s risky bets.

Bubble Factor

Speaking on an episode of the YouTube show UpOnly in 2021, Trabucco recalled playing poker in his early 20s while earning a degree in math and computer science from MIT. He later traded at Susquehanna International Group.

“Now I really don’t tilt very much,” he said, referencing a poker term for when players let their emotions guide them. However, Trabucco admitted to still sometimes buying impulsively.

A Trabucco tweet from July 2022 showed a poker table with chips on it, captioned with, “I should stick to trading.” Nevertheless, Trabucco posted his follow-up tweet from Las Vegas.

Trabucco, who has never been accused of any wrongdoing, stepped down as Alameda’s co-CEO in August, leaving Caroline Ellison as Alameda’s sole chief.

“If I’ve learned anything at Alameda, it’s how to make good decisions – and this is the right one for me,” he tweeted at the time.

When CoinDesk reported on Nov. 2 that Alameda – with $8 billion in liabilities and $14.6 billion in assets – was insolvent, Trabucco took to Twitter to debunk the story.

“Bonkers how people just instantly 100% believe every s***** ‘news’ story they see,” he tweeted.

Apparently, Trabucco was bluffing.

The post Casino Card Tricks Helped Burst the Crypto Bubble – Report appeared first on Casino.org.

They accuse the operation, based in the eastern European country of Georgia, of offering non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that provide investors with ownership interests in online casinos and the right to passively share in the profits of these operations.

They believe this means Slotie NFTs is essentially offering unregulated securities.

Most jurisdictions don’t have legislation or regulations specifically related to NFTs, and there is uncertainty as to whether existing regulations governing crypto-assets are applicable. The US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating NFTs, but has offered no formal guidance on whether they can be considered securities.

Cease and Desist

The state regulators have ordered Slotie to cease and desist from selling NFTs. To date, the company has sold approximately 10K tokens to members of the public, according to the order. They did this while failing to provide purchasers with crucial information, such as the business address of the company or its founders, or a telephone number or an email address, the regulators said.

Slotie has also neglected to disclose its assets, liabilities, revenue, and other financial information related to its operations.

“The latest metaverse investment products — NFTs that purport to provide passive income — often bear significant undisclosed risks,” said Joe Rotunda,?the Texas state securities board director, in a statement. “These risks are often significant and investing in virtual realities can leave investors virtually broke.”

The state regulators have ordered Slotie to immediately cease and desist from selling NFTs to investors until the security is properly registered. They face hefty fines if they ignore the order.

“State securities regulators have taken the lead in warning investors about emerging investment schemes tied to the metaverse,” the regulators said. “Although blockchain technology, digital assets, and metaverses are generating widespread public interest, bad actors are now leveraging their interests to perpetrate fraudulent schemes.”

Previous Action

This is not the first time state regulators have acted against a metaverse casino project selling securitized NFTs.

The Texas State Securities Board described the offering as “an illegal and fraudulent securities scheme.”

The post Metaverse Casino Project ‘Slotie’ Under Fire for Selling Securitized NFTs appeared first on Casino.org.

Play Hellebore requires players to purchase a “Siber” NFT for 0.03 ETH (approx $50), which enables them to bet on the outcomes of professional sports games, such as the NFL, NCAA football, MLB, and international soccer. The hope is to win blockchain-based prizes.

Once players have purchased the platform’s Siber NFT, they can start creating leagues and play matches to win prizes.?Play Hellebore claims to be an attempt to bridge the gap between Web 3.0 and traditional fantasy sports leagues.

NFTs are particularly popular in the sports and sports betting arenas, as they can be used like digital trading cards or mementos of sporting events.

NBA Top Shot, the National Basketball Association’s NFT marketplace produced by Dapper Labs, has more than 1.1 million registered users who traded some $800 million in NFTs last year.

How it Works

Play Hellebore users can increase the value of their NFTs, unlock physical and digital prizes, and compete against friends, family, and strangers in traditional “Pick’Em” style fantasy sports leagues. And like traditional player and statistics-based fantasy sports leagues, players can become league managers.

Everybody knows what fantasy sports are, and chances are that at some point, most individuals have also taken part in some kind of ‘Pick’Em’ league with friends in their neighborhood or at their office,” said Swinmurn.

Individual Siber ratings increase with each correct pick, giving them the power to tilt the odds in a player’s favor by allowing them to alter the game’s point spread.

Web 3.0 and Sports Converge

Hellebore COO Roshni Cox believes the platform will bring sports fans together and provide a new way to engage in one of the most popular global pastimes.

The merging of Web.3.0 and more traditional online gaming and gambling products has been picking up in the last year. In June, Lucky Crypto launched a metaverse NFT slot machine, while in February, a metaverse-based casino reported revenue of $7.5 million in just three months.

The post Golden State Warriors Co-Owner Launches NFT-Based DFS Site appeared first on Casino.org.

Many naysayers thought that bitcoin (BTC) wouldn’t last five years. That was 11 years ago. Today, despite a number of issues, digital currencies continue to dig in deeper and are becoming more acceptable.

Australia’s NTRC is responsible for issuing sports betting licenses across the country. While it may not quite be ready to pull the trigger on crypto gambling, it’s at least willing to learn what operators think of the idea.

A BTC For Your Thoughts

Almost five years ago, the NTRC told sports betting operators to stay away from cryptocurrency. The general idea among the crypto-averse is that it’s just a passing fad. However, more countries are beginning to embrace the fad, giving it greater legitimacy.

In order to determine what Australia’s sports betting operators think of the idea, the NTRC is looking for their feedback. It recently published draft regulations for the use of crypto in sports betting, responding to an increase in interest. A number of sportsbooks across the globe, including DraftKings, would welcome the idea.

The draft is just that – it’s not the final outline, nor is it any type of guarantee that the NTRC is ready to put its support behind crypto. However, it’s an opportunity for operators to weigh in and state their position on the topic, as well as provide input on additional measures they would like to include.

The NTRC expects to learn if operators would allow their users to make deposits and withdrawals in crypto, as well as use them directly for placing bets. Operators can start submitting their feedback now, and have until September 29 to speak up.

Crypto Proves Itself in World Markets

Despite the enormous price drops in BTC, ethereum, and others have seen this year, the fallout isn’t altogether horrible. Since their inception, cryptocurrencies have seen price fluctuations. However, these dips are independent of the validity of digital currency as an alternative to traditional fiat.

In fact, the recent crash has been a major catalyst for change. It has propelled a number of governments to take regulatory action, which will help crypto mature and gain more legitimacy.

In addition, while traders cursed the price drops and their losses, crypto gambling has increased. There are now more online gaming sites than ever that accept digital currency, and the number is growing.

This week, Australia Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced that the government is going to launch token mapping. This initiative will catalog all of the types of crypto available in the country, as well as their uses.

Chalmers highlighted that this is the definitive first step toward crypto regulation in the country. Most crypto supporters shun the idea of regulation. However, it’s a part of the equation that they’re not going to be able to prevent.

The post Australia’s Sportsbook Regulator Changes Attitude on Cryptocurrency, Wants Operator Input appeared first on Casino.org.

Currently, Colombia doesn’t recognize cryptocurrency as valid tender and it isn’t authorized for gambling. However, sweeping reforms could soften the government’s position.

The goal behind a national cryptocurrency, such as a central bank digital currency (CBDC), is to reduce tax evasion in the country. This is according to Luis Carlos Reyes, who heads Colombia’s tax authority.

Digital Currency Gains Another Ally

Reyes explained the initiative in a recent interview with media outlet Semana. He explained that the goal is to offer a solution to facilitate easier transactions for consumers. At the same time, it could help reduce fiscal losses from tax evasion.

The government is only beginning to consider the introduction of a cryptocurrency. However, it is confident that a solution is coming. Moreover, other countries, such as China, Venezuela, and more, have gone the CBDC route.

Others, like El Salvador, opted to make bitcoin (BTC) legal tender. Mexico, Argentina, and a few other Latin American countries are also considering how to approach digital currencies.

Dr. Michael Muscat, partner at Helix Partners and Igamingcolombia.com, confirmed to Casino.org Colombia’s cryptocurrency intentions. In addition, he added that “the regulation of iGaming brought with it payment providers and other tech incentives in need of regulation.”

In addition to the potential for a CBDC, the most likely route Colombia would take, Colombia is testing the feasibility of crypto in retail. Certain banks in the country have been piloting a program through which a limited number of consumers can use digital currencies to make purchases.

In addition, draft legislation is in place to begin forming the regulatory structure for the crypto industry. The rules, now open to public feedback, establish guidelines to counter money-laundering risks and ways to trace all transactions.

There’s no guarantee that Colombia will decide to embrace BTC or other cryptocurrencies. Additionally, no government official has stated how approval might impact the gaming space. However, the country has opened the door to the possibility.

CBDCs Remain Contentious Topic

More emphasis is being placed on CBDCs than ever before. From a government point of view, it’s a definitive way to embrace digital money while ensuring it still controls the countries’ financial activity.

However, supporters of cryptocurrency generally reject CBDCs. Digital currencies are, by design, decentralized with no autonomous control. However, governments have complete, centralized control over state-sponsored digital currencies.

In effect, this means that governments have greater control over money than they do now with paper fiat. For example, they can monitor all transactions on the blockchain and register movements for tax purposes.

In addition, they can also easily turn off access to individual or multiple accounts at once. If they feel someone is conducting illicit activity or hasn’t paid his or her taxes, the governments can take funds with a few keystrokes in a CBDC environment.

As a result, the government has shown support for cryptocurrencies. This means there’s a possibility that BTC and a CBDC might coexist in the country, as well as in the gaming ecosystem. However, when that might happen is open for discussion.

The post Colombia Considering National Cryptocurrency, May Allow Crypto in Gambling appeared first on Casino.org.

The proposed ban, which the EPL’s clubs will vote on later this year, hasn’t stopped clubs like Everton from striking sponsorship deals. It also wouldn’t prevent them from entering into partnerships with gaming operators.

Aston Villa, a founding EPL club, has brought in Duelbits as its “Official European Betting Partner” for the 2022-23 EPL season, now underway. Duelbits gains access to the club’s stadium, as well as its website and social media platforms.

Looking For Recognition

Duelbits hopes the partnership will help it gain recognition in the UK market. The outfit is small and young, with only around 35 employees since its launch in December 2021.

In addition to its relationship with TGP Europe, Stake.com can be found elsewhere in the EPL. For example, it is the front-of-shirt sponsor for Watford, another club bucking the voluntary sponsorship ban.

Duelbits believes that, by partnering with a veteran club like Aston Villa, it will gain both popularity and legitimacy. Its concentration on the cryptocurrency space puts it in an exclusive class, but one that has significant growth potential.

Cryptocurrency as a payment type is not widely accepted globally. The US frowns upon it, and the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), until recently, didn’t issue licenses to operators that accept digital currency. Now, the MGA is more flexible, provided operators use a payment provider the Malta Financial Services Authority approves.

In the UK, though, there’s nothing preventing the use of cryptocurrency in gaming. The UK Gambling Commission can – at its discretion – approve a license request as long as the entity meets certain requirements and can verify sources of funds.

Aston Villa didn’t mention how much the new partnership is worth. But it continues to grow its partnership links. The club is also connected to Socios, the blockchain-based fan token platform, financial trading platform eToro, Heineken beer, and others.

EPL Crypto Sponsorships on the Rise

There have been calls for a gambling sponsorship ban in British sports for years. The idea gained traction, as it seemed as though the UK was almost ready to present its gambling white paper.

However, now that there has been a delay in that presentation, the future of a potential ban is in question. In addition to Everton and Watford, Bournemouth FC and Fulham FC have also signed new sponsorship deals.

In addition, cryptocurrency is gaining a more prominent place in UK sports. This past June, The Athletic discovered that almost all of the EPL’s 20 clubs had a crypto sponsor last year.

The partnerships follow a trend seen elsewhere that joins crypto and sports. Most notably, this year’s NFL Super Bowl had more crypto ads than ever. Duelbits hopes to capitalize on the trifecta – sports, sports betting, and cryptocurrency – as it expands its market.

The post Premier League Soccer Team Aston Villa Partners With Crypto Gaming Platform Duelbits appeared first on Casino.org.

A CBDC is essentially digital fiat that a government issues and manages. China’s case also reportedly includes the requirement that consumers and businesses use a state-issued wallet.

The goal of China’s CBDC is to give the government more control over the flow of capital and reduce questionable transactions. However, according to GGRAsia, the country may not see the expected results.

China’s CBDC May Backfire

The media outlet quotes Macao Polytechnic University’s Zhou Kinquan, who believes that most gamblers would likely avoid the CDBC wherever possible. The use of the digital currency will be “potentially unappealing” to VIPs. It could also find no interest among gamblers in the mass gaming segment.

Another expert, Ricardo Siu Chi Sen of the University of Macau, pointed out, indirectly, an inherent flaw in the CBDC system. He emphasized that transactions would have to be regulated from Macau, the mainland, or both.

The Hong Kong dollar is currently the primary denomination casinos in Macau use. Some analysts have offered the opinion that switching to China’s CBDC would result in improved business efficiency.

Macau Revenue Dropping Fast

Most of the gambling traffic in Macau comes from mainland China. In addition, most consumer products come from the mainland as well.

Because of the ongoing issues, Macau’s casino industry continues to suffer. JP Morgan analysts predict that gross gaming revenue for 2022 will only reach 19% of what it was in 2019. Other forecasts also paint a dismal picture.

As a result of the problems, forcing the introduction of a CBDC would only further hinder Macau’s recovery. China is going to require casino operators to make huge investments in Macau. However, the long-term revenue prospects may no longer be as appealing as before.

The post Macau Casinos Could Suffer Greater Losses Through Use of Chinese Digital Currency appeared first on Casino.org.

A London High Court has given Microgame founder Fabrizio D’Aloia permission to serve legal documents to the nameless alleged fraudsters. He will do so over the blockchain ledger using a non-fungible token (NFT). The ruling is the first of its kind outside the US

The judgment is significant because it allows victims of cryptocurrency fraud to pursue anonymous criminals through the UK courts.

D’Aloia launched Microgame, not to be confused with software provider Microgaming, in 1996. In 1998, Microgame was one of the first movers into the newly regulated Italian online sports betting market before subsequently launching online poker, bingo, and a casino when they also became legal. D’Aloia stepped down from an executive role within the company in 2013.

‘Persons Unknown’

D’Alioia is suing “persons unknown” who posed as the online brokerage TD Ameritrade with the website tda-finan.com.

Investigators hired by D’Aloia discovered that almost all of the stolen crypto has been transferred to several private addresses, as well as five exchanges.

D’Aloia is also suing the exchanges, Binance, Poloniex, gate.io, OKX (formerly OKEx), and Bitkub, claiming they hold his identifiable cryptocurrency as constructive trustees.

A constructive trustee is a party that holds a legal asset that they should not possess due to unjust enrichment or interference, for example.

The judge, Mr. Justice Trower, found there was a “good arguable case” of constructive trustee liability on behalf of the crypto exchanges. D’Aoia’s lawyers, Giambrone & Partners, said in a statement that the significance of this judgment could “not be overstated.”

“Should cryptocurrency exchanges act contrary to such orders and fail to ringfence the identifiable cryptocurrency, they risk being held liable for breach of trust,” the firm explained.

‘NFT Airdrop’

Trower said proceedings would be served to the fraudsters in the form of an NFT “airdrop” into the tda-finan wallets. These were the wallets into which D’Aloia was allegedly tricked into transferring his cryptocurrency.

There can be no objection to it,’ Trower said. ‘Rather, it is likely to lead to a greater prospect of those who are behind the tda-finan website being put on notice of the making of this order, and the commencement of these proceedings.”

Giambrone & Partners praised the ruling as a “welcome example of a court embracing new technology.”

It follows a similar judgment made in the Supreme Court of the State of New York on June 2 this year.

The post Microgame Founder Can Sue Alleged Fraudsters Via Blockchain in UK Ruling appeared first on Casino.org.

Often, gambling is seen as a recession-proof industry, in which the high rollers will keep rolling no matter the squeeze from external economic factors.

Where there is less certainty is for the coins and tokens that are newer, less well-known, have less liquidity, and are less trusted by holders. Crypto casinos or sports betting outfits that launched their own coins, fan tokens, and NFTs before this crash may well have seen their value fall to almost nothing as consumers lose faith in the market.

Bitcoin and other coins dropping in value have been catastrophic for highly-leverage crypto businesses. Among them are exchanges and lenders without the requisite liquidity to weather what is known in the industry as a “crypto winter.” It derives its name because the assumption is that it will eventually thaw, only for prices to rise again.

Meanwhile, several crypto exchanges have slashed their workforces in recent weeks in a bid to stay afloat, while crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) was forced into administration by a British Virgin Islands court last week. That caused a ripple effect for those it owed money. The founders of 3AC, former Credit Suisse traders Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, have since disappeared.

Effects on Crypto Gambling

The crypto crash is certainly not the end for crypto gambling. New crypto casinos have continued to launch throughout this crisis, and betting industry stalwarts such as DraftKings’ Jason Robins have continued to back the crypto industry as having an inevitable role in the future of gambling.

What this crash will do is thrash out many of the regulatory grey areas. Some jurisdictions will clamp down in a bid to protect consumers from the kinds of losses suffered by many when Terra UST and its sister coin Luna crashed in May.

Others will use the extreme outcomes of this crash as points of learning for what needs to be prevented in the future.

Meanwhile, the G20 has just recently pledged to establish a framework for regulating cryptocurrencies that are intended to extend across every country represented by the group. The Financial Stability Board, which unites the financial interests of the group, said it was time to bring the “speculative” crypto sector under a regulatory code.

“The failure of a market player, in addition to imposing potentially large losses on investors and threatening market confidence arising from crystallization of conduct risks, can also quickly transmit risks to other parts of the crypto-asset ecosystem,” it said.

Calls for US Regulations

The US has also stepped up its work on regulating crypto, recently banning federal staff with crypto holdings from taking part in the debate on crypto regulation where they may have a conflict of interests.

US Securities and Exchange Commission Chief Executive Gary Gensler has reiterated his belief that BTC is the only cryptocurrency that can fairly be defined as a commodity – potentially handing it off for oversight by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). That’s while SEC keeps a steely grasp of everything else, ETH included, much to that community’s chagrin.

As the pace of regulation steps up, so, too, is the confidence of the gambling industry likely to grow.

Gambling has come too far down the path of regulatory control to risk a backlash by incorporating crypto too soon. But as frameworks emerge to mitigate those risks, licensed operators are likely to begin opening their products up to crypto and blockchain innovations.

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