By
Kofi Ansah
September 20th, 2022
Skrilla, a licensed, fully-integrated eSports wagering platform, wants to change the eSports industry with the help of blockchain technology.
Video games are becoming more popular than ever – and it’s no surprise why. With each passing year, they become more realistic, more captivating, and more engaging to the users. What was once just an easy way to pass time and cure boredom has now become a fully immersive experience.
Studies by Polygon have shown that 80% of American households contain a device to play video games, and 42% of Americans play for at least three hours per week.
The Rise of eSports
One form of gaming that has seen the biggest leap in popularity over the past few years is eSports. These most commonly take the form of organized multiplayer video game competitions. In 2017, the worldwide eSports market revenue reached $696 million. Many game developers are now actively designing towards a professional eSport subculture.
Combining Competitive Gaming with Blockchain
Whilst eSports have been around for several decades, the world is still learning about the possibilities behind the blockchain – and they’re increasing every day.
You’ve probably heard about it as the powering force behind cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Bitcoin, but the limits of the blockchain don’t end there. In fact, it’s about to make some huge changes in the gaming industry.
There’s one platform in particular that’s capitalizing on the potential of blockchain. It’s known as Skrilla, and it’s a licensed, fully-integrated eSports wagering platform.
The project was developed by two established gaming companies, Puntaa (the world’s first licensed P2P social betting company with three years of experience developing, operating, and scaling network-based wagering products), and GAMURS (the premier eSports media company with 3.5 million monthly active users).
Skrilla has used blockchain technology to create a new token that allows users to enter contests, place bets, and receive winnings as their reward.
The ICO for Skrilla is on the verge of launch. The token sale will start officially on the 6th November 2017. The new token will be known as Skrilla (SKR) will be built upon the Ethereum blockchain to meet the ERC20 standard. It will act as a utility token within the Skrilla platform to allow users to enter contests, place bets, and receive winnings.
Why the Blockchain and eSports Fit Together So Well
There is no doubt that eSports have exploded in popularity over the past few years. By 2020, the industry is expected to reach almost $1.5 billion.
But with increasing popularity comes increasing security risks, and the need for more advanced security capabilities will soon become apparent. When so much money is at stake, users need to be confident that their bets will be honored and that their winnings will be paid.
Companies like Skrilla act as a real-time escrow contract that receives users’ funds when bets are made and releases the winnings when required. This removes many of the security risks currently involved with eSports and also removes the need for a third-party middleman who is likely to take a large cut.
You can read more about the future potential of Skrilla in their white paper.
Investing in the Future of eSports
College eSports teams are pushing for varsity sport status. It could even be a medal event in the 2024 Olympics. Whenever we think eSports can’t possibly get any bigger, we are proven wrong. What people once thought was just a passing fad is quickly morphing into the next big thing.
It is likely that as the eSports industry continues to grow and the blockchain becomes more mainstream, the practices adopted by companies like Skrilla will become more commonplace. In a few years, these escrow-like transactions using tokens will likely become standard.
Participating in Skrilla’s ICO is a great investment both for the future of eSports, and for your own finances. There will be a maximum of 1,000,0000,000 SKR tokens created, and 60% of these will be available in the token sale between the 6th November and the 20th November 2017.
The live and fully operational platform has already recently been launched in Australia, and there are plans for launch in the US in the near future. With the way things are progressing, it’s likely that blockchain technology might just be paving the future for the ever-growing world of eSports.
