Author
Andy Watson
Please check out latest news, expert comments and industry insights from Coinspeaker's contributors.
Since John Montagu (Earl of Sandwich) invented the sandwich at a poker table in the 18th century, quite some excitement has been added to basic casino games.
Game development has become a global digital market, but unlike video games, gamblers still favour the same games (such as, poker, craps, slot machines and blackjack), with little variation. The lack of innovation comes down to trust. Players know these “tried-and-true” games and their rules, whereas new gambling games introduce unknown software code, rules and risks.
The blockchain is disrupting the centuries-old status quo by creating trust, in the way of transparent and provably fair global gaming platforms. Throngs of game developers are producing new games for a more secure gambling world. The coin economy essentially derisks gambling by removing the distrust for third party operators and game developers.
Games on a ‘Smarter Fairer’ Casino
Blockchain gaming platforms disintermediate third party operators, who manipulate betting outcomes and increase transaction costs. Games of chance have always been prone to manipulation. Online gaming controlled by complex computer code makes it even easier to engineer unfair outcomes.
Gambling implemented on a smart contract has been designed to deliver a provably fair and transparent gaming process. Escrow for games is secured directly from the players’ smart wallet and winnings immediately distributed to wallets once the game’s algorithm produces the outcome. Meanwhile, hackers cannot abscond with the funds since they are not held by a centralized third party.
Early on, the blockchain used games of chance to demonstrate how P2P games could be played and winnings distributed without the use of a central operator. In the Satoshi Dice game, for example, the outcome is produced in advance through encrypted code. Once the player ‘rolls’ his own die, the operator cannot change his encrypted results.
The developers produced a pseudo random number generator (RNG), which is still used on gambling platforms on the Ethereum blockchain, which does not fully support RNGs. Next generation systems are advancing on earlier models. As an example, LetBet—”an online gambling platform currently running an ICO”—has produced an RNG for a fully random and fair game on its own ‘zero-chain’ blockchain.
Open Source Game Development
Distrust of gambling models is solved by a transparent and open source gaming system. Developers are free to use their own game models. One drawback on the blockchain, however, is the slower transaction processing speed. On the Ethereum blockchain, this fairer, securer gambling experience is executed on the order of seconds.
LetBet’s zero-chain blockchain platform supports a fully compliant smart contract system with the speed of a legacy centralized gaming system. Alongside speed, game developers gain many benefits from an open source blockchain platform:
- Token Rewards: “The token economy rewards the whole Ecosystem-operators, game developers and players”— through a crowdfunding model that shares in the revenues. Crowdfunding provides financial support for game developers while allowing them to retain intellectual property ownership. Rewards are generously handed out, often in the way of game tokens, thereby creating more liquidity and action on the platform;
- Interoperability: New gambling models are already beginning to interconnect to provide an even more enticing gambling experience. The LetBet system also supports non-gambling applications, opening the door to new gambling products. Game developers can further improve their games by using the LetBet Integration model, which provides access to the data and analytics of leading lottos and brokers such as Bet365, William Hill and BetFair;
- Lower Cost and Higher Payouts: With the removal of third party operators and their fees, players can get higher winning payouts. LetBet does not charge transaction fees.
LetBet Token Sale
Game developers expect more players to be enamoured with the virtues of the Blockchain, and thus attract more potential users to play their games. Game developers and players can access the LetBet gambling platform with the LBT token.
The LBT coin pre-sale began on January 20th, and provides a 50 percent discount off the price during the main ICO event, which starts on February 25th with total supply of 70M coins.
Those, who are about to participate, should remember while making a decision, that LetBet’s blockchain is not limited to solely online gambling, and, being a completely open source, this hyperledger can be used to host a variety of other would-be successful products.
