With DaoCasino, Funfair.io and Unikrn (with its new Unikoin Gold) all launching initial coin offerings (ICOs) this summer, it is clear that something is going on in the world of blockchain and gambling.

Indeed, given the gambling focus of these companies, it seems like gambling is arguably at the forefront of the moves to fully exploit the blockchain opportunity. The speed of progress since we first published the GamCrowd Blockchain report in November last year has proved that the pace of change with new tech trends is like nothing we have experienced before. If you don’t understand what is happening, then you are putting your business at risk: it is simple as that.

Hence, ahead of out next blockchain meetup scheduled for 5th September in London, we are delighted to announce that GamCrowd in association with Chain-Finance have worked on a second edition of the report, setting out to explain what the blockchain is and to look at the developing landscape for this truly transformational tech and the potential impact on the gambling industry. It will help you to start to work out how you can exploit the tech and in equal measure prepare for the disruption that it will bring.

One key development our report covers is that in recent months there have been several successful Initial Coin offerings or ICO’s by various start-up gambling businesses using the blockchain to bring platforms that could bring major disruption to the way the industry operates now. Not only are they using the blockchain to try and give players a better experience, they are also very well-funded with over $50m being raised in the past six months alone. The gambling industry has never seen well-funded start-ups that don’t have to rely on the major operators for a leg up to help them launch their business. They are in control of their own destinies and armed with disruptive tech so the gambling industry should sit up and pay attention.

One of those is funfair.io which raised $26m in four hours in late June this year. These guys have built a business around the provably fair properties of blockchain where they can prove the RNG is trustless and that they don’t operate a wallet system so the player is in control of their own funds at all times. On top of that they get paid straight away after each win. If this works what player in their right mind would play with any of the existing operators where they hold on to your money as long as they feel fit to pay you out.

Of course, you must bring a level of cynicism to what is happening in the ICO market as it feels like the internet bubble all over again and whilst the process is unregulated the pirates out there will make money from the developing space. However, the important thing is not to confuse an ICO with the technology. To do that will be to the same mistake people made with Bitcoin with the negative press it experienced and miss the tech that is the platform that delivers these products.

The biggest irony is that the gambling industry will be protected for a time by regulators slowly adopting the technology. This is despite that fact that blockchain can solve many of the regulatory processes, and the regtech sector is one of the fastest growing areas supporting fintech. To download the report please visit www.gamcrowd.com

Totally Gaming says: GamCrowd is all about innovation in technology, and there is potentially no more exciting area than blockchain. If you would like us to come in and talk to your team about the tech, then we are holding one day seminars that bring our report to life and have various packages available. For those that are in London, we are also putting together another blockchain meetup in September. If you’re interested, then please email chrisnorth@gamcrowd.com for more information.

Tech trends: You may also be interested in Acapture’s recent white paper analysing how today’s most influential consumer tech trends will re-shape online gambling – download here.