Luckbox has become the first cryptocurrency-supported esports betting platform to be awarded a top-tier gambling licence by the Isle of Man government.

Real Time Games Holding Limited — the company behind the Luckbox brand — now holds a full licence under the Online Gambling Regulation Act (OGRA), issued by the Gaming Supervision Commission.

The OGRA ensures operators comply with the highest levels of jurisdictions, offering players the highest level of safety and security.

Read an in-depth interview with Lars Lien at CalvinAyre.com

Luckbox chose the OGRA licence as it is regarded among the most reputable gambling licences in the world, uniquely requiring all player funds to be held in mechanisms that guarantee players’ monies, ensuring if an operator goes into liquidation, player funds can be repatriated to the player.

The licence allows Luckbox to accept fiat, crypto and in-game items as currency when transacting with players.

Other companies that hold a OGRA licence include brands such as PokerStars, FullTilt, SBO, 188Bet and Quanta.

The Luckbox team at the company’s development offices in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Luckbox was founded by former PokerStars colleagues Lars Lien and Mike Stevens and was supported by cryptocurrency contributors via a crowdsale earlier this year.

Preparing for launch in 2019, it is being built by a team combining vast experience in the igaming industry and a passion for esports to offer players unique and highly social platform to engage with their favourite games, including CSGO, Dota 2 and League of Legends.

The OGRA licence will allow Luckbox to operate in any jurisdiction it is legal to do so and where a local licence is not required.

Luckbox CEO Lars Lien said: “This is a significant milestone for our project.

“As well as building an industry-leading product, having a top-tier licence is what sets us apart.

“It offers the best protection for players and opens up fantastic opportunities for us as a business, not least enabling access to compliant marketing channels, the ability to be listed on mobile app stores, as well as accessing traditional gambling infrastructure developed over the past two decades.

Luckbox CEO Lars Lien

“We have conducted our crowdsale in a rigorous fashion. At times, it has been a tough process but now we can see it has all been worth it.

“Beyond the sometimes extreme levels of diligence required, we have experienced that our ambition goes well beyond the current capabilities of the traditional gambling operations as well as the crypto-focused competition.

“Having received the OGRA licence, built our development team and now being confident with our infrastructure partners, I am confident we will deliver an amazing product early next year that will be very hard to copy.

“All in all, it’s fantastic news for the team and all those who have supported us so far — we are so grateful for your help.”

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