Gambling has been a facet of human civilization since its very inception. The betting on the outcome of tests of skill and on random and unpredictable events has been a mainstay of essentially every society on earth.

There is something innately exciting about participating in games of chance and fortune. It connects the player to something over which he has no control and the thrill of it is without equal. Will chance smile upon him tonight or will he leave exhilarated but with lighter pockets?

No one knows.

Beyond games of pure chance, people have been betting on competitions and contests of skill and cunning since the games themselves were invented. Whether or not the better himself is taking part is of little import; by putting something valuable on the line the player becomes far more deeply connected to the outcome of a football game or boxing match.

You’ve seen this for yourself. Playing a friendly game of poker with chips and no money in the pot isn’t even comparable to playing for even a small pot. Putting something valuable on the line completely changes the experience.

And this change is exhilarating.

The bad apples ruin the bunch

Unfortunately, another thing has been found the world over — where gaming is found, so too are found those who aren’t content to leave the outcome to fortune or skill. People who, either through fear or on account of sheer greed, try to tip the scales, load the dice, or throw the game.

These people are few, but they ruin the experience for all.

It is for this reason that casinos, gamers, and players have always struggled to maintain an atmosphere of trust. Putting something valuable up for grabs makes a situation more exciting, but it also makes the stakeholders more suspicious. And often rightfully so.

Casinos, both online and offline have found pitched battles against cheaters and scammers in order to give players a game and experience wherein they are only worried about the outcome. Not whether or not the outcome was rigged. Physical casinos today use some of the most advanced security technology, and some of the best trained security personnel, to give customers this sense of security.

And for a large part this has worked.

Gaming — A mostly undisrupted industry

Unlike many large industries that were reliant on large brick-and-mortar establishments, the gambling industry has largely escaped the fate of retail and bookstores for this very reason. It just feels more secure.

The internet is too wild, there are too many variables, there are too many fake casinos that take your money. And how can you know that the other players aren’t cheating? How do you know that the game is unfairly rigged in the favor of the house or a certain player? These are the questions and concerns that gamers had and why, for a large part, the gambling industry has remained the domain of behemoth physical casinos.

It’s ridiculous really, these places cost money to visit and the money spent getting there and living there is all money that could otherwise be used for gaming! Logically, gaming is among the industries that are the most ripe for disruption by a well constructed online platform.

But the transparency wasn’t there. The payment system didn’t have that same feeling. When you take cash out of your wallet and place it on the nice felt table and see the dealer pick it up, you know exactly where your money went and what you got for it. Gamers like this feeling. It is intimate. It is secure. It is reassuring.

Blockchain changes the game

And now, thanks to Alive, this security and this sense of control, transparency, and intimacy is being made available to gamers online. Via the intelligent integration of blockchain technology into Alive’s payment system, the gamer retains an unprecedented amount of control and gets unparalleled transparency.

This transparency and security at the point of transaction is what has been missing. It’s one of the major roadblocks that has been preventing the true disruption of the gaming industry like we have seen in so many others. The pre-blockchain internet gambling world was one of uncertainty, concern, and opacity. The new, blockchain-enabled internet gaming world is one of privacy, security, and transparency.

The gaming industry has always been quick to adopt new technologies in order to meet the needs of demanding gamers. And Alive is delivering the latest.