Category: Announcement

Iggy Azalea Takes on Crypto Gaming with Motherland Casino Launch

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Australian rapper and global sensation, Iggy Azalea, is taking the online gambling world by storm with the announcement of Motherland, her new crypto casino, set to debut in November 2024. Unveiled at the exclusive Solana Breakpoint event in Singapore, this casino venture is powered by Azalea’s memecoin, MOTHER, promising to bring a fresh, exciting twist to the iGaming scene.

Motherland will offer a comprehensive array of casino favorites, including slots, blackjack, roulette, and poker while featuring live dealer games, tournaments, sports betting, and other community-driven gambling activities. Whether you are a lover of high-stakes action or prefer community-based challenges, the site strives to cater to the interests of everyone who joins.

Strong Backing

Motherland’s adviser and creator of Asymmetric, a cryptocurrency hedge fund, Joe McCann, praised Azalea’s vision for the future. He emphasized that MOTHER is not like other celebrity-backed tokens, but rather an integral component of a larger and more deliberate plan to create a robust memecoin community and provide it practical use in the online gambling industry.

“We’re seeing something bigger here. Iggy’s vision goes beyond just creating a coin – she’s building a real-world application for her memecoin that integrates with a fully-fledged online casino,” McCann said, highlighting the depth and potential of the project. Additionally, he dropped hints about future, more extensive features for MOTHER holders, although details are still being kept under wraps.

Presently, MOTHER token users have exceptional privileges such as a 20% discount on entrance tickets to the American music festival Breakaway, where Azalea has collaborated with event organizers to provide fans with unique experiences. With this, we can see the ongoing trend of digital ecosystems prioritizing user value by combining entertainment with cryptocurrency.

The Motherland launch is just one more example of Azalea’s entrepreneurial spirit. She relaunched the cellular startup Unreal Mobile three months ago, offering MOTHER token holders mobile plans with reduced prices according to their tiers.

Navigating Challenges

Despite its ambitious scope, the MOTHER token has faced challenges, particularly in the competitive world of memecoins. Since its launch in May the token reached a peak valuation of $260 million within just 10 days but has since experienced a notable decline. Currently, the market capitalization stands at $56.6 million, according to Dexscreener data.

In response to claims that Solana is just a “memecoin casino” network, McCann emphasized that the platform’s flexibility and practical uses are shown by its wide range of blockchain projects, especially in the areas of decentralized finance (DeFi) and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN).

Rollbit On the Spot for Allegedly Operating Without a Valid License

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Accusations that Rollbit, a new and fast-rising cryptocurrency-accepting online casino, is operating illegally have caused quite a stir in the crypto world. The reality is, however, that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The license status of the firm is the focus of the allegations, which Rollbit says are presently being reviewed as part of the yearly renewal procedure. The company claims this renewal procedure is typical of Curaçao-authorized platforms. In addition to this, they assert that to keep up with the standards that are required of a licensed casino, they have gone through the same process of renewal each year since the establishment of their business.

Some Serious Inconsistencies

Skeptics, however, have reason to doubt Rollbit’s assertions due to discrepancies between the company’s claims and publicly accessible data about Curaçao gambling licenses.

Slotegrator, a software provider and aggregator for online casinos, reports that so long as the master license from Curaçao is still active after five years, the sub-licenses may remain in place indefinitely. This runs to counter to what Rollbit says about having to renew their license every year.

Further uncertainty was added when crypto and finance researcher FatMan revealed a chat he had with Rollbit’s support team. In the beginning, the firm claimed that the lack of licensing information was a “UI problem,” but he did not buy it. He suggested that one of Rollbit’s new games might have upset the regulator.

As the situation around Rollbit develops, more accusations have surfaced. Others have accused Rollbit of engaging in unethical behavior by supplying false balances to influencers. In this claimed strategy, influencers utilize free money to demonstrate large wins, perhaps attracting their followers into gambling through affiliate links. This practice has been criticized because it is dishonest and lures naive customers while providing the casino with risk-free profits.

The Implications?

The accusations leveled against Rollbit are serious and may seriously damage the company’s reputation. In a statement released in response to the situation, Rollbit said it was in constant contact with the licensor and had made some small adjustments to the app’s user interface per the licensor’s suggestions. Yet the company’s answers haven’t been enough to calm the crypto community’s fears.

Some members of the cryptocurrency community are even demanding that Rollbit be shut down, while others are demanding that the firm provide more information to explain the issue.

Although the future of this situation is uncertain, it highlights the significance of openness and compliance with regulations in the online gaming industry.

Everton FC Inks Partnership with Crypto Casino Stake.com

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Everton FC, an English Premier League team, has recently struck a multi-year agreement with the online casino and sports betting website Stake.com. This cooperation is yet another example of a crypto-sports collaboration as the sector continues to expand across the globe.

As expected of man crypto venture, the figures floated around have been nothing short of mind-blowing. The sponsorship agreement with the Australian casino is reportedly “the highest value front-of-shirt deal in the club’s 144-year history.” However, the specific sponsorship value has not yet been revealed.

In light of the recent developments, Everton’s Chief Executive Officer, Professor Denise Berrett-Baxendale, said that Stake.com is an ambitious organization with excellent expansion ambitions. He further noted that the company’s employees are extremely thrilled to be collaborating with Stake.com at this point in the company’s development.

He also praised his staff for the outstanding progress they have achieved over the last several months and their relentless effort to clinch the partnership contract that is the largest in the club’s entire history.

Stake.com’s History

Stake.com is recognized as one of the most successful operators and largest brands in the gaming and sports betting industries despite just having been established in 2017. As a result of its rapid growth, it now processes more than 80 billion transactions each year and has more than five million registered customers. As part of its extensive worldwide sponsorship portfolio, Stake.com is happy to expand its partnerships with a broad range of well-known athletes, celebrities, and organizations.

Stake.com is a privately held company with over 200 employees located in a variety of different legal jurisdictions. The organization does its business in the United Kingdom under the domain name Stake.uk.com and is licensed to do so by the Gambling Commission under the name TGP Europe Limited.

This agreement adds another layer of depth to Stake.com’s already vast global sports sponsorship portfolio. That already includes relationships with the UFC, soccer icon Sergio Aguero, and English football team Watford FC, in addition to worldwide multi-platinum musicians.

 A Few Setbacks

Currently, the UK is considering gaming reform, which might have an impact on the agreement. A blanket ban on betting firms giving significant shirt sponsorship was seriously under consideration. The United Kingdom government has, however, chosen to defer plans to prevent gambling corporations from sponsoring the jerseys of English football teams.

There appears to be some fan backlash, though. Over 20,000 individuals have signed a petition condemning Everton’s record sponsorship arrangement with Stake.com.

Paysafe Enters New York’s Sports Betting Market

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Renowned specialized payments services provider Paysafe has recently announced its expansion into New York’s rapidly-growing sports-betting market. This is a big play for the company especially as it pursues its ambitious plans to become the leading brand in affiliate marketing and online gambling payments. Its target markets for this expansion are the United States and Canada.

As it stands, Paysafe has already begun processing betting payments for some popular mobile sportsbooks in New York. It is also now behind several affiliate programs that are meant to increase eminence in the lucrative market. The latter is particularly important as it is a vital component in marketing. Both customer conversion and the growth of various online gambling brands hang on this.

Paysafe’s CEO of North America iGaming, Zak Cutler has been at the forefront of these developments which he believes will be very important for the wider market.

“Payments and affiliate marketing play essential roles in customer conversion and the growth of iGaming brands and the wider market. We’re proud to have supported the ongoing expansion of the North American online gaming space in 2021 through 2022, with our recent entry into New York – a pivotal market that will hopefully galvanize broader US state and Canadian provincial regulation,” he noted.

New York is not the first state that Paysafe is making a big play for. The company already has a solid presence in several other states including Montana, Arizona, Connecticut, Virginia, Michigan and Wyoming among others.

Partnership With Binance

Something that will certainly get crypto enthusiasts in the Empire State very excited is the planned partnership with Binance, one of the world’s most popular crypto exchanges. One of the indications that this was a very exciting development was the broad-based gains for stocks. This eventually stabilized and fell back to the breakeven line at about $3.46.

For Binance, this partnership is going to bring some new developments in addition to reviving previous projects. For instance, the crypto exchange is reopening EUR transfers via SEPA channels.

This reopening of the SEPA channels was possible because Paysafe will be Binance’s fiat on-ramps partner in Europe. The payment service provider has already developed a specialized platform that leverages their experience and resources in the online payments space. While the initial plans seem to be focused on the European market, we are optimistic that it could be scaled across several markets soon. It will not be surprising if North America becomes one of the partnership’s target markets as well.

PayPal’s Crypto Checkout Service Goes Live

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Last October, global payments service provider PayPal announced that it was working on rolling out a “Checkout with Crypto” feature on its platform. This, as expected, was met with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement especially because of what it meant for the crypto sector. Crypto was already well on its way to mainstream adoption and this would certainly be a huge leap forward.

On March 31, 2021, the company finally rolled out the feature. Now its customers in the United States can use the digital currencies they hold to pay at millions of PayPal’s online merchants across the globe. The ability to use crypto in their PayPal wallets is made possible by the company’s robust system which will be responsible for converting the crypto holdings to fiat currency – this is the only way that the transactions will be completed.

Still, it is a pretty impressive development. Not only does it make using crypto particularly easy even for newbies but it also builds on the crypto trading features that the company has been adding to its platform. According to PayPal President and CEO Dan Schulman, the timing is just right for this.

“We think it is a transitional point where cryptocurrencies move from being predominantly an asset class that you buy, hold and or sell to now becoming a legitimate funding source to make transactions in the real world at millions of merchants,” he commented.

Global Roll Out Coming Soon

The United States is just the beginning for PayPal’s new feature. In addition to giving the company a view of what to expect going forward, the move to begin the rollout in the United States will serve as a launchpad for further expansion in other parts of the world. A gradual rollout of the “Checkout with Crypto” feature is set to follow very soon with the company looking to bring it to over 200 countries where it is currently operating in.

PayPal is not the first company to double down on its efforts to tap into the crypto ecosystem – companies like Tesla and Square have already been making the headlines with similar ventures. However, the payments service provider is taking a unique approach. One of its main priorities will be dealing with the volatility that Bitcoin and other digital currencies are known for. This is why it converts the crypto to fiat before completing the transactions.

It is also worth noting that there will be no service fees for the feature which is quite good to see since it lives up to one of the promises of crypto. Also, only one type of cryptocurrency will be used for each transaction, at least for now.

Visa Doubles Down on Its Plans for Crypto

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The crypto market has certainly come a long way since the first digital currency was launched and it is now more mature than ever before. Lots of things have changed and perhaps the most exciting development is the widespread interest that major financial and payment institutions have shown.

Global financial and payment service provide Visa is one of the most notable companies that are making a huge play for the crypto market. Already the company has ties with some popular crypto platforms such as Fold, BlockFi, and Crypto.com. However, according to Visa CEO Alfred Kelly, there is so much more in the pipeline.

Crypto Could Be Coming to Visa’s Payment Network

Last Thursday during the company’s Q1 earnings call, the chairman ad CEO reaffirmed Visa’s commitment to crypto which is likely to culminate in digital currencies directly on the Visa network. Kelly firmly believes that the company is well-positioned to add “differentiated value to the ecosystem.” This will essentially involve making crypto safe, useful, and more applicable for global payments.

“..it goes without saying, to the extent a specific digital currency becomes a recognized means of exchange, there’s no reason why we cannot add it to our network, which already supports over 160 currencies today.”

Visa chairman and CEO Alfred Kelly

The strategy is firmly anchored on working with wallets and exchanges to allow users to purchase crypto using their Visa credentials. Similarly, it will also mean that users can cash out their crypto onto Visa credentials.

The Favorites

Well, even though Visa has previously claimed that it does not want to play favorites when it comes to the digital currencies that it will allow on its network, the recent announcement seems to be pointing at something quite different. The company seems to be handling the cryptocurrencies differently based on which category they fall on.

The two categories that the company is using to group blockchain assets are based on whether they are a store of value or are stable coins. Visa intends to angle crypto assets that serve as a store-of-value such as Bitcoin to serve as fiat on-ramp.

However, when it comes to stable coins, the company has been rather bullish. These sentiments may be quite disappointing since they seem to overlook all of the amazing milestones that Decentralized Finance (DeFi) made in 2020. Even JP Morgan Chase which has been showing interest in digital assets has shared the same sentiments.

Trustbet.io Becomes First Brand to Launch on DAOPlatform

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DAOPlatform which is one of the partners of renowned crypto-first company DAOGroup has recently welcomed Trustbet.io to its pioneering online gambling platform. The online gambling operator becomes the very first betting brand to go live on the DAOBet blockchain-based online gambling platform. Needless to say, this is a pretty huge move for both companies as they seek to expand their footprints further in the rapidly-growing crypto-powered iGaming sector.

Trustbet.io’s Expansion Plans

For Trustbet.io, this represents a unique opportunity that will see it benefit from the pioneering online gambling platform while getting to leverage all of the various synergies available on the DAOBet blockchain. The online gambling operator is pretty young and this partnership will certainly act as a catalyst of sorts to its growth.

Thankfully, the Trustbet team was treated to exceptionally rapid deployment with the main points of focus being natively agile design as well as the easy-to-configure deposit and max bet limit feature which comes into play during game selection.

Trustbet.io initially went live via a community-focused launch in mid-August – this turned out to be very successful thus prompting the company to extend its footprint further across a number of jurisdictions including markets in Africa, the CIS, Europe as well as Latin America.

At launch, the online gambling platform online had five casino games to offers its customers. These were Blackjack, Dice, Baccarat, Three Card Brag, and High Card. All of them featured tamper-proof on-chain Random Number Generators (RNGs) that have been certified and approved by GLI. Moreover, the online gambling platform also lets customers enjoy several other perks including instant payouts, no deposit requirements, ultra-fast game finality as well as low-cost transactions.

Another Huge Leap for DAOGroup

Needles to say, the launch of the online gambling site om DAOPlatform is definitely a huge deal for the company. DAO has been working very hard to push its blockchain-based ecosystem and robust range of products and this will assist with that significantly.

“We’re very excited to showcase the DAOPlatform and its cutting-edge performance with such a quality brand as TrustBet.io; and, with their initial success proving the product, we look forward to rolling it out to further brands and help shape the future of iGaming,” DAOGroup’s CCO Glen Bullen commented.

One of the other things that DAOGroup will be pushing as part of its new deal with Trustbet.io is its crypto-fiat gateway DAOWallet. This is a very exciting development for the crypto industry as a whole especially because it implies that even more people or gamblers, in this case, are going to have access to digital currencies.

Crypto Developments to Watch Out for in September

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The crypto market is quite dynamic and this has been the case for quite some time as the market players strive to push it further. The sector is yet to reach certain heights especially with regards to mainstream adoption. Even so, the evolution and relative maturity of the sector cannot go unnoticed.

2020 has been a tough year in many ways but, as always, nearly all sectors are finding ways of maintaining some level of normalcy. The crypto is one of these sectors – there have been a few notable developments and even more to come.

This month, there are lots of developments that you might need to pay attention to if you have an interest in the sector. Here is a round-up of a few the most notable ones.

The Ethereum 2.0 Upgrade

Ethereum planned to launch its long-awaited Ethereum 2.0 upgrade in the fall, something that could come to pass as early as before the end of September. This upgrade is a pretty big deal not just because Ethereum is one of the most popular digital currencies but also because of all the improvements it will be bringing. There is a major emphasis on security and scalability which are some of the most vital things when it comes to further adoption of the digital currency as well as the related technology.

For Ethereum miners, the upgrade, according to Ethereum 2.0, will mean the reduction of power consumption by up to 99 percent. Needless to say, this is pretty big especially considering the fact that crypto mining uses as much energy as small nations.

Tighter Regulation in South Africa

Crypto enthusiasts and holders in South Africa also need to get ready for stricter taxations if a recent proposal is passed. Just like in many other countries across the globe, South African authorities have had some concerns regarding the use of crypto for tax evasion.

The proposed law simply intends to solve this problem but its effectiveness cannot be determined at this point in time. Still, it is a monumental change that will have far-reaching effects on the crypto sector.

Next-Generation DeFi

Decentralized finance, otherwise referred to as DeFi, has been all the buzz for a better part of 2020. The concept presents crypto users with new opportunities especially with regards to the fact they could earn interest from the digital currencies they may be holding.

Perhaps the most notable name when it comes to the DeFi conversation is Beam. This digital currency has combined DeFi with privacy. An update titles Eager Electron is coming in September and it is set to bring even more improvements.

Cloudbet Adds USDT as It Ventures into Stablecoin Betting

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Renowned crypto-powered sports betting and casino site, Cloudbet has recently announced that it has added a USD Tether to its portfolio of digital currencies. This marks the company’s very first venture into the world of stablecoin betting. Needless to say, this a welcome development that is certainly set to turn heads in the betting and crypto communities.

The announcement of the new venture comes after a month of testing where Cloudbet sought the help of a select number of customers. This testing phase has since come to an end after the company was satisfied with the way everything was working. Now Cloudbet customers have the ability to deposit, withdraw, and place bets using the USDT coin, a popular digital currency whose value is tied to the US Dollar. USDT can be bought on the site using a number of popular payment methods including Apple Pay and several credit cards.

With the site now getting even more attention, Cloudbet has gone a step further by giving more players an incentive to join the fun. This comes in the form of a massive 1,000 USDT welcome bonus for new customers.

The fun does not stop there. Naturally, the company will have to work hard in order to keep improving the platform and. They even have more offerings in the pipeline.

“We’ve accelerated our feature rollouts tremendously, thanks to the systems and processes we put in place to build the new website. The market can look forward to many more new features and new coins in the coming months.”

A Cloudbet Spokesperson.

The spokesperson went on to point out the fact that the launch was part of the company’s wider strategy to empower their customers with the best technology.

Capitalizing on Esports

Earlier in May, Cloudbet launched an esports vertical that was designed to completely enhance the player experience in more ways than any other platform did. This move has since paid off quite decently owing to the fact that it delivered on the promise of a truly exceptional esports experience.

Thanks to the new esports betting vertical, bettors and esports enthusiasts have been able to fully immerse themselves in the action by placing bets on live-stream of esports using crypto. There are tons of betting options including odds for FIFA20, League of Legends, Call of Duty, Dota 2, Overwatch, NBA 2K, Rainbow Six Siege, and CS:GO among others.

The addition of USDT implies that an even larger number of people will now be able to use the platform. USDT may be a great option for those who are skeptical about crypto especially considering the volatility of some of the digital tokens.

Germany To Become a Crypto Haven Thanks to New Law

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On November 29, the German parliament passed a bill that will allow banks in the country to sell and store digital currencies and crypto-assets. This will be effective from January 1, 2020, and only custody providers and cryptocurrency exchanges with licenses will be allowed to operate.

As such, these companies have the whole of December to apply for the necessary licenses in order to be able to legally operate in the country’s new crypto regime. To be eligible for the licenses, the companies will have to be registered as legal German entities with no less than two directors operating in the country by the end of the year.

Now, all that remains is for the bill which implements the “fourth EU Money Laundering Directive” amendment to be signed off by the 16 German states. It is expected that most, if not all, of the states will sign in favor of the bill.

The bill is a pretty huge step forward for crypto especially with regards to the quest for mainstream adoption of crypto. Before the German parliament passed the bill, banks in the country were prohibited from offering any sort of direct access to cryptocurrencies and related assets. Instead, the banks could only rely on external custodians or dedicated subsidiaries.

The Feedback

According to a number of experts in the financial sector, the move is definitely going to have a huge impact on the European crypto market. In fact, many of them have pointed out that it effectively paves the way for Germany’s ascension to crypto haven in the continent and possibly the rest of the world.

Since financial institutions already enjoy a tremendous amount of trust, they are probably the best options for the safekeeping of digital currencies and assets. Moreover, they will play a huge role in the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing which are by far some of the biggest concerns when it comes to digital currencies.

Is A Crypto Migration Possible?

Well, considering how unconducive certain jurisdictions have become for crypto investors, a shift to friendlier places such as Germany is possible. For instance, China has been cracking down on a number of crypto-related currencies. This is perhaps in preparation for the state-sanctioned cryptocurrency that the country has been pursuing. Still, domestic users are definitely going to find workarounds.

Similarly, Russia also seems to be leaning towards a possible crypto ban – the country’s central bank has recently backed a potential ban on crypto payments. The reason this is a consideration is the large number of concerns that are associated with the sector. For now, nothing has been decided yet but given the recent history of crypto regulation, anything could happen.