Josh Andrews

Australian Tax Office Hunts for Crypto Tax Evaders

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If you are a holder of crypto and a citizen of Australia or are currently residing in the country you had better be on the good books of the national tax agency. The Australian Tax Office through an April 30 press release announced that it has started collecting bulk record from Australian-designated service providers such as digital currency exchanges and other firms that are dealing in crypto.

As it stands the tax office is working with a wide estimate of 500,000 to one million Australians who have been trading in crypto-related activities and ignoring their tax obligations. The number of crypto users on Australia has been growing at a rather rapid rate and this has caught the attention of the authorities who are hopeful that the industry might help in filling some of the existing tax gaps.

Unsurprisingly, the authority’s aim is to carry on a data matching program that will help them to determine whether the taxpayer’s declarations are correct or if the crypto holders are deliberately dodging their fiscal responsibilities.

“The ATO uses third-party data to improve the integrity of the tax system by identifying taxpayers who fail to disclose their income details correctly. We also use third-party data to assist taxpayers in meeting their tax obligations through pre-filling of tax returns. This data will be collected under notice from the DSPs on an ongoing basis,” Will Day, deputy commissioner of the ATO said about the strategy.

Some of the information that the tax authority will be obtaining from the crypto-related business in the country will include purchase and sale records. Fortunately for them, Australian required businesses to keep certain critical records that include digital wallet records and keys, receipts of transfer or purchase of crypto assets as well as exchange records.

All of the taxpayers who will be found to have violated the law will first be contacted by the tax agency once the exercise is complete after which the necessary compliance action will be taken.

Crypto Tax Laws in Australia

Under Australian law, all capital gains that may be obtained from crypto trading are supposed to be taxed. The only exception is where the capital gains or the losses made are in a situation where the digital currency is a “personal use asset”. As such, in cases where digital currencies are disposed as a normal business operation, the profits that are yielded from it are considered to be ordinary income instead of capital gains. Moreover, in such a case the cost of purchasing the cryptocurrencies is considered to be trading stock and is therefore deductible – this kind of businesses are mostly trading firms and exchanges.

Lightning Spin Becomes First-Ever Lapp to Be Sold

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Lightning Spin, a bitcoin gambling game that is based on the famous Lightning Network’s pioneering lightning applications (Lapps) has recently announced its sale. The game marks the first-ever Lapp that the has organized a sale. Developed and launched roughly nine months ago by Portuguese web developer Rui Gomes, the sale of the games has the entire Lightning Network community quite excited about everything primarily because it is a catalyst for further development on the network in the near future.

With the application, the users are able to able to enjoy instantly settled microtransactions and withdrawals. This not only makes it a gem in the world of bitcoin but also a revolutionary step forward for the Lightning Network which has been trying to go mainstream for a while now.

“You could pay 6¢ for a single spin, (1 BTC was around $6,000 back then) and withdraw your winnings in seconds — something that would be impossible with the fiat system and would be increasingly difficult on Bitcoin’s base layer,” Rui Gomes said in a recent blog post that highlighted the various features and novelties in the game.

In addition to disclosing further details about the Lightning Spin Lapp, the developer also revealed that at the time the Lightning Network was being sold, it had already been sold a whopping 120,000 times by at least 3,300 individuals. However, despite touching on a couple of issues and various aspects of the Lapp, he refrained from revealing any details about the parties that the game was sold to.

He, however, assured his Twitter followers that the new owners of the game share a similar vision and enthusiasm as his in as far as the Lightning Network is concerned – as a matter of fact, heaven turned away some other very well-paying buyers simply because they did not have much in common

Lightning Network’s Expansion

The sale of the game coincidently comes at the about the same time that the Lightning Network is expanding. For the last two years, the Lightning Network has grown to be one of the most popular solutions for the scaling problem found in the Bitcoin Core (BTC) network. Its expansion is, therefore, a sign that it may finally be ready to grow beyond what it already is at the moment.

However, just like any other revolutionary, the Lightning Network has been subject to a lot of criticism especially with regards to its lack of security. Naturally, these security concerns need to be addressed as soon as possible if any more progress is to be made in the near future.

EOSBet Unveils Bitcoin Betting and Account System

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After making history at the end of last year by becoming the very first blockchain-based casino to receive an official gambling license EOSBet decentralized application recently announced the next step in its journey toward mass adoption of crypto and blockchain. The platform has made its first big step in 2019 by launching a decentralized account system alongside a native bitcoin deposit and betting option.

After receiving its official gambling license, EOSBet became one of top-rated EOS dApps and it will be taking its proactive approach towards innovation into the future with its new and impressive betting option and its neat account system.

The EOS Account System

One of the biggest challenges experienced by users of blockchain technology is the numerous entry barriers that often come in the form of lengthy wallet setup processes among other things. The EOSBet system seeks to solve this problem by developing a system that allows users to deposit funds directly from any source thus eliminating the need for the use of any wallet or third-party software. Furthermore, the system will also cover all the blockchain costs for the players thus allowing them to enjoy the same gaming experience they would find at a tradition centralized casino on the decentralized one.

EOSBet’s account system, just like every other aspect of the platform, is decentralized and completely on-chain which means that all the actions are fully viewable on any block explorer. All the actions also eventually become part of the EOS blockchain and since the system is non-custodial, the players will always be in total control of their funds.

To make the experience even better, the EOSBet team chose to use a simple two-click sign up process that is not only very intuitive but also optimized to work seamlessly across a wide range of devices. With the new system, even people who do not have accounts with ESO can bet securely and get to participate in its very generous player rewards program.

Bitcoin Betting Is Officially Here!

While there have been a number of previous attempts at bitcoin betting with varying degrees of success, EOSBet has beat every other company to becoming the very first on-chain casino to natively accept bitcoin. As if that is not enough, the company plans to implement several other digital currencies in the near future. The betting platform works very well – all a player needs to do is to deposit bitcoin to their accounts, play instantly and then withdraw whenever they may wish to do so.

Both the betting option and the accounts system are slated to take the online gambling industry by storm and this is certainly going to play a huge role in the long-awaited mainstream adoption of digital currencies and blockchain. 2019 might be the year it finally happens.

Electronic Arts (EA) Ceases Sale of FIFA Points in Belgium

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Belgium declared loot boxes in video games as illegal and unregulated forms of gambling in 2018 and since then a number of game developers made changes so as to comply with the new law. Not Electronic Arts (EA) though – the company was not amused by the directive and chose to defend the use of loot boxes in video games instead of honoring the law, at least until now. Owing to increased pressure, the game developer has backed down from its previously defiant stance and has now ceased the sale of FIFA Points, an in-game currency that is offered in the company’s FIFA series.

The changes were meant to come into effect by January 1 which means that as from the first day of February, FIFA gamers in Belgium will not be able to purchase points in order to obtain FIFA Ultimate Packs. Fortunately, the players will still be able to access the Ultimate Team and play with their existing players. Also, as it has always been, players will still be able to earn all content in the game through gameplay and use coins as well as the in-game transfer market. For Belgian players who already have FIFA points in their accounts, they will still be able to use them but they will not be allowed to purchase more of them.

Belgium’s and Netherland’s gambling commissions came to the conclusion that loot boxes in video games that were fueled by real-money purchases are equivalent to casino games like roulette or spinning the reels of a slot machine. In essence, most countries, including the United States, classify the spending of real money on wagers for potential reward as gambling. Many game developers are mulling over these facts trying to find suitable workarounds.

What It Means for the Industry

In many ways, Electronic Arts started this whole thing thanks to its decision to include tons of heavy-handed transactions as well as loot crates in Star Wars Battlefront II. Despite the backlash from both players and gaming authorities, EA maintains its adamancy that loot boxes are not a form of gambling. In fact, the company said that it would still be seeking “more clarity” on the matter. Luckily enough, the FIFA Points were not critical to the company’s finances which means that this would have played out quite differently if that was not the case.

All things considered, while Belgium may seem like a relatively small market for video games especially when compared to other countries in Europe, its decision to ban loot boxes is certainly bound to get some attention. As is stands, legislators in the United States, the United Kingdome, and Japan have all been looking into loot boxes in the recent past with the main aim being to protect consumers especially those are underage or at risk of becoming gambling addicts.

Crypto Regulation: What Was and What Could Be

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2018 was without a big year for cryptocurrencies as a whole particularly because it saw through a number of developments that kicked off in late 2017. There has been an equal measure of ups and downs in the crypto space which, in one way or the other, have been key to the growth of the industry. Keeping all that in mind, one of the key considerations that many people had in the last year and are looking to improve upon is regulation. With more and more institutional investors streaming into the blockchain and crypto space, there has been an outcry for increased regulation which is expected to be a key driver of the crypto bear market of the past year.

Most of these investors also blamed the initial coin offering (ICO) market’s cool-down on potential threats. To put this into perspective, in October 2018, initial coin offering issuers collected close to $770 million, which is a 50 percent drop of what they raised in December 2017. Apparently, this slowdown was a result of continued pronouncements by SEC Chairman Jay Clayton that said ICOs are securities which imply that those that do not register with the SEC would face dire legal consequences.

What This year Holds

One thing that we can all agree on is that 2019 will certainly be the year that crypto regulation climbs to greater heights. In essence, this means that it is likely that various crypto regulations will become a defining move for such organizations as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as other financial bodies in all parts of the globe. While some crypto-related businesses may be reluctant to follow the SEC’s rules, existing regulations are already taking a massive toll on a number of crypto businesses and this is likely to increase further as the year progresses.

Regulation, as always, is always going to be double-sided phenomena. On one hand, existing and future regulations may inhibit innovation – some companies may close their doors and others may avoid starting up altogether. The main takeaway here is that we might go through a transition period where companies and businesses that are not able to play by the rules will be forced to step aside.

On the other hand, proving that cryptocurrencies do indeed have some legitimacy might actually be easier with more regulation in place. Already, the entry of institutional investors is starting to becoming a big deal for people who were skeptical of crypto. It is well known that the borderless and anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies makes them nearly impossible to control but with more regulation, reasonable solutions are certainly bound to be found.

Congress Pushing for Federal Oversight over Sports Betting

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After months of speculations details regarding a new bill have leaked revealing plans for a sweeping reform to sports betting in the United States. If the bill passes, states would be required to have their sports betting laws approved by the country’s Attorney General and purchase official major league data. The latter seems to be a nod to the professional sports leagues which have been lobbying for integrity fees – the sports betting operators would be required to use only league-sanctioned data until at least 2023.

However, the bill which is being, championed by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch who has been a longtime opposer of gambling, is facing a number of significant obstacles due to opposition especially from the growing number of states that have either create their own sports betting regulations or are planning to.

The language in the draft bill seems to contradict the May 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that abolished PASPA and lifted the federal on sports betting thus allowing states to make their own sports betting regulation. To put this into perspective, the Supreme Court ruled that it had found the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) to be unconstitutional and decreed that states would be able to regulate their own gambling industries especially with regards to sports betting.

The Implications

The bill not only gives the federal government the power to veto the sports betting laws and regulation that have been put in place by the state governments but also bans the residents of these states from wagering on amateur sporting events. Moreover, the bill will make amendments to the Wire Act and this will allow some elements of sports betting information to flow from one state to another.

In addition to these, the draft bill further calls for the formation of the National Sports Wagering Clearinghouse. This would be responsible for collecting anonymized sports betting data in real-time – this data will include such aspects as the amount and type of wagers, the dates and time when the bets, where the bets were placed as well as their outcomes. In essence, the proposed clearinghouse is meant to monitor unusual betting patterns and potential signs of corruption. The legislation further addresses concerns related to sports betting-related advertising as well as problem gambling, both of which have been very hard to deal with effectively.

So, could this bill pass? Well, the passing any bill is an uphill task mostly due to the country’s contemporary political environment but this particular bill’s biggest obstacle is the fact that it has not been received well by gambling stakeholders. Even the American Gaming Association is against it. In other words, the bill is unlikely to gain momentum, at least not for the upcoming 116^th Congress that convenes in January.

Worldpay, Paysafe Unite for US Gambling Partnership

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Global payment providers Worldpay, Inc., and Paysafe Group have recently announced a new strategic partnership that is aimed at establishing a standard for the sports betting and online gaming digital payments acceptance and security in the United States. This move is perhaps a well-timed response to the rapid growth of the online and sport betting industry following the May Supreme Court ruling that event that lifted the federal ban on sports betting thus individual states the go-ahead to liberate on their own sports betting regulations.

Paysafe Group is one of the world’s most popular providers of end-to-end payment solutions and its core business is enabling businesses and consumers to connect and perform seamless transactions. The company has well over two decades worth of experience, close to 3,000 employees and up to 12 global locations. Worldpay, Inc, on the other hand, is highly regarded for its capability to power global omni-commerce.

The duo’s partnership will leverage Worldpay’s optimized credit card processing, fast-fund payouts as well the included treasury and payment solutions. Paysafe, on the other hand, will be providing its online gambling and gaming digital payment options which include Paysafecard online cash solution and NETELLER wallet. With this partnership in place, the duo will be able to facilitate seamless transactions while reducing operating costs and allowing universal payment acceptance.

This is exactly what the American sports betting and online gaming industry need as they continue to grow – the American Gaming Association estimates that the sports betting market in the country is worth over $150 billion in gross online and offline gaming revenue. From the looks of it, it could become the largest sports betting market in the world and therefore reliable and convenient payment systems are necessary.

More Choices for the Players

Joel Leonoff, the President and CEO of Paysafe Group believes that the partnership will be able to effectively champion the needs of both the players and the operators by giving them access to a secure, high-configurable and cost-effective payments systems that will deliver an unmatched player experience. The innovative approach the duo will be going with means that the partners will be able to support all transactions. In essence, this means that there will be a ton of payment choices for players to choose from.

In a statement released shortly after the announcement of the partnership, Shane Happach, Worldpay’s executive vice president and head of global enterprise eCommerce pointed out that the combined strengths and capabilities of the two companies would simplify payment options for the gaming operators while “continuing to show our attentiveness to responsible gaming and our mission to protect the integrity of every transaction.”

Are Esports Operators Prepared to Handle Skill-Based Games?

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Last month, renowned esports gambling website Unikrn announced plans to bring legal skill-based betting to the United States which will allow players to wager on themselves. Players will be able to link their games to their Unikrn accounts and the platform will in turn generated odds for the player based on their profiles within the game. This is one of the biggest milestones since the launch of such skill-based competitive video games such as Player Unknown’s Battleground and Fortnite.

As much as the esports industry is picking up in several different areas, Ian Smith, the commissioner of the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC) is concerned that the industry is yet to be prepared for it. To be more specific, Mr. Smith is skeptical about operators like Unikrn having the ability to ensure the skill ratings of the punters match the abilities of those that are manning the game controls.

The Loopholes

One of the most notable loopholes of this model is the fact that some players may place Fortnite bets using their personal account then handle the controller over to a more talented gamer. Similarly, there is the possibility that some players may nuke the game profile and then hustle the system by placing a series of bets. To make it worse, the ESIC commissioner is still not certain about the existence of any tools that identify players and make sure that player is actually the holder of the game account on platforms such as Unikrn’s.

Unikrn, on the other hand, is very confident about the ability of its team to handle issues to do with fraud. According to Unikrn’s chief executive officer, Rahul Sood, the platform has been studying each and every player’s game so as to thoroughly understand the competitive ecosystem of all the games hosted on its platform. This might be the case especially considering how great the platform’s customer experience is – this is only possible by knowing the gaming style of each player. This information can also be very useful for the company if it is to maintain the integrity of the betting platform.

Is This Effective Enough?

It is still quite obvious that it will be very difficult to detect cheating in battle royale such as Fortnite and Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds than in other types of video games. This is primarily because these battle royale games usually feature multiple players all fighting to emerge as the last man standing.

Furthermore, data from these games are not very reliable because their results are not very predictable – most anti-fraud measures are based on the predictability of certain activities or actions. For instance, talented players can sometimes be easily knocked out of the games during the early stages and a less experienced player may, in some case, get lucky enough to win the game. Since battle royale games are not like the conventional esports betting formats better solutions are definitely needed.

High Hopes for US Sports Betting as Pa. Sportsbook Goes Live

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Last Thursday (November 15, 2018) Pennsylvania finally took its first ever legal sports bet. This was after the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approved Hollywood Casino at the Penn National Race Course for a two-day testing period that was run by renowned US sports betting operator, William Hill US. Fortunately, the testing period went so well that on Saturday, November 17, the operator was given the go-ahead by the state regulator to proceed with its official launch.

It has been a very long road to the first ever legal sports bet in the state. When the United States Supreme Court lifted the federal ban on sports betting earlier this year in May, the Keystone State’s sports betting could have kicked off on that very day – in theory, is. Pennsylvania’s sports betting laws and regulations were approved in a sweeping bill in October 2017 that complimented Pennsylvania’s booming lottery and land-based casino industry. This has really helped propel the state into one of the country’s most lucrative gambling markets.

More States to Swarm into Sports Wagering Next Year

Of all the states that have operational sports betting industries, Pennsylvania is the perhaps the most consequential especially since it is the most populated state with legal sports betting so far and thus it opens up a major chunk of the US population to legal sports betting. Furthermore, the move significantly bolsters the growing Mid-Atlantic market as a whole – this area has been the epicenter of the gambling expansion in the US following the Supreme Court ruling that abolished PASPA and lifted the federal ban on sports betting.

According to industry experts, at least 12 more states could legalize sports betting next year, and up to eight of them could launch their sportsbooks before the 2019 football session kicks off. This means that within the next 2 years there could be at least 24 states with legal sports betting operations. Among the states that are expected to close in on legislation or new regulations by the end of 2019 are Connecticut, Ohio, New York, Florida, Oregon, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan.

Even so, the Keystone State’s is quite different from all other states especially because considering the fact that it will be the first state with franchises in each of the four major US professional sports leagues to offer legal and regulated sports wagering. This, when added to the potential size of the market, will make the state a force to reckon with in as far as sports betting in the United States is concerned.

While it will certainly be a while before Americans are able to enjoy a fully-fledged legal sports betting environment, the developments in various states, more so Pennsylvania, is certainly a vital step towards the future many are hoping for.

Major U.S. Science Museum Now Accepting Payments in Bitcoin

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Bitcoin has made yet another step in the right direction towards mass adoption thanks to a museum located in Cleveland, Ohio that will be taking payments in crypto as from November 13. Great Lakes Science Center, the museum in question plans to use BitPay to process the BTC payments that it will be receiving from the visitors who will want to pay in BTC.

According to the Kirsten Ellenbogen, the museums chief executive, by accepting payments in BTC this early on, the institution hopes to facilitate the growth of the blockchain ecosystem. Moreover, there is much more optimism with regards to blockchain technology thanks to a number of promising developments. For instance, a Swiss luxury watchmaker known as Hublot successfully integrated the bitcoin and the blockchain to sell 210 pieces of its limited edition BTC-themed sports watch – the company made a whopping $5.25 million in revenue from the sales that were conducted solely through BTC with each piece fetching no less than $25,000.

The adoption of the digital currency as a means of payment comes ahead of the museum and education center’s inaugural Blockland Solutions Conference which is a four-day event scheduled for December 2018. One of the core agenda of the conference will be to explore and educate the attendees about the future of blockchain technology.

“There is a lot of excitement around the conference. Accepting bitcoin is just a small part of the momentum to grow a blockchain ecosystem in Cleveland,” Ellenbogen said.

Tried and Tested

Fortunately, the Great Lakes Science Center will not be venturing into unknown grounds since two other casinos in the United States – Museum of the Coastal Bend in Texas and St. Petersburg Museum of History in Florida – have succeeded in integrating bitcoin as a payment system. When it kicked off the initiative in 2013, the Museum of the Coastal Bend’s officials were quite skeptical about anyone visiting and using BTC but they went ahead with it because there really wasn’t as much risk.

Five years down the line and bitcoin has become quite a big deal and is worth upwards of $110 billion. The digital currency is also considered to be a proper asset by mainstream institutions such as Nasdaq, Fidelity, ICE and even the New York Stock Exchange. The Great Lakes Science Center hopes to also tap into the ecosystem with its own set of unique offerings that will include the ability to purchase admission tickets to visit NASA’s Glenn Visitor Center.

All this will be possible through an app that the museum launched a year ago. The app utilizes augmented reality and virtual reality to allow visitors to experiment with various elements of space phenomena such as flames and space-craft designs when they visit the Glenn Visitor Center.

Such developments are clear proof that the integration of trusted or major digital currencies like bitcoin is the new trend in the global market.