We post frequent news updates in the world of Bitcoin sportsbetting and sportsbook. Find the latest news posts below:
A while ago, we wrote about Watford FC’s new mega-deal with Bitcoin sports betting site Sportsbet.io. The Hornets agreed on a record multi-million deal to sport the Sportsbet logo on...
The cryptocurrency craze has its fair share of supporters and opponents among sport superstars and organizations. Add the Dallas Mavericks to the first group. With the NBA season to start...
In this month of Bitcoin sports betting news, popular BTC sportsbook and Casino Sportsbet announces a new special promotion for members of the platform that will end up giving away...
While Bitcoin betting platforms have definitely come a long way, there are still sites out there trying to scam users out of their money. One such platform was recently spotted...
Fantasy sports betting has just gotten better thanks to a new partnership between player favorite sportsbook Sportsbet and the people behind Moneyball Fantasy. If you’re a fan of fantasy sports,...
In one of the most interesting news updates in the Bitcoin sportsbetting community, English Premier League club Arsenal F.C., signs a shirt sponsorship deal with US-based gaming company CashBet. The deal, which was announced last week, is to see the English team promote a new ICO campaign for the company as it plans to venture out into the cryptocurrency gaming sector.
First Football Giant with a Cryptocurrency Partner
As reported by the Guardian, the sponsorship deal will see CashBet’s new ICO campaign promoted at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. The cost for Arsenal becoming the first big football team to get a “cryptocurrency partner” was not disclosed but comes in interesting times where Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) are being targeted by an increasing number of regulators.
Other specifics of the agreement were likewise not revealed by either party. For now, CashBet is only enjoying increased media coverage and the freedom to use Arsenal’s badge and images from its players to promote its new ICO campaign.
Mike Reaves, CashBet’s CEO and founder, commented on the new partnership by saying that their ICO is “targeting a global, multi-billion dollar marketplace of iGaming content providers, operators, and players”. Thus, the company is excited to be doing this with the help of one of football’s “true giants” as it will allow them to build their brand and get meaningful audience engagement.
Vinai Venkatesham, the Chief Commercial Officer of Arsenal F.C. also gave a comment on the deal and said that the club is happy to introduce CashBet Coin as a partner and that they are looking forward to be working together with CashBet on launching the new cryptocurrency.
Seeking $70 Million from Investors
CashBet was founded in 2012 out of Oukland, California, by a team of veterans from the gaming software industry. Since the company’s launch, their goal has been to create a next-generation, mobile-first monetization platform that can be used for social and mobile betting. The main product of CashBet is thus a mobile-first iGaming platform that the company has licensed under several jurisdictions and equipped with 450 different games.
The CashBet Coin ICO campaign will see blockchain technology incorporated into this platform and hopefully help CashBet become a leader in crypto-gaming software. The original mission of the campaign is to create a platform that fixes the problems that have burdened other cryptocurrency gaming operations like the lack of licensing, expensive and slow transactions, as well as the lack of transparency with operators.
To make it all possible, CashBet is hoping for investments between $40-70 million in its CashBet Coin tokens during the ICO campaign. Each issued coin comes with a price tag of 50 cents and is designed to give benefits to partners, investors, and players alike. Investors will be able to trade the coin on cryptocurrency exchanges, players will receive exclusive bonuses for holding the tokens, and partners will get to receive payments from shared revenue.
The pre-sale has already begun on January 24th and it will last until February 20th. After that date a one month pause will be given before a public sale kicks off on March 20th that will span for another month.
Some sportsbooks just stay the way they are for years after their launch and there are also those that always keep polishing their product to stay on top of the competition. A proud member of the latter group is Sportsbet.io – one of the leading Bitcoin sportsbetting operators today who recently introduced a new and better platform as part of a rebranding campaign.
Mobile Betting and Live Streaming Now Available
Just in the time for the holidays, Sportsbet introduced a new and improved version of their website that now showcases several new products as well as a re-designed brand logo to mark the occasion. While most Bitcoin sportsbooks fall behind their fiat money counterparts when it comes to the variety of products they offer and their user experience, Sportsbet is taking one step closer to become a leader in the cryptocurrency betting sector.
The most notable change the Coingaming operator introduced this December was a new betting platform built by UX professionals on suggestions from the customer base. The final product now offers a premium mobile interface with a focus on speed and ease of use as well as other benefits important to Sportsbet users like faster withdrawals and one-tap betting.
Another important update to Sportsbet’s offer is the introduction of a live streaming service which makes Sporstbet.io one of the first Bitcoin-focused sportsbooks to introduce such a product. Future plans for the platform include introducing localized versions of the website in Brazilian, Japanese, and Russian, all of which are to launch soon with more localized versions to follow not long after.
The Bitcoin operator also plans to introduce alternative cryptocurrencies to bet with, apart from Bitcoin, which will likewise be launched soon on the website. Among the altcoins to be introduced are Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Ripple, but there will also be others not specified at this time.
Director of Sportsbook at Coingaming, Joe McCallum, commented on the rebranding in an official press release by saying that the introduction of a new product only a year after Sportsbet’s launch in 2016 was yet another proof of their commitment to place users at the core of their universe. He also added that the improved site is still in line with their “fun, fast & fair mantra”.
Join and Get Up to m฿20
Sportsbet features a variety of betting options, from common sports like Ice Hockey, American Football, Tennis, and Basketball to less explored markets like Squash, Futsal, e-Sports, and even virtual sports. One of the more popular tools the site introduced this February is the Player Props feature, which allows users to create custom prop bets across multiple events that are dynamically calculated in real time. Apart from the sportsbetting platform, Sportsbet.io also has a Bitcoin-friendly casino with over 1,400 games to offer.
Any new player who registers at Sportsbet.io is eligible for a sign-up bonus of up to m฿ 20 on the sportsbook. The sign-up bonus is actually a cashback bonus for anyone who places their first pre-live, single bet at the platform and loses. If your first bet loses, Sportsbet will refund your money, up to m฿ 20. If you’re interested in claiming the offer, or just seeing how the re-designed platform looks, you can give Sportsbet.io a visit.
The past year has been a challenging time for Bitcoin users in Russia, as the official government kept expressing radically different ideas about the future of the cryptocurrency in the country. Where several months ago, Bitcoin sportsbetting in Russia seemed like it might get some relief with the newly proposed policies, nowadays it seems more likely that the world’s leading cryptocurrency might not ever get legalized by the indecisive government.
Russia Vows to “Never” Legalize Bitcoin
The past three months have been a trying period for the crypto-community in Russia which began when the Deputy Minister of Finance, Alexey Moiseev, first announced that Bitcoin will be restricted only to “qualified investors” in August. Mirroring his words was President Putin’s public address in Sochi in October, where he spoke about the risk of cryptocurrencies and their possible abuse for money laundering and criminal activities.
One of the more recent public warnings issued about Bitcoin came from Nikolai Nikiforov, Minister of Communications and Mass Media in the Russian Federation, who informed the public in a November 20th press address that Russia is very unlikely to ever legalize Bitcoin. In his address, according to local media, Nikiforov said that Russia’s legal system “will never consider bitcoin as a legal entity” in the country’s jurisdiction, since Bitcoin was a “foreign” blockchain project.
Nikiforov’s warning came only months after the Russian public was informed in April that the Federation is mulling over a new Bitcoin legislation that would legalize and define Bitcoin, in an effort to give more strength to the local economy and fight money laundering. At the time, this was seen as a radical but positive change of heart from the government’s declaration of an unofficial war on Bitcoin, which was revealed a year before. There was even an official confirmation from the Central Bank in April that the legislation would be ready by the summer. But now, it seems such that a future legalization is very unlikely.
Russian Central Bank Warns About Bitcon “Bubble”
In line with the government’s stance on Bitcoin, Russia’s Central Bank issued a warning two days ago to all cryptocurrency holders about the “high risks” of using digital currencies like Bitcoin, according to local media outlets. The warning was given last Tuesday through the Financial Stability Report of the Central Bank, where concerns about the possible losses of dealing with cryptocurrencies were voiced.
The main risk outlined by the Central Bank is that users of cryptocurrencies can suffer “substantial losses” due to a “bubble” on the market. It is for this purpose, but also the potential use of cryptocurrencies in terrorism funding and money laundering, that the Bank feels all national and supranational regulatory bodies should develop a coordinated approach to cryptocurrency regulation, in order to minimize risks and limit the potential of high-risk transactions and investments.
Subduing “foreign” cryptocurrencies is possibly part of a bigger plan to launch Russia’s own cryptocurrency – the CryptoRuble, which is reportedly being considered by the Russian government now. If the plan succeeds, the CryptoRuble will embrace the potential of blockchain technology but in a more secure and centralized environment that will not carry the “risks” other digital currency markets do. Although this is far from what local cryptocurrency fans have probably imagined, it could see Russia emerge as the leader in online, blockchain-based economies.
In what can only be described as a milestone in the online sports betting industry and ICO campaigns, an eSports betting platform called Unikrn raises around $31 million dollars through its initial coin offering (ICO). The cryptocurrency sportsbetting platform, which is still not available to players worldwide, has collected the monumental sum through two phases of the campaign, just in time for its scheduled launch in 2018.
A New Name in Town
Unikrn is a Seattle-based company, launched by Rahul Sood, the founder and former CEO of Voodoo PC – a Canadian boutique computer company that was sold to Hewlett Packard. After spending years at Microsoft Ventures he reportedly saw the potential in eSports betting and decided to launch Unikrn with the help of an ICO token sale.
During the initial phase of the ICO, in September, Unikrn was able to raise around $15 million through the help of investors, some of which included high-profile people from the cryptocurrency sector like Anthony Diiorio – the co-founder of Ethereum. With stage 2 now complete and the crowdsale officially closed, Unikrn proudly announced on the website to have raised $31.4 million through the collection of over 110K Ethereum coins and an abundance of skins from popular eSports competitive games.
The end of the crowdsale marked the beginning of the Unikoin Gold token, the estimated delivery time of which is expected to be at the beginning of November. The token will be used as a primary betting currency on the eSports platform, allowing users to wager on different bets but also withdraw the cryptocurrency.
Unikoin Gold is a direct offshoot of a previous currency the company has created called Unikoin, which was launched in 2015 with backing by a wide range of users, including celebrities like Ashton Kutcher. But unlike the original coin, the company is planning to make the new cryptocurrency available through exchanges as well.
Only recently, Unikrn was awarded a license from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) – one of the biggest global gambling licensing agencies. At the start of October, the MGA revealed that it will be doing “sandbox tests” to evaluate the implementation of Bitcoin before making it possible for their licensees to legally accept BTC and other cryptocurrencies. With an MGA license, it’s possible that Unikrn might be planning to open its doors for a wide range of crypto-coin users.
Online Betting ICOs Grow in Numbers
ICO Campaigns are becoming an increasingly popular way of raising funds for online betting startups through the issuing of crypto-tokens. Only two months ago, another well-known betting name and ICO pioneer BetKing used a similar campaign to raise around $5.5 million in Ethereum and Bitcoin cryptocurrencies for the re-launch of its sportsbetting platform next year. Considering the success of both campaigns, it’s likely that more similar startups will be launching campaigns of their own in the future.
However, not all successful Bitcoin betting platforms are launched with Initial Coin Offerings. Some of the most popular Bitcoin sportsbooks online like Sporstbet.io and Cloudbet were launched without a token-based crowd-funding campaign, offering users a straightforward approach to betting with cryptocurrencies without calls for investing in the platform.
Continuing its tradition of providing constant opportunities for users to score some seasonal rewards, popular Bitcoin sportsbook Sportsbet.io is launching two new promotions this October. Fans of the NHL and those who are watching the World Cup Qualifiers will both be able to score some bonuses with the new promotions, albeit in different ways. So, if you’re warming up to the start of either competition, you might want to give Sportsbet a look!
Boosted Trebles for World Cup Qualifiers
The first promotion begins on October 4th and it will last until October 10th during the qualifications for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Throughout this period, Sportsbet users will be able to get a boosted treble bet on the favorites during each day of qualifications. There will be only one boosted treble bet available per day during the 6 days of the qualifications and the bet sizes will be capped at m฿ 10.
Per the rules, to partake in the competition you will have to build your own treble bet by picking the matches and favorites that were hand-picked by the sportsbook. Only bets that meet Sportsbets maximum limit will qualify for the promotion and the number of times you can claim the offer per single game is only once. Sportsbet has already announced the favorites for the first three days while the rest are yet to be revealed.
During day one, October the 5th, you will be able to take a boosted bet by betting on England, Scotland, and Brazil, on their Thursday matches against Slovenia, Slovakia, and Bolivia, respectively. The normal price for this exact treble is 6.24 but thanks to the promotion you’ll be able to get 7.3 instead. In a similar fashion, during October 6th you will be able to bet on Croatia, Serbia, and Turkey to get your treble bet boosted while during October 7th the favorites will be Belgium, Greece, and the Netherlands.
NHL Returns at Sportsbet with New Promotion
The Bitcoin sportsbook also has some promo action available for NHL bettors that begins Wednesday, October 4th, and will span until the end of the regular 2017/18 season. The promotion is called the NHL Moneyback and it would offer any match bettor a chance to win some cashback of up to m฿ 30, but only as long as there’s a Shootout in the game.
Namely, to become eligible for a cashback, you would have to make a “pre-live” Match Winner bet on any NHL game and have your pick lose in a Shootout. After the team loses the Shootout, you will receive a cashback reward of up to m฿ 30. Naturally, Sportsbet limits the number of cashbacks to one per account and there is a minimum qualifying bet size of m฿ 0.1.
A similar promotion is also available for the China Open Tennis Tournament, where you’ll get a cashback if your pick wins the first set but loses the match. If you’re interested in finding out more about any of the said promotions, you can learn the rules by visiting Sportsbet.io.
