Throughout the extensive timeline of human existence, gambling has remained a prevalent activity. Dating back to the Paleolithic era, evidence of human gambling has been discovered, and it has persisted in every significant civilization and society since then.
As technology has advanced, so have the methods of gambling. While destinations like Las Vegas and Macau continue to dominate with their physical casinos and entertainment offerings, online casinos have experienced a tremendous surge in popularity in recent years. Interestingly, many of these online casinos utilize cryptocurrency to power their platforms. The largest of these online casinos, Stake, reportedly amassed an astonishing $2.6 billion in gross revenue in 2022 alone.
On Episode 14 of “The Agenda” podcast, hosts Jonathan DeYoung and Ray Salmond engaged in a discussion with Zach Bruch, the founder and CEO of MyPrize. MyPrize is a crypto casino that recently emerged from stealth and is now available for early access. The aim of the conversation was to gain a better understanding of how crypto casinos operate, their role within the broader crypto ecosystem, and how they may be subtly introducing millions of individuals to Web3.
Bruch argued that the primary use case for crypto in 2024 is still speculation, as exemplified by the memecoin craze, which was thoroughly explored in Episode 34 with Andreas Brekken of SideShift.ai. Bruch believes that memecoins are incredibly popular because people enjoy speculating. It provides them with a sense of camaraderie as they participate and rally around a particular concept.
Bruch sees crypto casinos as enjoyable environments where friends can gather to engage in risky and speculative behavior. At MyPrize, the minimum bets can be as low as $0.01, making it accessible to a wide range of individuals.
However, operating an online crypto casino comes with its own set of challenges. One major challenge is ensuring compliance with each country’s regulatory requirements in which the casino operates. Consequently, many online casinos, including MyPrize, have separate websites with different functionalities specifically designed for customers based in the United States.
Additionally, security concerns differ for crypto casinos as they must ensure the integrity of their code and smart contracts. In September 2023, Stake fell victim to a reported $41 million hack. Bruch compares operating a crypto casino to operating a crypto exchange, noting the importance of building user accounts, considering aspects such as anti-money laundering (AML), know your customer (KYC), fraud prevention, chargeback risk, and asset security.
Bruch believes that online casinos serve as significant entry points into the crypto ecosystem. He explains that many people are unaware that some of the largest crypto applications today are accessed through online casinos, offering an opportunity to channel these customers into the broader crypto ecosystem. This is facilitated by gambling’s long-standing history of having a strong product-market fit.
MyPrize’s long-term vision entails onboarding millions of users through their casino and then guiding them into Web3. Bruch envisions creating a successful application that attracts a large user base, which can then be funneled into a more expansive decentralized ecosystem.
To hear more from Bruch’s conversation on “The Agenda,” including discussions on the future of “GambleFi,” the presence of casinos in the metaverse, and more, listeners can access the full episode on Cointelegraph’s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Additionally, Cointelegraph offers a comprehensive range of other shows for viewers to explore.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information purposes only and should not be interpreted as legal or investment advice. The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.