The size of the global Gambling and Lottery industry had been estimated at US$443.2 Billion in 2020, and is expected to grow by around 12.8% in the years 2021- 2023 as economies are recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching around US$647.9 Billion by 2027. The positive industry outlook is supported by a large global consumer market with 26% of the global population engaging in gambling. This translates to 1.6 billion people actively gambling with close to 4.2 billion people gambling at least once a year.
Despite the positive transformation in the gambling industry, there is still much distrust and gambling-related doubt and fear: some players fear rigging or foul play, while others worry about losing .
With the rising risk of fraud and online scams, some people stop trusting online activities that require monetary investment. However, such fears already have solutions : Blockchain is the ideal tool and function that represents a trust-worthy and decentralized fair system.
In their current form, lotteries have several major weaknesses. Participants remain concerned about the fairness of the games, asking questions such as: “Are ticket numbers legitimate?”, “Is the random-number generator credible?” or “Are lottery winners actually real?”
All these questions prove that the current models fail to instill the very perception of fairness. It all boils down to how the current gambling and lottery industry is centralized. Control and regulation are carried out by a central authority worsening the effects of this ‘unfairness’ issue.
The Answer is Blockchain
Blockchain technology offers solutions to the main challenges facing the gambling and lottery industry. A typical model is composed of four main elements: players, developers, smart contracts and the Blockchain,
To initiate a game, developers would provide to the blockchain an entire description of the rules through smart contracts. These rules are widely accessible and cannot be altered, offering the benefit of transparency since the blockchain enforces the rules. They also mean that there isn’t any central authority, hence, winnings would automatically go to the winner, thereby eliminating chances of manipulation by the go-between.
On the other hand, gamblers wouldn’t be required to sign up and provide details such as their full name, email information, and telephone number. In fact, each interaction would be linked to a transaction made by an anonymous wallet address.
Any willing player would then purchase a ticket without any restrictions such as location or a minimum amount. Then, transaction details are stored on the publicly-displayed Blockchain.
The winning ticket number is also generated by the Blockchain. Actually, the Blockchain runs algorithms based on pure randomness to define the winning numbers. Once the winner is identified, the blockchain will trigger an instant and automatic transfer of funds to their wallet.
There is a huge potential for blockchain technology to disrupt the gambling and lotteries industry given that it solves core problems of trust, transparency, and fairness. And with the expected growth rate of the industry in the foreseeable future the need for innovation is at an all time high, making it possible to take advantage of underlying opportunities.
Nonetheless, there is a gap in the development of suitable products to meet the growing demand in the gambling and lotteries market, which brings us to our new pioneering Blockain-based solution, that is reinventing the gambling and lotteries sector, completely revolutionizing the way the game is played.
