As sport participation stagnates, participation in eSports continues to rise at an exponential rate. The Financial Times has reported that the gaming industry is set to exceed $100 billion in annual revenues this year.
With each passing year, games continue to get more competitive, more challenging, and more immersive. But if that wasn’t already enough, eSports and cryptocurrency enthusiasts have a whole new reason to feel excited.
Skrilla is the upcoming peer-to-peer social wagering platform that is bringing blockchain technology to the eSports industry.
The platform is designed to let users enjoy daily fantasy eSports (DFeS) – with a twist. It’s the creation of Puntaa, the world’s first licensed peer-to-peer social betting app, and GAMURS Group, the largest eSports media network.
The Boom of the Daily Fantasy eSports Industry
Daily fantasy eSports is a specialized branch of the eSports betting industry. It’s a very new branch of eSports – before January 2015, it didn’t even exist – but the reception has already been massive. By 2020, DFeS is expected to have around 4.5 million users.
In the US, the DFeS industry is dominated by two competing services: New York-based FanDuel, and Boston-based DraftKings. As of September 2015, both of these companies had an estimated value of at least $1 billion – and they are getting bigger every day.
In 2017, the two giants attempted to merge, but the deal was blocked by the Federal Trade Commission over the concerns that the combined companies would have a monopoly on paid DFeS.
The Current Issues with eSports
eSports are becoming bigger than ever. With each passing year, they draw in more users, more revenue, and more attention from the media. But as the industry continues to expand, so do the risks and problems associated with it. And it’s exploding a such an exponential rate that we’re struggling to keep up.
Scamming is rife within the eSports industry. And it’s no surprise why – the system is completely unregulated. There are no audits or requirements that money is segregated or held in a trust. In most cases, participants are completely beholden to the operator.
In the rare case that a third party or ‘middleman’ is involved, it’s not uncommon for them to take a significant cut of the winnings in exchange for acting as a regulator.
And we’re not just talking about chump change. The largest prize pool in the history of eSports has been as high as $20.8 million USD. When you consider this, it’s easy to see why the current method of ‘cross your fingers and the operator actually pays up’ just isn’t up to scratch.
Skrilla Tackles This Issue Head-On…By Acting As A Unique Escrow Platform for Gamers
When a bet is made, the user will deposit their money. When the battle is complete and the results are out, the platform will then automatically release these funds to the winners. This completely removes any uncertainty from the process and makes fraudulent activities virtually impossible.
Because the blockchain is secure and transparent, it will also eliminate the requirement for payments to remove through banks, which completely removes processing fees, and completely streamlines the process.
The end result? A safer, more secure, and ultimately more enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
The fun and value introduced by Skrilla comes in the form of a token. It’s called the Skrilla token (SKR). It’s kind of like the tokens you’d use in those old-school arcades, except it’s digital – and far more advanced. SKR is built on the Ethereum blockchain and meets the ERC20 standard, which makes it highly secure.
The crowdsale will open on the 6th November at 9pm UTC, and will run until 20th November at 6pm, UTC.
If you’re interested in investing in Skrilla, you can take a look at their white paper or find out more about their upcoming ICO on their website.
The Future of eSports
There’s no doubt the popularity of eSports is exploding worldwide. Current projections predict that a staggering $23 billion will be wagered on eSports annually by 2020.
With the way things are going, we have no choice but to do everything we can to make the process safer and more regulated for the millions of users involved.
Skrilla is just the beginning.