CGS LatAm 2021 panel explores ‘perfect match’ synergy between AI, blockchain and iGaming

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On April 23, Rebecca Liggero—aka Bitcoin Becky—hosted “The Perfect Match: AI, Bitcoin, and Blockchain” panel at the Caribbean Gaming Show 2021 Cloud Conference.

The panel explored the synergies between AI, blockchain, digital currencies, and the iGaming sector and featured 3 experts: CoinGeek Chief Historian Kurt Wuckert Jr., HandCash CEO Alex Agut, and WH Partners’ partner Dr. Joseph F. Borg. Dr. Borg has a long history working in the gambling industry; he was the former chief regulatory officer of the Malta Gaming Authority, a member of the board of the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR), and the co-founder and VP of Bitmalta. He brings a unique perspective to the panel because he has done work related to iGaming regulatory frameworks, and has seen blockchain solutions—both good and bad—implemented in the field.

The group delves into all things that live at the intersection of AI, blockchain and digital currency, and begin their discussion by exploring why we are seeing a renewed interest in blockchain technology in the iGaming sector, after interest in the technology waned from the 2017’s “crypto-mania.”

“[One reason we are seeing a renewed interest in blockchain and digital currency is because] there are a number advantages that come along with the use of blockchain and cryptocurrency in the gaming industry,” said Dr. Borg.

He added, “First and foremost, [in] true smart contracts and the use of cryptocurrency there is potential; there [can be] massive advantages in terms of payments. Today we depend on third parties to move money from the person to the gaming operator, but with cryptocurrencies, there is a direct transfer between the player and the operator. That in itself is a massive advantage and it brings with it a lot of good things to the user experience and the operator—for example the end of chargebacks, that’s just one of the many and many advantages.”

Borg went on to talk about the problems that blockchain and digital currency can solve in terms of transparency in the industry and why a lot of industry participants, especially the players are eager to have a transparent audit trail.

Afterward, the group talks about microtransactions (the ability to send data from Point A to Point B for less than a penny in some cases) and why doing business at such a low cost is a major benefit to industries like the gaming space.

“I think when Satoshi Nakamoto put out the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008, a micro-transaction was anything under $1 or $5, something like that was the notion there. The whitepaper specifically says [bitcoin] wants to disrupt internet commerce for small casual payments,” said Wuckert.

Agut added, “We (HandCash) realized that micropayments was actually a word being used outside of bitcoin for quite a while, and people associate it to payments that typically range from $1-$10 because there are very few instances [online] where you can find payments that are $1-$10 because it doesn’t make any sense once you add the fees from Visa and Paypal, so it’s just not feasible. What we call nano-payments, are things that are under the threshold of $1.”

“[Nano payments] are unique to BSV, because it is an area where others cannot compete, so we are trying to actually create this blue-ocean where we are living the nano-payments revolution and economy, we think that the only technology that actually fits [this scenario] today is BSV.”

Agut also talked about the intricacies of digital currency and what he and his team at HandCash are doing to solve that problem, such as taking 12-word seed phrases out of the equation. Afterward, the group talks about regulation, NFTs, and the intersection of blockchain and AI.

Digital currency, blockchain, AI, and gaming go hand-in-hand; the benefits that these technologies can introduce to the gaming industry can increase efficiency, transparency, and many processes that take place within the sector.

To learn more about the synergies between blockchain, AI, and gaming, watch “The Perfect Match: AI, Bitcoin, and Blockchain” panel at the Caribbean Gaming Show 2021 Cloud Conference.