It’s a mystery
It’s a mystery
BC.Game owner denies knowledge of Dutch fine
Curaçao-domiciled BlockDance Tech doesn’t deny BC.Game ownership.
Polymarket whale prompts compliance concerns.
CFTC chair wants election betting clarity.
UK pushes back on slow crypto approvals.
Somewhere in the distance, hidden from view.
Stroopwafel
Getting shome shtick: The blockchain company accused by the Dutch gambling regulator of being the owner of BC.Game didn’t deny to The Token Word that it is the owner of the site, but did say it only learned of the regulatory fine through the media.
Jeff Ha, legal counsel at BlockDance, confirmed the complaint from the Dutch regulator, the KSA, was “currently being” reviewed by the company’s lawyers.
“To the best of my knowledge, BlockDance B.V. has not been fined by KSA,” Ha added. “If action is needed, then the appropriate measures will be taken swiftly.”
Dutch plod: Last week, the KSA issued a notice saying BlockDance was “subject to penalty for offering unlicensed games of chance” and had been sent a cease-and-desist letter.
The KSA said research had shown BlockDance “offers illegal games of chance” on the websites bc.game and bcgame.lu.
“After a re-inspection by the KSA, BlockDance made the website under investigation inaccessible to Dutch players.”
However, during subsequent monitoring, the KSA found the sites to be available again, meaning the original charge stands.
Penalty! The KSA said that on the sites in question their investigators had been able to create player accounts, make deposits and “participate in the illegal games of chance offered.”
“No technical measures have been taken on the sites to prevent participation from the Netherlands,” the KSA claimed.
It added that within four weeks after sending the order, the company must “permanently stop offering in the Netherlands” or receive a penalty of €280,000 per week, up to a maximum of €840,000.
We are who we say we are: Contrary to reports elsewhere, the Curaçao-domiciled BlockDance Tech does not deny it is the owner of BC.Game and said as much on its Linkedin page.
BC.Game is one of the leaders in the crypto-gambling space and sources suggested the beneficial owners of the business are from China.
It operates globally and also in the UK via a white-label deal with TGP Europe in the Isle of Man.
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Loose change
DeFi platform Radiant Capital has alerted US officials about a hack that drained more than $50m from its protocol on BNB Chain and Arbitrum.
Aurum Equity Partners has launched a $1bn tokenized equity and debt fund on the XRP Ledger, an enterprise-grade blockchain network linked with Ripple. It is being pushed as the “world’s first combined equity and debt tokenized fund” that enables investors to engage in a hybrid model by utilizing both asset classes via blockchain technology.
The European Union’s securities watchdog has said the bloc’s cryptocurrency regulatory framework, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), requires tweaking already. The European Securities and Markets Authority released an official opinion on MiCA, prompting Brussels lawmakers to update several aspects of the framework.
Whale watching
The same guy: Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market, is currently cracking down on punter locations after drawing scrutiny over a whale who has placed more than $18m on the forthcoming US presidential election.
The user, Fredi9999, has become the largest bettor on Polymarket, prompting concerns about compliance with US laws and the potential for market manipulation.
Blockchain analysis by Arkham Intelligence has led to claims the account, along with three others, may be controlled by the same person.
The total expenditure across these four accounts on Republican bets has surpassed $43m, with none of the accounts registered in the US, according to initial reports by The Wall Street Journal.
Another account has placed up to 71 bets per minute, suggesting the activity may be automated.
Desperately seeking clarity
Get involved: The chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) wants Congress to act faster in regulating crypto and election betting.
Rostin Behnam, speaking at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) annual event in New York, said stalled legislative efforts were “a challenge,” but he expected more clarity next year.
“I think as we look into 2025, a new Congress, a new president, that you’re likely going to see some legislation,” he said.
“Digital assets obviously come top of mind in terms of just regulating spot markets, but what is blockchain and tokenization going to do for financial markets?”
“And those are areas where I personally would love for Congress to weigh in a little bit more than they have.”
Here’s looking at you kid: The CFTC has prediction markets in its crosshairs and has taken legal action against Kalshi, ordering the firm to ditch elections contracts, adding that they were “contrary to the public interest.”
“This is a classic area where I think Congress should actually weigh in,” Behnam said.
The CFTC believes event contracts on elections run counter to law, but also that the agency is put in a difficult position as “election cop.”
A judge in the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled last month that the CFTC overstepped its grounds when it attempted to block Kalshi from offering election contracts.
On the grid
Stake-ing a claim:Crypto-based gambling platform Stake.com has entered its first esports partnership with GRID and Eden Esports.
Under the partnership, Stake will become the exclusive betting partner for the English broadcast of the Champion of Champions Tour.
This is a $1.5m tournament that will conclude with a major offline event in early 2025.
The partnership aims to connect with esports fans and deliver content and activations throughout the event.
We are the champions, my friend: The Champion of Champions Tour (CCT) features 36 online events, split across four regions, which will ultimately culminate in a global final. To date, broadcasts of the CCT have seen over a million hours of content viewed, although peak viewership has reached approximately 38,000.
The regional play-ins and qualifiers are expected to attract fewer viewers, but Stake anticipates higher viewership as the finals approach in early 2025.
Currently, the CCT features only teams competing for qualification, with more prominent teams to be invited later in the tournament.
Stake.com already sponsors several notable traditional sports properties, including various football clubs and UFC fighters, but this marks the company’s first foray into esports.
Under the influence: Stake is no stranger to the digital realm, with its rise to popularity largely fueled by influencer-led partnerships and broadcasts on Twitch, and now on Kick.
Stake’s CMO, Akhil Sarin, suggested that esports is a “key growth area” for the company and described the CCT as the "perfect way to enter esports."
Given that most esports betting sponsorships are in the crypto space, and the audience is highly digitally engaged, this development comes as little surprise.
While CS2 tournaments welcome betting sponsorships and activations, gambling and crypto partnerships often face a cooler reception.
For example, League of Legends once had a $96m deal with the now-defunct FTX.
Pushback
It’s not me, it’s you: Criticized for approving only four of 35 crypto businesses seeking permission to serve the UK in the last year, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has hit back at claims it is “too tough.”
Val Smith, who oversees digital asset authorizations at the regulator, said the large majority of applicants were not meeting the FCA’s standards for anti-money laundering.
“Some have suggested we’re too tough on crypto firms, setting the bar too high for registration,” Smith wrote in a blog post. “Relaxing our standards and creating a race to the bottom also won’t ensure people and our markets are protected or even work well.”
Smith said innovations quickly built on “unsafe, unregulated and untrusted foundations are likely to collapse.”
Time keeps dragging on: Legal experts said the regulator’s approval process is not just based on the controls and systems firms have in place.
“It looks at the environment they operate in, the people involved in these processes and the customers they want to reach,” said Simon Lovegrove, global head of financial services knowledge at Norton Rose Fulbright.
“All this means is that the time it takes the FCA to reach a decision can and will vary.”
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