Various lotteries and other gambling games usually feel to their players like the system is rigged against them. The numbers definitely are not in the favor of anyone winning, but there is a deeper level of disconnect. Many of the times, State and Private lotteries and gambling are not terribly upfront with their drawing and winner data. Sometimes unclaimed winnings suggest that the odds are even worse than initially claimed.
This is why I’m really rather interested in a project called the KIBO platform. I’m not much of a gambler myself, but am a champion of transparency and am intrigued whenever I see projects looking to empower individuals with more truth.
What the KIBO Platform brings
The KIBO Platform is a smart contract based gaming platform that is based off the Ethereum (beta) network. This is just another instance of how the Blockchain is so versatile in influencing the way we think about literally everything. In KIBO’s case, it changes the way we think about the gaming industry.
Reading through their Whitepaper shows that the project’s main concern is about to how to address -what they feel are- the most problematic areas of the gaming industry now. From what I gather, these are fairness in gaming, access to play, and access to funds.
Fair Gaming
KIBO might be able to help with one of the bigger problems in this industry of 100% fair gaming. Whenever large sums of money get involved with anything, humans find a way to muddy it up. The Chicago Tribune article listed above shows a potential instance of this on a State lottery level, and many of us have been the victims of games that take advantage of us not knowing the odds or mechanisms behind them. A much lower scale example of this are the games at carnivals and fairs, I never did win the biggest toy as a child because they designed it so I could not have and did not have any transparency as to whether or not I could.
Since KIBO uses smart contracts on the Ethereum network, everything is transparent from drawing, to transfer amounts, and even to if those funds were paid out or not. It takes the human equation out of it, which is usually what poisons the well in these instances.
Access to Play
Sometimes we forget how different the lives of others around the world can be, especially if our situation is better than most. Many do not have the chance to even participate in the gaming industry in the world because bank account ownership can be incredibly low in parts of the world. This is one of the reasons why India’s demonetization of its two largest bills was so devastating to the average citizen: they did not have their wealth in banks, but rather in cash.
Anyone with an Ethereum wallet can participate in this. Again with crypto, you are your own bank.
Access to Winnings
If someone is lucky enough to win, funds are transferred immediately upon execution of the contract. This is a stark difference from how many lotteries function. Verifying the validity of the win, fees, etc all slow up the process for the winner to access their new funds. Since this would be a smart contract, it would take significantly less time.
Conclusion
I think that this is a rather interesting concept and look forward to seeing where this project goes. The KIBO team have been posting updates on it via their blog. It is no doubt a cool idea, and I’ll be following what they do going forward.
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