Is Macau a launchpad for cryptocurrency?
Macau-based gaming firm De Club has announced a plan to build a casino venue backed by blockchain technology and a cryptocurrency token known as DEC. The company hopes to raise US$1 billion in an initial coin offering to fund the venture, reported the Macau News Agency.
The company founded by Kennis Wong, former CEO of Jimei Group, describes itself as a “casino management veteran with global experience” that also offers technology services. Its partner in the new venture is Malta-based Wide Rich Global Company Ltd. The team is planning to issue 10 billion DEC tokens through the ICO. A pre-sale launch will begin in mid-November, MNA reported.
In a white paper issued by Wide Rich Global, the firm stated that it would “provide a fair, transparent and borderless tokenized casino gaming platform for all gaming players where everyone can enjoy VIP service and get the ultimate casino experience.
“We leverage blockchain technology to manage all players’ information to achieve casino information-sharing with guaranteed privacy and security information. Even if the players are scattered in different casinos, they can enjoy the ultimate casino gaming experience thanks to real-time synchronization of information,” the white paper stated.
DEC is a cash-backed token that is convertible into various fiat currencies as well as some cryptocurrencies. De Club says it will be used as part of “a global consensus and alliance of casinos so as to securely share all casino client-centric and lending-related data through a decentralized network.”
A report from De Club reveals the company intends to use about a third of the proceeds from the ICO to apply for a Macau junket promoter license and acquire land-based casinos in Macau and other jurisdictions from the Caribbean to East Asia. About 15 percent of the US$1 billion will be reserved for land-based casino buyouts in Macau, according to the report, with smaller shares reserved for similar buyouts in locations that might include Curaçao, Busan, Manila and Singapore.
The company then hopes to offer its blockchain technology club to other land-based and digital casinos and also develop a DEC app that will users to host games via an online platform.
“From a technical point of view, everyone can become a casino dealer and host one’s own game, but due to legal and regulatory barriers, it is not easy for them to do it,” said the report. “Under the premise of complying with laws and regulations, we will design a dedicated mechanism so that DEC holders can crowdfund through smart contracts and earn money from these regulated and licensed table games as hosts.”
Among the purported benefits of blockchain technology is a decentralized public ledger that makes it more difficult to alter or delete transactions and also offers greater privacy protections.
The Monetary Authority of Macao said earlier this year that it would not approve the use of cryptocurrencies and does not allow financial services firms “to participate in or provide, directly or indirectly, any financial services in relation to such trading.”
