Quanta is the world’s first licensed blockchain lottery operator but life as a ground-breaker can be tough, as the company’s CTO Kostas Farris tells CasinoBeats
A number of companies can usually be found laying claim to the title “game changer” but Quanta has undoubtedly done that for online lottery operators by becoming the first licensed blockchain lottery in the world.
Not only that, we recently held our first Quanta Prize Draw on the Isle of Man where ticket
sales met our ambitions and continue to grow at a steady rate.
Being a pioneer in any sector is tough, but there are additional challenges that come with
operating in the igaming sector. For this reason, the Quanta journey from inception to launch has been full of highs and lows, with many lessons learned along the way.
These are three of the toughest hurdles we had to clear – and how we cleared them.
Working with regulators
The igaming industry has been flirting with blockchain technologies for some time now, but
regulators in markets all over the world have been cautious about its scale and scope.
This has made it difficult for developers and operators to launch blockchain technologies in a meaningful way as platforms must be licensed if they are to be deployed in core markets.
At Quanta we were very aware of this, so began searching for a regulator that understood blockchain and cryptocurrency. This led us to the Isle of Man.
The Financial Supervision Authority has a Designated Business Act that permits our operations and, along with the island’s Gambling Supervision Commission, are incredibly well-versed in blockchain. We have adapted our business model and technology to suit their frameworks.
With our GSC licence in hand, and with the Quanta Lottery now in operation, we hope to
work with technology businesses around the world and encourage them to embrace blockchain.
Continuous learning
Whenever developing a new technology, there is a lot of learning that takes place as
you move through the process.
We spent a lot of time and money on making sure we fully understood the technology and how it could be used to deliver what we had in mind. We are still learning today and are constantly fine-tuning our technologies to ensure they deliver this best possible experience to our partners and players.
Payment processing is a complex field
One of the toughest challenges we faced was around payment processing and finding the
right solution for our needs.
In the end, we adopted the use of Ethereum but have plans to deploy new technologies to
wider the scope of payments to alternative cryptocurrencies and FIAT currencies.
In addition to the above, one of the lowest points throughout the Quanta journey was the
time it took to make progress.
Many months would pass between design, development, testing and redeploying. During this time the entire team was working flat out towards our ultimate goal of holding the first Quanta Lottery draw, but it just took longer than we expected.
Countering this, the highest point so far was holding the very first Quanta Prize Draw. It was a fantastic feeling, the culmination of so many hours of hard work and dedication.
To finally hold a draw that attracted real players and for it to have run smoothly was a milestone moment and a morale booster for the entire team.
Lessons learned
There are too many lessons learned to list here, but overall the main lesson has been in
ensuring all of the small things tie together to create the business we have today.
Progress is made by taking small positive steps and even if the end goal may seem like a
long way off, keep working towards it and appreciate each step made.
By doing this, Quanta has reached and surpassed all of the goal we initially set. Being a
game changer is tough, but ultimately very rewarding.