FunFair Technologies has embarked upon a number of developments during the recent weeks and months, one of the most recent of which saw the group make a series of structural changes in a bid to manoeuvre itself into a better commercial position.
In September the decentralised blockchain casino platform provider also introduced a new crypto wallet and updated user interface, stressing that it’s striving for “blockchain mass adoption,” before linking-up with Changelly to drive its range of payment options.
Stefan Kovach, CEO of the FunFair Group following the organisational update, spoke to CasinoBeats regarding the recent update, as well as the company leaving the fledgling start-up phase and the challenges that have accompanied such moves.
CasinoBeats: How will the recent management restructure benefit FunFair both in the short and long term?
Stefan Kovach: FunFair has rapidly progressed in the last 12 months after going fully operational, and we’ve made some organisational changes internally to reflect our ambitions going forward.
We’ve positioned the right expertise and some new senior hires into the positions which will allow us to operate most efficiently and effectively across our Dublin tech and London corporate arms.
The blockchain space is maturing rapidly and its important we have the right resources in-house that allow for us to scale quickly with it.
“Understanding the player behaviour of the crypto-gambling audience has also been a significant learning curve”
CB: You state that it leaves the company “best placed to exploit the opportunities that lie ahead of us” – could you elaborate on these opportunities?
SK: We’ve recently been awarded the first ‘Token-Based Software Supplier Licence’ by the Isle of Man GSC and this has opened up a number of new opportunities almost overnight in terms of our B2B offering.
As a supplier, we’re now in a position to tap into the island’s vast network of gaming operators and other blockchain entities, and we’re already making some positive steps on leveraging these for future partnerships.
We believe we’ve proven our concept through our white-label casino network and ongoing player acquisition, and we’re now keen to step up our growth into the regulated space with operator partners with a global reach.
CB: How much of a key step was securing this supplier licence from the Isle of Man? What benefits does it bring?
SK: This was major for us and something we’ve been striving for since founding. We run towards regulation where possible and the Isle of Man has been proactive in wanting to regulate for decentralised tech, and we’re excited about what our future relationship could bring.
Blockchain gambling companies such as ourselves are still very much in the early adopter stage, but we have global ambitions to reach a mass audience and only through a clear regulatory framework can we achieve this.
As mentioned previously, we hope the networking opportunities that have arisen through working with the GSC will lead to major partnerships that would have been impossible otherwise.
“We expect 2020 to be the year that blockchain casino gaming goes further into the mainstream”
CB: What challenges have you encountered with leaving the fledgling start-up phase and increasingly commercialising your offering?
SK: Regulation, understandably, has lagged behind much of the tech out there in the blockchain space and so it’s been a key priority of ours to work with gambling legislators to help build, and become part of, a framework that accurately reflects the benefits that decentralised tech can bring to gambling.
On the operational side, understanding the player behaviour of the crypto-gambling audience has also been a significant learning curve. They want different games, enjoy the more social and gamified aspects of their casino experiences, and generally want more from their casinos in terms of integrity.
We’ve come to understand this disproportionately millennial audience quickly and have adapted our strategy along the way. CasinoFair was recently rebranded to reflect this and our content output has become increasingly progressive with numerous first-of-their-kind titles released.
CB: What do you envision 2020 will bring for FunFair?
SK: We expect 2020 to be the year that blockchain casino gaming goes further into the mainstream, and out of the crypto-community which has given it its solid foundation.
We’ve worked relentlessly on adapting our platform to reflect the needs of the everyday player and not just blockchain experts, with recognisable sign-up processes and gaming experiences that sidestep much of the complexity that comes with blockchain security and that deters on-boarding.
With this much-improved platform and B2B offering, we also hope to announce further casino partners, both white labels and operators, and off the back of recent events in Malta and the Isle of Man, we’re very confident about what lies ahead.
