MECA Coin Review: Casino Ownership on the Blockchain
MECA Casino is a blockchain based casino experience that aims to change the way that we think about online gaming.
What they have developed is a decentralised gaming platform where the odds of the games are verifiable. There is no longer the reliance on centralised gaming operators to administer the games.
The MECA Casino concept is also unique in that they have developed a Casino ownership model as well. Not only can players play the games, but they can also become Casino operators. This will give them the opportunity to earn an extra income from ownership.
In this MECA coin review, we will give you everything you need to know about the project. Let’s get into it.
Current Gaming Drawbacks
The online casino industry is no doubt massive. For example, in 2016, the online casino industry was worth an estimated $41bn. Moreover, this is expected to continue growing to an estimated $59bn by 2020. Hence, there is clearly still a love for online gaming.
Yet, this is still far behind the revenues of offline casinos. So why do some people still prefer to stay away from online gambling? This comes down to two main downsides that one has with online gaming.
Problems of Trust
This is one of the most pertinent issues that people have with an online casino. They cannot fully verify and trust the odds on the games. Unlike with a traditional Casino, one cannot be sure that the online casino is not moving the "house edge" further out of your favour.
Moreover, there is always the risk with online casinos that if you win, they are likely to hold off on payment entirely. Given that the Casino controls house funds, they can arbitrarily decide to deny a good gambler of his funds.
However, with the advent of blockchain technology, the odds on a game are completely transparent. The randomised calculations are coded into the protocol so that the players to the game can be certain that they are getting the direct odds.
Once the game has completed, the winners are paid immediately through a smart contract. These are essentially programmed to disperse the winnings from the Casino's internal funds. Hence, the player can be certain that he is getting the amount he deserves.
Lack of Entertainment Factor
Another reason that so many people find online gaming as less attractive than real casinos is this lack of an entertainment factor. They are generally quite stale and have a boring user interface. There is no atmosphere of entertainment that these people will get at their normal casinos.
Moreover, this is something that other blockchain based Casinos have overlooked. They have developed technology which makes the odds verifiable but they have forgotten about the other aspects that make a Casino experience worthwhile.
That is where MECA Casino wants to change things. They want to create an online casino where someone can enjoy the gaming just as much as they do at regular casinos. Players will experience the highest level of game graphics through products such as the virtual casino city.
MECA casino will also give players the opportunity to buy and operate their own casinos. This is unique to MECA and is likely to make the in game entertainment factor that much more exciting.
MECA Casino Overview
MECA Casino is owned by CRYPTO MECA Limited. The company is registered in the Isle of Man which is a self-governing British Crown Dependency. This is in fact one of the premier places for incorporation of online casinos.
Development of MECA Casino actually started back in 2016 when the 3D online casino experience was created. This was done with their development partner, ME2ON. The games are built with HTML5 technology and so are compatible with a wide variety of web and mobile devices.
These Casino halls offer a completely immersive experience with at least seven games that players can make use of. They have also been built with an Unreal Engine 4 which means that a VR experience is possible with Occulus and VIVE headsets.
All of the games that will be developed for the MECA Casino will be co-developed with ME2ON Co. Ltd which is a company that is listed on the stock exchange in South Korea. This will allow MECA Casino to use ME2ON's Online gaming intellectual property.
MECA Coin Blockchain
MECA Casino will be a decentralised application (dApp) that will be built on the the ICON public blockchain. ICON is a third-generation blockchain that allows high level speed, scalability and interaction. Using the gameplay technology of ME2ON, MECA will advance the concept of the standard blockchain casino by incorporating realistic gameplay in a virtual casino environment.
Something that is really interesting about the MECA Casino is their integration of players as “nodes” on the network. By running their own casino in the MECA ecosystem, these players are seen as fundamental to the functioning of the entire network. They are viewed more as business partners than as simple participants.
These casino operators are master nodes on the MECA casino blockchain. Hence, they are important participants in the consensus protocol of the network.
These casinos are digital assets that will grow in value much like normal casinos do. As more people start using the particular casino and more bets are placed, profits will increase. This will then make the Casino more valuable to the community.
The MECA blockchain will also be used for the generation of random numbers. The random numbers will be generated on the game server, by the player and the master nodes. These three random components are then combined to produce a triple layer random number integration.
Operation of a Virtual Casino
When players purchase casino assets, they are master nodes on the network. This means that they will be entitled to a certain amount of profit share with MECA Casino. This profit share agreement will be 6:4 for the Masters: MECA Casino respectively.
The owners of these casinos assets can also do what they like in terms of individual customisation. They can choose their own interior and decor in order to try and attract the most players. This individual ownership model is one of the main advantages of the MECA Casino ecosystem. According to a spokesman from the company:
We will never operate any casinos ourselves as decentralization is among our main principles
Once these casinos have generated a certain amount of goodwill and profit in the ecosystem, they can be traded on to another owner. This is where the smart contracts become useful. They are used to safely transfer the ownership of these casinos to their new owners.
MECA Coin (MCA) and MECA Chip (MCC)
Within the MECA casino ecosystem, there are two native tokens. These are the MECA Coin (MCA) and MECA Chip (MCC). One can be exchanged for the other at a 1:1 ratio. The MECA Chip will be the in game token that will be used in all the casinos in the MECA ecosystem.
The MECA coins (MCA), on the other hand, are the ERC-20 utility tokens within the MECA casino ecosystem. They are used for two purposes. They are used to purchase the MECA Chips in order to play the casino games, or they can be used in order to purchase casinos.
These MECA coins will be released to the public in a crowd sale ICO later this year. They will have a hard cap of 2.5 billion MCA and once the sale has completed, there will be a lockup period of internal staff. This will be held in a smart contract in order to maintain the price until there is sufficient liquidity on the exchanges.
MECA Casino Team
The team behind MECA Casino seems to be quite experienced in the field of online gaming and blockchain technology. For example, the CEO, Ben Moonsoo You is also the CEO of ME2ON VR which developed the virtual gaming technology MECA Casino is based on. He has also developed an education solution called "Nesper" which has been installed in 6,000 schools in South Korea.
Myeongkyun Kim is the COO of both Crypto MECA and ME2ON VR. He has worked in game development services and internet businesses for 15 years in Japan. He has also founded EnterCrews Co which was acquired by a large JASDAQ listed company.
The broader team also has a wealth of experience with people who have worked at either ME2ON VR or on other virtual reality projects.
Conclusion
The MECA Casino project is no doubt one of the most interesting that we have come across. They are trying to combine a trusted and decentralised ecosystem with the benefits of an offline casino environment.
They have also created a blockchain ecosystem that is completely decentralised and inclusive. Owners will operate their casinos and they will benefit from the earnings generated from the entire ecosystem. There are no centralised forces that can ever control the network.
The only problems that we can foresee for the project is the issues around regulation, particularly in countries like the United States. Online gambling and cryptocurrencies are still in a relatively grey area in many countries.
However, this is unlikely to hamper the expansion and adoption of the MECA casino ecosystem in other countries where the laws are clearly defined. For example, there are many countries in Asia and Europe where MECA casino could be eagerly embraced.
Ultimately, we cannot give investment advice and readers will have to make their own judgements. However we can say that the MECA casino project is unique and innovative project that you should consider doing more research on.
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Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.