North London football giants Arsenal F.C. have signed the first ever sponsorship for a cryptocurrency that may pave the way for an even greater interest for sports bettors. The name of the blockchain suitor is CashBet Coin, and similar to many other digital currencies, it claims to be a unique currency specifically designed to allow for easier iGaming transactions. What may separate CashBet Coin from its other more volatile competitors is that it is backed by CashBet, a fast rising US gaming company that offers cryptocurrency payment solutions to gambling operators. What CashBet hopes to do, is raise $40 million from an Initial Coin Offering, that can then be "invested" by bettors on sports bets or other games.
The Arsenal Cashbet Sponsorship will CashBet Coin being advertised on the Emirates during the Gunners home games. The initial pre-sale started on the 24th of January and is set to last until February 20. It will then be followed by a public sale that will last from March 20 up to April 27. Vinai Venkatesham, Arsenal’s Chief Commercial Officer, welcomed the deal by saying: “We are pleased to welcome Cashbet Coin as our partner. We are looking forward to working with CashBet Coin as they launch their new cryptocurrency.” Other pundits have been less enthusiastic and focused on the facts that cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile, meaning that a £1,000 investment can easily vanish within a couple of hours. What also gathered a lot of negative publicity is that CashBet's ICO, similar to every other Initial Coin Offering, is not safeguarded by any financial institutions or regulators, meaning that there are no guarantees on investors seeing dividends being paid out or being compensated in case the Cashbet Coin project does not hit its projected target.