We’re all degenerate gamblers.

Going all in on shitcoins...betting on random Augur markets...and of course, traditional gambling (card games, slots, etc).

Today’s review is of FunFair.

Let’s dig in…

FunFair (ticker: FUN)

Mid-Tier Shitcoin

Wtf is this shit?

FunFair is an Ethereum based project. With a straightforward mission, they offer a platform for online casinos and other gambling. More specifically, they not only offer their own casino/games using .eth domains they own, but they offer a simple system for developers and operators to spin up their own online casinos.

They boast that an online casino can be spun up in two-clicks and all games are provably fair. Now, there are three main issues with current blockchain based casinos: slow speed, high fees, and long KYC processes.

Speed. Often times, blockchain based chance games rely on blocks to confirm, before rewards are paid out - this significantly slows down gameplay and ultimately adds unwanted friction to the user experience.

Additionally, fees can be high...some DICE games have fees hit $0.75 cents per bet (gas fees).

Lastly, KYC is an issue not just with blockchain based casinos, but all online casinos. FunFair plans to integrate with Civic and the like to make this easier. We’ll see how that goes...

Now...FunFair’s main tech advancement is the use of state-channels, or as they call them, “fate-channels.” These state-channels help solve the issue for both fees and speed. State-channels are basically direct tunnels for off-chain transactions, think Bitcoin's lightning network..this is a direct example. Basically there are escrowed funds which are held in a smart contract, then funds are instantly released when requested. In the end, resulting transactions are pushed to the main chain for final agreement and confirmation, but the gambling can continue before these confirmations take place. The state-channels primarily are responsible for starting games and settling them.

Welp, there ya go, that’s basically what they are doing.

Our main issue is that...you HAVE to use the FUN token to create casinos, operate them, and interact with them as a gambler. While this gives FUN utility...like many other, this is a BS utility. There are plenty of centralized gaming sites that work fine and accept many currencies. Additionally, centralized options actually work quite well..and often, there is not much corruption or people getting scammed. It’s as if we moved a working piece of tech to the blockchain, found issues, then trying to remedy them. Creating and solving our own problems that may not be warranted in the first place. Ultimately, this is for you to judge.

Who tf is behind this shit?

The founder is Jez San...a long time entrepreneur in the gaming and tech field (judging by his LinkedIn). For example, from 1982-2004, he was CEO of Argonaut Games Plc, then went on to start PKR.com an online poker company...then went on to others..leading to FunFair. So, he certainly knows the industry and has been around the block.

All in all, mid-tier shitcoin. They have a positive name in the industry, but we are still skeptical of the overall use-case for blockchain gambling...although it has its upsides, we are not sure that it trumps the existing offerings out there.


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Chat soon!

- Mike and Aaron