We recently spoke with Felix Römer, founder of the online crypto gambling platform Gamdom, about the factors that have contributed to its growth and success. We were curious to find out how Gamdom, established in 2016, differentiates itself from other online casinos, and the motivation behind developing a cryptocurrency gambling platform.

We also discuss the role of partnerships, such as Gamdom’s with Usain Bolt, in expanding the reach and brand awareness of a site like Gamdom. In this interview, Mr Römer shares his thoughts on the current state of the crypto and esports gambling industry, as well as his predictions for the future. 

EsportsBets: As the founder of Gamdom, what do you believe have been the major contributing factors to the platform’s growth and success, which has attracted a staggering 10 million players worldwide since its launch in 2016?

Felix Römer: I think one of the biggest contributing factors that helped Gamdom attract 10 million followers was that we did not try to time things according to market conditions and instead went with the flow. I don’t agree with waiting for the right time, which is what most players in the game are doing, and believe now gives companies a competitive advantage.

What sets Gamdom apart from other online crypto casinos in the market?

One of the top things that set us apart from other crypto casinos is that our games are 100% fair. Gamdom has generated a chain of 10 million SHA256 hashes for each game, starting with a server secret that has been repeatedly fed the output of SHA256 back into itself 10 million times. This means that the game server is playing through this chain of hashes in reverse order, using these values to calculate the game results provably fair.

What’s even more special about gameplay on Gamdom is that anyone can verify the integrity of the chain as we’re publishing a game’s hash immediately after the game ends. Players can check their game’s hash and compare it with the one from the previous game.

Also, Gamdom has a popular feature called Rain bot, which offers players free rewards at random times that they can claim if they are logged in.

Cryptocurrency casinos are a curious notion, especially when compared to the mainstream approach of rudimentary cash betting. What was the motivation behind Gamdom’s decision to develop a cryptocurrency gambling platform from the start?

We saw the need for people to have access to their own spending and speedy transfers quite early. Crypto seemed like a niche way for people being able to gamble and the demand was high which confirmed our estimation. Having the flexibility and ability to transfer money out of the casino and having it in your balance minutes later gives players a lot of confidence.

Gamdom has been able to maintain a trustworthy reputation within the industry by embracing transparency in innovative ways. In what ways do you believe this reputation helps Gamdom stand out on the gambling landscape?

I think our main stand-out point is that all the outcomes of our games are pre-defined. This essentially means that the results for all future games are already pre-defined and normally distributed due to the maths that backs up the strong cryptographic SHA 256 function. This basically means that we cannot manipulate the chain of results and forge a win without the public noticing this. Such transparency allows our users to place their trust in gameplay with Gamdom.

We are also very careful and transparent, recognising that gambling can turn into a serious addiction, so we are always willing to help our customers who might be struggling. If someone has a gambling problem they can secure a ban for themselves to make sure they do not progress for the worse.

Can you discuss the role of technology in the success of Gamdom and how you’ve leveraged it to provide a seamless user experience?

We are using our own provably fair system to confirm the fairness of the games. In terms of tech, we are constantly rewriting and optimising the code to fulfil new standards and the requirements of the users.

How do you plan to continue innovating and improving the user experience for Gamdom customers?

In such a fast-moving industry, we have to adapt and adjust very quickly to any changes. And the lack of innovation in the igaming industry makes it easy with some tweaks to offer something nice and new to users. For instance, we are planning to upgrade our slot battle feature.

Can you talk about the importance of partnerships, such as Gamdon’s with Usain Bolt, a household name, in expanding reach and brand awareness?

Well, in all honesty, both casinos and cryptocurrencies do not have the brightest of reputations. Casinos are oftentimes seen as this big bad wolf, feeding into people’s addictions. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies are constantly attacked by a number of regulations, so gaining the support of one of the biggest sports stars on the planet is very important for a company in an industry such as ours.

I personally think that the future of crypto casinos is bright, and the appointment of Usain Bolt as an ambassador has come at the perfect time.

With your extensive experience in the cryptocurrency gambling scene, what are your predictions for the future of cryptocurrency betting?

I am sure we will face many challenges in the future as the market is getting tougher and regulations will cause a lot of adapting and adjusting to the current requirements. After all, it’s still quite a new technology.

What impact has the ‘crypto winter’ had on cryptocurrency gambling?

Luckily for Gamdom, we were not very affected by the crypto winter, which I noticed has affected mostly the US and not as much Europe.

Of course, the downturn in the market made many investors and traders cautious about investing in cryptocurrencies, which may have slowed down the growth of the industry. But, on the other hand, for others, the volatility of the cryptocurrency market actually made it an attractive option for gambling as the potential for large gains or losses can create an exciting and potentially lucrative betting experience.

Do you believe crypto betting will become more commonplace? What needs to happen in the world for crypto gambling to gain more traction and see more adoption?

I feel the shift is happening already. The frustration caused by classical operators simply already gets people interested in alternatives.

Esports betting is one of the many features of Gamdom, and we are particularly interested in this at EsportsBets. What is your opinion on the growth of interest in esports betting over the past few years?

As a lot of younger viewers become adults, it will shift towards more interest in esports as we are evolving towards it being really something that is being taken seriously. The organisations and events around it are becoming more and more professional, and betting odds are becoming more and more accurate to allow volume from players coming in which funds a lot of the success of esports.

Do you anticipate any particular event in 2023 that could contribute to the widespread adoption of esports betting?

Nothing in particular, I believe all the CS:GO events are great for the growth of the betting industry. Especially with rumours of CS 2 coming out, we could see a huge breakthrough.

[Editor’s note: At the time of this interview, CS 2 had not been formally announced by Valve.]

Do you see the esports betting industry continuing to develop and evolve over the next five years? If so, in what specific ways?

I feel that what we are missing is the full infrastructure to work and the acceptance by Sports channels to also run esports events, with the help of sponsors from the betting industry.

What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the crypto casino industry in the next few years?

I think one of the biggest challenges for the crypto casino industry in the coming years will be the harshening regulatory environment since we do not just deal with crypto regulations but also gambling regulations. There is a continued increase in scrutiny and regulation from governments and financial regulatory bodies, which could make it difficult for crypto casinos to operate in certain jurisdictions or could require them to comply with strict regulatory requirements.

How have you adapted to changes in the crypto industry and what impact has that had on Gamdom’s growth strategy?

We had to adjust to being more accepting towards stable coins as in uncertain times players don’t like to gamble with volatile cryptocurrencies, or even Bitcoin, as much.

Finally, as one of the top cryptocurrency gaming platforms, what does the future hold for Gamdom? Where does esports betting fit into your plans moving forward?

We are looking to sponsor events with naming rights for Gamdom as soon as we release our own version of the sportsbook with in-house trading. We are building a platform where we can be more flexible with our current solution.

Cover credits: Wavebreakmedia Ltd IFE-230126_2 /Alamy