PlayChip

The PlayChip is set to become the universal token for sports betting, gaming, fantasy sports, and eSports in an operating business with over 900,000 players on six platforms in 70 countries.

PlayChip’s mission is to deliver the world’s biggest incentivised, blockchain-enabled sports community and gaming ecosystem.

The PlayChip is set to disrupt the US$3 trillion unregulated gambling industry by providing unparalleled trust and transparency, ease of use, lower fees, and provably fair betting environments. The introduction of the blockchain will see the PlayChip offer a superior experience to traditional sports betting systems.

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS), eSports, and online gambling are flourishing industries. The DFS industry enjoys a steady US$4bn annual turnover1 while global online gambling turnovers are forecasted to exceed US$59bn in 2020. Global gambling turnovers are estimated to be as high as US$3 trillion in unregulated markets.

At present, the PlayChip serves as a rewards token for playup.com, with a fixed value of US0.01. Players can convert the current PlayChip to rewards vouchers with affiliates including Mastercard and Amazon.

Following the migration of the PlayChip to the blockchain, the PlayChip will serve as the universal gaming token for six independent sports betting, DFS, and gaming platforms with a combined user base of over 900,000 and exceeding US$430 million in annual turnover.

Players will be able to use credit card, PayPal, bank deposit, or a range of cryptocurrencies to purchase PlayChips within the PlayWallet and PlayXchange. PlayChips can then be seamlessly transferred between any of the six gaming platforms to participate in DFS, sports betting, eSports betting, or table games such as poker. Winnings are then able to be easily cashed from PlayChips back into credit card, PayPal, bank deposit, or cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The PlayChip platform presents an all-in-one frictionless solution for fast, fun, and easy gaming and sports betting.

Due to the high volume of transactions that can take place in DFS and sports betting, the technology supporting the PlayChip must be scalable and fast. A robust internal network is being built to handle the high frequency transactions of PlayChip’s distributed partners, which currently number in the thousands per minute. Timing in DFS and sports betting is crucial due to changes in conditions and late changes to player profiles, so it is important that players of the PlayChip have a network they can rely upon. The PlayChip offers an off-chain engine linked to a public blockchain that will provide players with high transaction speeds and the confidence to use their PlayChips securely in real time without fear of bottlenecks or network lag.

The PlayChip will also offer a social network that links all platforms within the ecosystem and incentives robust gameplay between players via large prize pools and leaderboard competitions. In addition, an eToro-like follower functionality is being built into the platform to facilitate incentivised copycat betting of leading players. This social betting feature will create large scalable network effects, which further aim to grow the user base and reward possibilities for players.

We see the development of the PlayChip as a natural progression for a dynamic and ever-evolving industry. Due to the ‘trustless’ nature of smart contracts, and the security and autonomy of blockchain networks, we envisage that a majority of industries will adopt blockchain-enabled payment and rewards systems in the coming years. PlayChip is pleased to lead this advance.

The PlayChip has been designed to be simple, secure and fun. We invite all gaming and cryptocurrency enthusiasts alike to participate in what is set to become the universal gaming token.

ECOSYSTEM GROWTH

Key to the long-term aspirations of the PlayChip token is the growth in the PlayChip ecosystem, which in turn enhances the utility of the token itself.

The high product functionality of a utility token is the key factor that drives its long-term growth. The success of a utility token is directly dependent on the success of the product rather than company profitability or market sentiment.

Players purchasing tokens for use within the PlayChip ecosystem directly drives demand versus available supply.

PlayChips may be awarded as a sign-up bonus, and user excitement is increased by the size of the prize pools and diverse ecosystem in which their tokens can be utilised.

The establishing of the rewards bucket helps lead to heightened activity as it aims to increase activity across the ecosystem. Daily promotions and specials will be promoted and user participation incentivised. More information can be found on the rewards bucket on page 28.

The integrated PlayWallet and PlayXchange functionality provides the ability to convert tokens quickly into fiat or other cryptocurrencies. This could serve to drive up overall market activity around the token, and generate traction on external exchanges.

Furthermore new users will be required to purchase PlayChips via the PlayXchange and other cryptocurrency exchanges, further stimulating market activity and visibility to market followers.

Why is the coin created:

After PlayUp rapidly grew their international user base it was clear that a global payment and rewards system was needed. DFS was rapidly leaving its local roots and become and international game of skill, and in order to capture and satisfy this global fanbase it became important to produce a currency in which all users could connect, compete and collect.

The PlayChip was developed in 2017 to provide such a system to players engaging in both free-to-play and pay-to-play competitions. PlayChips can currently be awarded, bet and accumulated on the PlayUp site where it is still currently in use. PlayChips can be redeemed in the PlayUp store for third party vouchers from affiliates such as Amazon and Mastercard.

Following decentralisation the PlayChip will become available to be converted into fiat or other cryptocurrencies. This is anticipated to rapidly increase user excitement and engagement with the ecosystem. Prize pool values can increase so more players can be rewarded, driving excitement and participation further. Users will have security, speed and control over their funds in a manner never seen before in the online gaming industry.

The PlayChip Foundation will continue to support the growth of the PlayChip economy. With the aim of becoming the universal gaming token, the growth of the ecosystem itself is seen to be as important, if not more so, than the value of the token.

Technical information:

The PlayChip ecosystem can be seen as a combination of two separate systems:
A global system for the transfer of funds around the world using the PlayChip and common PlayChip wallets, falling under cryptocurrency regulations.

A regional aware system that allows the operational partners of the PlayChip Foundation to comply with regional gaming legislation in the different jurisdictions in which it operates by enacting rules on the movements of PlayChips under its control.

As the global system utilises the Ethereum blockchain, movements of PlayChips in this system will incur an Ethereum gas cost to enable the transaction to occur. In contrast the PlayChain is “off-chain”, and movements of PlayChips within the PlayChip ecosystem backend are free from gas costs. This is another benefit of the initial technology choice for the PlayChain, however it is supposed that as the Ethereum network evolves the cost of transactions will reduce and a blockchain may be able to be adopted cost effectively.

It is envisioned that a Player will only carry out one Know Your Customer (KYC) onboarding process in order to satisfy both global and regional systems and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations. In other words, the same information can be used to satisfy both gaming and crypto regulatory environments.

The PlayChip Foundation has the opportunity to carry and transfer metadata inside PlayChips between the Global and Regional system (Ethereum Blockchain PlayChain). This metadata could be utilised to provide the PlayChip Foundation and its partners the flexibility to implement a range of business rules to address a range of regulatory changes, or provide additional services, that present themselves in the future. As part of this PlayChip will assess current and future Ethereum standards for their applicability to the ecosystem needs.

PLAYCHIP ECOSYSTEM DESIGN

The PlayChip Ecosystem is comprised of a number of functional elements that interoperate in a manner that bring the elements of online gaming and blockchain technology together. Players interact with the ecosystem via PlayChips and a number of different wallet options. They can also optionally interact via an online web interface for carrying out transactions if they prefer. The operation of the ecosystem will be described at a high level by describing the movement of PlayChips between the functional elements shown in the diagram above.

PLAYCHIP

Players will receive their PlayChips into PlayWallets supported by the PlayXchange, or third party user wallets supported by third party partner exchanges that support PlayChip.

As an example, PlayChips located in a third party user wallet can be transferred to the Players’ PlayChip Gaming Wallet via an Ethereum transaction. This will involve sending the token via the PlayChip Foundation Merchant Wallet supported by the PlayXchange, which will then allocate the tokens to the corresponding user gaming wallets in the PlayChain. Due to the business rules in the gaming environment there will be two ledgers in the gaming wallets for differentiating tokens in the pay-to-play and free-to-play gaming environments.

Alternatively, PlayChips located in third party user wallets can be transferred to equivalent wallets supported by the PlayXchange (User Hot Wallets). These wallets can transact directly to the Ethereum chain, and must also support payment of gas fees via a nominal Ethereum balance as well.

Players who have PlayChips in their user hot wallet can transfer PlayChips via the PlayXchange to their corresponding PlayChip gaming wallets in the PlayChain to engage in online gaming within the PlayChip ecosystem.

Players can convert their PlayChips to fiat currency or other cryptocurrencies directly from their third party wallet via a third party exchange, or from their PlayWallet via the PlayXchange. PlayChips located in the gaming wallets will have a number of mechanisms to transfer out to other wallets with different timing and cost implications.

PLAYWALLET

The PlayWallet is the term given to the interface to view and transact users’ PlayChips in their possession. A PlayWallet is comprised of a PlayChip wallet (used for gaming) and an optional user ‘hot wallet’, which allows users to transact directly with the Ethereum network via the PlayXchange.

The PlayWallet functionality will be integrated with the PlayXchange and PlayChain and will be able to be used on a number of platforms including IoS and Android. In all wallets, the users’ PlayChip balances, transactions and deposit addresses are standard features. As the user hot wallet is more transactionally focussed it will contain more details around currency conversion rates like a conventional exchange-based wallet.

The PlayWallet will be more focused around integration into the gaming environment and the rules involved in moving chips in and out of the game interfaces. As PlayChips are placed into a game, they will move into an escrow ledger until the results of the game are known. PlayChips are then moved out of escrow into their new location. The actual movement of PlayChips between wallets is carried out by the PlayXchange and PlayChain.

PLAYXCHANGE

The PlayXchange is the core function in the PlayChip Ecosystem as it will support the following key functions:

Supports the PlayWallet via customisable APIs to allow the PlayChip foundation to increase the sophistication of the PlayWallet over time.
Interfaces to the PlayChain to support the movement of PlayChips within the PlayChip ecosystem.
Interfaces with 3rd party exchanges and wallets via the Ethereum Blockchain.
Supports the movement of PlayChips from the global Ethereum network into the PlayChain for gaming use.
Support the PlayChip movement business rules to support the regional gaming and cryptocurrency legislation.
The PlayXchange will be supported on PlayChain foundation infrastructure and be designed to have levels of integrity and resiliency that will support the level of availability that is required by the PlayChip ecosystem.

PLAYCHAIN AND GAMING INTERFACE
Gaming events will be carried via REST APIs to the gaming platforms in a similar manner to the operation of the existing platforms. The existing game graphical user interfaces (GUI) will be integrated into the PlayWallet as part of joining the PlayChip ecosystem. Additionally, our operational partners will interface with the PlayChain to allow for the movement of PlayChips between user wallets and gaming platforms.

This PlayChain will provide the mechanism for supporting the PlayChip wallet ledgers and transaction logs, and will eventually become an integral part of the PlayChip ecosystem business logic for the gaming process and compliance regimes. For this to occur seamlessly the chosen technology must support high transaction speeds to be efficient enough for the PlayChip ecosystem. The aim is to develop the architecture to allow the morphing of the PlayChain so that it is seamless to the users.

The PlayChain contains the transaction ledgers of the PlayChip ecosystem, and so allows PlayChip Foundation administrators the ability to query transactions in order to resolve technical issues and possible customer disputes. The users’ PlayWallet will also have the facility to show individual users transaction logs as well so that Players are equally well informed on the status of past and inflight games.

PLAYCHIP FUTURE TARGET ARCHITECTURE

The next generation of blockchain technology is evolving to support higher transaction speeds and lower transaction costs. The PlayChip Foundation will continually assess these technology options in order to keep the PlayChip at the leading edge of blockchain functionality, whilst preserving the ease of use and integrity of the overall solution. When the correct technology exists, the PlayChip and PlayChain will be migrated at the appropriate time based on maturity of the solution. At this early stage we expect the solution could either be based on a next generation Ethereum or the ERC20 token could be migrated to an entirely new chain technology suitable for high volume gaming transactions. The migration would be similar to what EOS and TRON have just completed.

This approach will allow the benefits of consensus and smart contracts to be introduced into the PlayChain where it makes sense and allow the PlayChip and PlayChain to remain at the forefront of the industry.