- Online casino Evolution Gaming has added four CryptoPunks as prizes for its slot games.
- Evolution has spent over $162,000 to purchase the four CryptoPunks.
- This marks the first time an online casino is taking notice of the rise in NFTs.
The NFT market has had peaks and valleys throughout the year. The industry witnessed considerable growth at the beginning of the year, only to fade out by mid-April. By late July, the market picked up steam once again, which is now cooling down sharply.
However, this time around, the market has been able to attract some big players. On August 23, the giant credit card issuer Visa announced that it had acquired a CryptoPunk NFT for $150,000. The news spurred a renewed wave of attention around NFTs, particularly around CryptoPunks.
Now, Evolution Gaming, a leading online casino game provider, announces that it has dabbled in the world of NFTs. This marks the first time the online casino industry is taking notice of the rise in NFTs.
NFTs: A Slot Machine Prize
In an announcement on September 9, Evolution Gaming said that they have purchased 4 CryptoPunks and want to use them as slot machine prizes. Ostensibly, this is the first time a slot machine would offer prizes in the form of NFTs. Evolution said:
The six-reel seven-row NFT Megaways™ slot game creates a unique and exciting crypto pixelated world that will be instantly familiar to anyone who has followed the rise of NFTs.
The firm added that their main NFT prize includes four distinctive CryptoPunks. “At the heart of the game are CryptoPunks 914, 3008, 4701 and 8143 – four particularly diverse, distinctive and exotic looking characters created by Larva Labs and now owned by Evolution,” Evolution said.
A look at the transaction history of the CryptoPunks reveals that they were all acquired on June 22, when Ethereum was trading at around $1,900. In total, Evolution paid 86 ETH to purchase all of the four CryptoPunks, meaning the company spent just over $162,000.
Todd Haushalter, Chief Product Officer at Evolution, said the company aims to contribute to the crypto-community by offering the world’s first NFT-based slot which features 4 of the original NFTs. He added:
One of the open questions in this community is how to display your NFTs and we thought this was a really fun way to do that, where there’s a chance for lots of players to admire them and also to interact with them in a completely new way! We are honored to now be part of the crypto-asset history.
It is worth mentioning that by offering NFTs as prizes, game providers like Evolution will help top cryptocurrency casinos like BitStarz and mBit Casino appeal to the wider crypto community. Considering that the real value of an NFT is objective, such prizes could considerably increase excitement compared to when there is mere cash.
