The blockchain is in fashion, and more and more clubs and athletes are betting on a technology that allows generating value through new business models. The blockchain poses a revolution in the sports industry, changing the role of fans, athletes, and sponsors. How? Luis Pastor, the partner of the Grant Thornton consultancy, explains in an interview with EXPANSION, the uses of this disruptive reality in a sector that create billions of Euros a year.
Bitcoin platform used in sport industry is the technology on which the famous cryptocurrencies are based. But far from the obscurantism that is sometimes associated with digital currencies, one of the greatest attractions of the blockchain is precisely transparency. “The blockchain allows generating value through different business models. Athletes, fans, and sponsors will have another role, will have more information, and will be able to participate in a much more interactive way,” explains Pastor.
Global sports media ESPN Global has announced a blockchain-based gaming platform that uses a virtual currency, including bitcoin. The platform will include several popular games, as well as Satoshi’s Treasure, a treasure hunt game where $1 million worth of Bitcoin will be distributed to qualified users. Not only bitcoin but also multiple alt coins can be used in the game, and the payment model of the payment company Crypto pay will be used to deposit and withdraw virtual currency.
Income from bitcoin in the support industry
Information is the cornerstone of the blockchain. Roughly speaking, the blockchain is a large database which is almost impossible to manipulate, which eliminates the role of intermediaries. “The user does not have to know what blockchain is, what he has to know is that there is something behind that generates a decentralized network. Use must aware about information replicated in many nodes, with which there is security; that he can control his investments and his information. Details are here at Q-profit System.
How can this information be made profitable in the sports industry?
The possibilities are numerous. You can improve the transparency of the competitions, secure the sale of tickets, or customize the offers for fans and sponsors. As technological support, it will help create new business models and improve contractual issues, avoiding the repetition, for example, of situations such as Real Madrid with De Gea, according to Pastor. In 2015 the white club could not complete the hiring of the goalkeeper because Manchester United sent the contracts after the deadline. With the blockchain, it would not have happened, because all this type of operations “could be automated,” previously determining the time and date and preventing the deadlines from passing.
Digital identity of the bitcoin
Another advantage is the possibility for athletes to have a digital identity that includes ” characteristics such as the market price or their biological passport, information that would be controlled by the athlete himself.” This opens up new business models. In professional sports, this digital card would be in the blockchain database, providing clubs and sponsors with access to valuable information about the athlete with a view to their possible hiring.
In amateur sport, in addition to opening alternative financing channels, it would imply a change of roles. “Knowing the digital identity of an athlete, the fans could decide if they bet directly on him. Having the participation of that athlete will have a price, and there may be a stipulated contract in which it is collected that, if that athlete becomes a great star in the future, will give royalties to his sponsor, in this case, the fan. You can do many songs of this type “, says Pastor.
Cryptocurrency has become deeply related to sports, and ICO has started actively.
A growing number of players are interested in virtual currency regardless of the type of sport, and with the spread of virtual currency and blockchain, the industry as a whole will be able to operate healthier in the future. It is expected that with time this currency will totally change the way of playing and betting system in the sport industry.
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