Former PokerStars employees launch eSports betting site

Lars Lien and Mike Stevens have allied to launch a new esports betting platform.

Isle of Man.- Slated to go live this year, Luckbox.com will run as a Bitcoin-based start-up that allows customers to bet on professional eSports events.

Punters will be able to deposit with both cryptocurrencies and in-game items, something Lien and Stevens believe will open up markets that are currently restricted by payment blockages.

The former PokerStars duo is hoping to win a license in the Isle of Man for the new site, with plans to further build on this with an international launch.

“We both have a background in the gambling industry – we met when worked together at PokerStars in London, but went our separate ways with other work after that,” Lien said.

“We got our heads together again in 2015, when Mike was in the early stages of planning to build an online casino.”

To date, the two have raised 483.5 Bitcoin from “strategic contributors” and are now launching an Initial Coin Offering to collect the remaining funds they need to begin the roll out.

“Generally speaking, crypto has huge potential in the emerging marketplace and many businesses have already woken up to this,” Lien said.

“The development of smart contracts will be huge; transactional costs will be lower, people will not need traditional bank accounts and there’s far less risk of corruption.”

Lien further added, “There’s a lot of negativity around ICOs after several scams and, from the outset, we’ve done our utmost to distance ourselves from these.

“One of the aims of the double token structure is to show people who support us how much we value their contribution and give them chance to share our success going forward.”