https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4I93e7KUMg

A new startup called Better Gaming is hoping to tap into the billion-dollar online gambling industry by tapping the power of ethereum smart contracts.

The company, which is based in Malta and London and has been operating in stealth mode up until now, has released a demo video of its first product: a slot machine game that runs in-browser as an ethereum DApp, issuing payouts to users based on the terms of its associated smart contract.

In the Medium post introducing the product, developer Jez San writes that the team decided on a slot machine game for two reasons. First, because the level of mathematical complexity would provide a good benchmark for what was possible in a game-focused smart contract, and secondly, because slot machines are the most popular form of entertainment in Western casinos.

(In fact, slot machines are credited for perfecting the addictive mode of user interactions which many modern games and applications try to replicate.)

The demo video is recorded with Chrome running the Metamask browser plugin, though any compatible ethereum browser would work, including the Status mobile browser according to San's post – a factor that could bring smart contract gaming to the lucrative mobile market.

A release date for the playable version hasn't yet been confirmed, but with the gameplay capturing all the gaudy sounds and colours of the real-world slots, there's sure to be no shortage of gamblers chancing their ether on a winning line.

Images via YouTube, Shutterstock