This week, the chief executive officer admitted that an online casino operating with cryptocurrency was breached.
MetaWin is a digital gaming platform that features interactive slots, live dealer games such as blackjack, roulette, poker, and baccarat, NFT raffles and drawings, as well as various instant-win games.
The MetaWin rewards system also allows players to participate in daily and weekly "wagering competitions" where gamblers are ranked according to the total amount of real money wagers they place. The competitions enable participants to compete for a chance to win a weekly grand prize of $40K.
The online casino situated in London functions offshore under an internet gaming license granted by Anjouan, a tiny island nation found off Africa's southeastern shore. MetaWin does not have a license to accept bets in any US state, although players engaging in the online casino have minimal risk of facing legal repercussions.
State gaming regulators, nonetheless, keep warning consumers about the dangers of utilizing an offshore casino. It is said that unregulated gaming websites offer minimal to no consumer safeguards, including the security of their online funds. This week, that point was demonstrated by the MetaWin hack.
On November 3, Richard Skelhorn, CEO and founder of MetaWin, confirmed that certain “hot wallets” belonging to MetaWin had been compromised. Skelhorn's remarks were made following blockchain investigator ZachXBT's post on his Telegram channel regarding a successful breach of MetaWin's Ethereum and Solana hot wallets.
"Today, we experienced an attack where an exploiter was able to withdraw a significant amount from our hot wallets by taking advantage of our frictionless withdrawal system,” Skel wrote. “We’ll be implementing additional security controls for new users, while also exploring ways to maintain a flexible and seamless experience for our trusted community.”
Hot wallets are cryptocurrency wallets that remain continually linked to the internet. Hot wallets serve as temporary storage for keys and facilitate the sending and receiving of cryptocurrency.
Cold wallets, or storage solutions, that maintain cryptocurrency offline in a private environment, are regarded as the most secure way to protect digital currency. However, hot wallets are essential for transacting cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and Solana.
ZachXBT reported that the hackers successfully made off with $4 million in cryptocurrency, which was quickly sent to KuCoin and a HitBTC nested cold wallet. The internet investigator found over 115 addresses linked to the malicious individual.
To his credit, Skel stated he would personally absorb the $4 million loss and had already started “topping off” affected customers.
“In short, today we faced a challenge, but we’re learning from it and will emerge stronger,” Skel concluded.
Skelhorn accumulated a significant part of his wealth by establishing the Atemi Group in 2015. The firm focused on international iGaming lead generation and social media marketing.
In 2020, Skelhorn sold his Atemi Group to Better Collective for €44 million (US$48 million). In the year Atemi was acquired, the company directed over 180,000 new depositing clients to its worldwide iGaming and online sportsbook associates.
Better Collective is a publicly listed company located in Denmark that owns online media brands such as The Action Network, SportsHandle, and VegasInsider.
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