As stablecoin applications rapidly expand globally, the emerging gaming company Zoot, led by former Facebook gaming executive Sean Ryan, is viewing Africa as its most potential growth frontier.
Currently, Zoot has launched in the U.S. market, focusing on lottery-type gaming products. However, this startup's ambitions do not stop there; it is actively planning to expand into international markets. Zoot has incorporated various African countries into its core strategy, citing the region's large mobile user base and strong demand for digital entertainment as ideal testing grounds for restructuring games and payment systems.
Beyond Africa, Zoot also plans to enter the Southeast Asian and Latin American markets, promoting a stablecoin-driven iGaming ecosystem in these regions.
"Integrating real money into blockchain games is one of the most disruptive opportunities in the digital entertainment field," said Zoot CEO and co-founder Ryan in a press release.
He stated that Zoot is introducing video game design concepts into the iGaming industry, aiming to create products that offer entertainment, transparency, and immediate rewards. The application of stablecoins can significantly reduce transaction costs and payment delays, bringing a new experience of "zero fees, instant transactions" to global players.
Zoot recently completed a $6 million seed funding round led by cryptocurrency investment giant CoinFund, with veteran gaming venture Griffin Gaming Partners also participating. This funding will primarily be used for technological platform upgrades and international market advancement, focusing on deploying a stablecoin-based payment system to overcome traditional iGaming sector's pain points in settlement efficiency and geographical restrictions.
Zoot was co-founded by Ryan and veteran game producer John Cahill, who previously worked at Sega, Yahoo Games, and Shockwave. Ryan himself also founded Listen.com and social casino company OpenWager, which was successfully acquired by VGW in 2017.
CoinFund Managing Partner David Pakman is also optimistic about Zoot's strategy: "The global adoption of stablecoins is experiencing explosive growth, and real money gaming, as a trillion-dollar industry, is in urgent need of a more efficient cryptocurrency payment channel."
It is reported that Zoot plans to launch a global platform that reinterprets classic games like Plinko with modern visuals and blockchain technology, integrating high-quality graphics, instant settlements, and smart contract logic. If this system is successfully implemented, Africa could become a global frontier in the encrypted iGaming industry.
