A cryptocurrency-based online casino was breached this week, acknowledged the company's chief executive officer. 

MetaWin is an internet gaming service that provides engaging slot machines, live dealer table games such as blackjack, roulette, poker, and baccarat, as well as NFT raffles and drawings, along with a range of instant-win games. 

The MetaWin rewards program allows players to participate in daily and weekly “wagering races” where gamblers are ranked by the total count of real money wagers they place. The competitions allow players to compete for a chance to win a weekly grand prize of $40K. 

The online casino based in London functions offshore under an internet gaming license granted by Anjouan, a small island nation situated off the southeastern coast of Africa. MetaWin lacks licensing to accept bets in any US state, although players participating in the online casino are unlikely to encounter legal repercussions. 

Nevertheless, state gaming regulators persist in warning consumers about the dangers of utilizing an offshore casino. It is claimed that unregulated gaming platforms offer little to no protections for consumers, such as the security of their online funds. This week, the MetaWin hack demonstrated that point. 

 

$4 Million Taken 

Richard Skelhorn, the CEO and founder of MetaWin, announced on November 3 that several MetaWin “hot wallets” were compromised. Skelhorn's remarks followed blockchain researcher ZachXBT's post on his Telegram channel regarding a successful breach of MetaWin's hot wallets on Ethereum and Solana.

"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 continuously linked to the internet. Hot wallets function 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 required to transact cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and Solana. 

ZachXBT reported that the hackers succeeded in stealing $4 million in cryptocurrency, which was quickly moved to KuCoin and a cold wallet nested on HitBTC. The internet investigator discovered that over 115 addresses were linked to the harmful individual. 

To his credit, Skel stated he would independently cover the $4 million deficit 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.  

 

Expert Promoter 

Skelhorn amassed a significant part of his wealth by establishing the Atemi Group in 2015. The firm focused on worldwide iGaming lead generation and social media promotion. 

In 2020, Skelhorn sold his Atemi Group to Better Collective for €44 million (US$48 million). In the year Atemi was acquired, the company referred over 180K new depositing clients to its worldwide iGaming and online sportsbook affiliates. 

Better Collective is a publicly listed company located in Denmark that owns the online media brands The Action Network, SportsHandle, and VegasInsider.