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Many areas of life have changed drastically in recent years, including how we work and do business. Freelancing and remote teams have disrupted the traditional idea of keeping employees on-site, and online marketplaces and crowdfunding platforms have opened new opportunities for business-making to people of all backgrounds.
While Canadian regulations somewhat limit crowdfunding platforms, so they’re not allowed to provide equity crowdfunding, it doesn’t hurt to see how this method of raising capital is developing on a global scale.
Kickstarter/Indiegogo/GoFundMe
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The whole crowdfunding boom became mainstream through several platforms. While many more have popped up all over the globe, including many serving local needs, US-based Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and GoFundMe are the most notable examples for such platforms. What’s best is that each platform caters to a different audience, thereby saving crowdfunding seekers the trouble of having to spend a great deal of time comparing the three.
Of course, each platform can serve a wide variety of needs, but each one is widely recognized for being a suitable option for a specific use. Kickstarter is mostly oriented towards tech and creative projects; in other words, intangible services and art performances. As a matter of fact, Indiegogo is also catering to entrepreneurship ideas. The main difference between the two is when and how campaigners get access to the money, what happens if a project falls through, etc. It is GoFundMe that differs from the other two in that its strength lies within offering a platform for funding causes—personal and charitable.
Casino
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Of course, there’s more to crowdfunding than these three platforms. Crowd-oriented ventures come in two primary forms—crowdfunding and crowdsourcing. In basic terms, the former has to do with raising money; the latter—with raising human capital. Given that pretty much any industry can now benefit from the boom of crowdfunding and crowdsourcing, it comes as no surprise that niche industries also try to make use of it.
A bunch of companies in the iGaming industry have undertaken crowdfunding ventures either as beneficiaries or facilitators. A good example is ICE London, which is the largest global event dedicated to the iGaming industry. One of the notable events during the happening is ICE Pitch—an event that allows start-ups in the iGaming industry to compete for funding. The first edition of ICE Pitch was held in 2016, and back then, organizer of ICE Pitch was GamCrowd—a crowdfunding and crowdsourcing company that served the gambling industry.
Ultimately the company closed down in 2018. On his Linkedin profile, CEO and founder, Chris North mentions the reason is that he moved on to focus on “blockchain” and “ai” projects. However, back in 2014, GamCrowd released a white paper on the potential of crowdfunding and crowdsourcing in the iGaming sector. As of crowdsourcing, the report mentioned a range of uses—from translation services to communications.
It’s important to note that crowdfunding is in no way a panacea. While we are on the casino topic it’s worth noting that on the occasion of the 10th-year anniversary of Kickstarter this summer, one of the well-recognized names in the iGaming sector Betway Casino published a post on its blog titled “The Most Successful Kickstarter Campaigns Ever.” In it, the casino operator notes that “just like in any online casino, it can be a gamble for businesses to rely on crowdfunding alone.”
Other Uses
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Still, risky as it may be to put all your eggs in the crowdfunding basket, this funding method finds uses in many more industries. Real estate investing, scientific projects, medical solutions, even musical acts, have all in some way employed crowdfunding to supplement or completely cover their needs. By all means, crowdfunding is not as straightforward as it looks. There are specifics to writing successful pitches, attracting the right audience, and raising enough funds. Furthermore, as already noted with Canada as an example, not every country allows the full scope of crowdfunding. Therefore, the rights and responsibilities of campaigners and backers are also subject to various regulations under the respective location.
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