Cryptocurrency Casino MetaWin Hacked, $4M Vanishes
This week, the company’s CEO has acknowledged that a cryptocurrency online casino was breached.
MetaWin is a digital gaming platform that provides engaging slots, live dealer games such as blackjack, roulette, poker, and baccarat, NFT raffles and drawings, along with numerous instant-win games.
The MetaWin rewards program additionally enables players to participate in daily and weekly "wagering races," in which bettors are ranked according to the overall amount of real money wagers they place. The races enable players to compete for a chance to win a weekly grand prize of $40,000.
The internet casino based in London functions offshore via a gaming license from Anjouan, a tiny island nation situated near Africa's southeastern coastline. MetaWin lacks a license to accept bets in any US state, but players engaging with the online casino are unlikely to encounter legal repercussions.
State gaming regulators, nonetheless, persist in warning consumers about the dangers of utilizing an offshore casino. It is claimed that unregulated gaming websites offer little to no protection for consumers, such as ensuring the safety of their online funds. This week, the MetaWin hack demonstrated that point.
$4 million taken
Richard Skelhorn, CEO and founder of MetaWin, verified on November 3 that several MetaWin "hot wallets" had been compromised. Skelhorn's remarks followed 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 are always online. Hot wallets serve as temporary storage for keys and facilitate the sending and receiving of cryptocurrency.
Cold wallets, or storage solutions, that maintain crypto in an offline private environment, are regarded as the most secure way to protect digital currency. However, hot wallets are essential for conducting transactions with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and Solana.
ZachXBT reported that the hackers successfully absconded with $4 million in cryptocurrency, which was quickly moved to KuCoin and a HitBTC nested cold wallet. The internet investigator found over 115 addresses linked to the harmful individual.
For his part, 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 portion 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 referred over 180K new depositing clients to its worldwide iGaming and online sportsbook partners.
Better Collective is a publicly listed company located in Denmark that owns online media brands such as The Action Network, SportsHandle, and VegasInsider.
