Blockchain Technology To Be Used With Kings’ Predictive Game

Source: Sacramento Business Journal, Ben van der Meer
Photo: Beginning this season, players for the Sacramento Kings’ predictive in-game contest “Call the Shot” will have their rewards tracked and stored by blockchain technology, a first for an NBA team. (Courtesy of Sacramento Kings)

Sacramento Kings fans playing the team’s in-game predictive contest this season will be using an emerging form of technology — though they might not realize it.

Kings’ Chief Technology Officer Ryan Montoya said tech firm Blockparty will provide blockchain technology to track players’ points and store their rewards in a virtual wallet.

“This is a way to manage those points, which can be very difficult,” Montoya said. Previously, doing so was more of a manual process, he said. “It’ll become an efficient time saver for us.”

In the game, “Call the Shot,” fans predict during a basketball game which player will take the next shot, end up with the most points or other game-related outcomes. By predicting well, players earn points toward rewards such as courtside seats or signed merchandise.

Before the upcoming season, Montoya said, team officials would track those rewards by Excel spreadsheet.

Blockchain technology provides a digital ledger where a series of transactions can be recorded. It is commonly used to support cybercurrencies such as bitcoin.

Using blockchain technology in “Call the Shot” will allow fans to see their rewards in real time, Montoya said. That might not benefit them now, but it eventually will, he said.

“We’re always experimenting with different technology to achieve different aspects of our customer experience,” Montoya said. “We’re trying to make everything more efficient, easier to use and provide more experiences for our fans.”

The Kings will be the first NBA team to use blockchain technology in a rewards program for fans, Montoya said. He said he’d describe the move as a precursor, much as the team being the first in the NBA to accept bitcoin was. At some point, Montoya said, one possible outcome could be the team creating a virtual currency of its own.

https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2019/10/07/blockchain-technology-to-be-used-with-kings