Meta Gaming Veteran Secures $6M to Accelerate Stablecoin Gaming Integration
ZOOT (getzoot.us), a sweepstakes gaming platform bringing video game sensibilities to iGaming entertainment, announced it has raised $6 million in seed funding led by CoinFund, one of the world’s first cryptonative investment firms, with participation from Griffin Gaming Partners to expand the current US-focused business to a global-facing, stablecoin-driven one. The investment further grows the opportunities for instant, borderless payments in digital entertainment as stablecoin adoption surges past $239 billion in circulation, with payment giants like Visa and PayPal racing to integrate crypto rails for faster, cheaper transactions.
Co-founded by gaming industry veterans John Cahill (ex-Sega, Shockwave, Yahoo Games, and Open Wager) and Sean Ryan, who led Facebook’s multi-billion dollar games business, ZOOT is building an iGaming platform that pioneers a new approach to iGaming that combines the engagement of video games with the efficiency of blockchain-based payments. Ryan brings decades of experience from leadership roles including CEO of digital music service Listen.com/Rhapsody and co-founder of social casino games company OpenWager (home of leading sweeps product Luckyland Slots), which was successfully acquired by VGW in 2017.
“Blockchain gaming with real currency integration represents one of the most compelling opportunities in digital entertainment today. We’re bringing video game design principles to iGaming to create experiences that are not only entertaining, but also transparent and instantly rewarding. With stablecoins eliminating traditional payment friction, we can serve players globally with zero fees and instant payouts,” said Sean Ryan, CEO and Co-Founder of ZOOT.
Building on its successful launch in the US-focused sweepstakes sector, ZOOT’s upcoming global platform addresses key friction points in traditional online gaming—namely payment processing delays and geographic restrictions. The platform’s flagship games, including its leading Beer Pong adaptation of the classic Plinko game, show how traditional chance-based mechanics can be reimagined through a video game lens with more interactivity and greater audio and graphical fidelity.
“We are now seeing explosive growth in stablecoin adoption, and real-money gaming is a trillion-dollar market waiting to be transformed by crypto rails. Sean is one of the most thoughtful and experienced entrepreneurs in gaming, and we believe he and his team will be one of the largest winners in this market as they create a much more mainstream experience for real-money gaming players around the world,” said David Pakman, Managing Partner and Head of Venture Investments at CoinFund.
