As we approach the end of 2022, we would be remiss to not talk about tech. After all, what’s this past year been if not the metaverse’s outbreak year, driving next-gen pop-ups, hotel stays, and anchor events like NYFW? With it came techy terms that we all had to get accustomed to—like cryptocurrency, blockchain, decentralization, NFT, and phygital, just to name a few—but with Forbes reporting a crypto nosedive from a $1 trillion to an $870 billion market in a matter of days, we’re left wondering if this forward-thinking lingo here to stay as we head into 2023.
David Cummings—the co-founder of Metaskins Studios, a Panama-based metaverse design studio—assures event industry professionals and beyond that this multiverse is here to stay. In an interview with BizBash, he said that he founded the company a mere 16 months ago because “we had a very good feeling—and still do—that the metaverse is the next generation of the internet, and of many parts of life itself.”
Metaskins and his team developed “the first two on-chain [blockchain-based] casinos in the metaverse, hosting a variety of games for metaverse users to enjoy.”Photo: Courtesy of Metaskins
As far as what he forecasts for the coming years? “I see the metaverse [as a place] where most people spend the majority of their days. From work to school to socializing to shopping to gaming, this will be a space that is shared by and lived in by most,” Cummings said. “Let’s call it the next evolution of the internet and social media.”
The gambling houses are still currently the only two of its kind in the metaverse, both fittingly located in two venues—The Holy Temple (pictured) and The Aquarium—in Decentraland's Vegas City.Photo: Courtesy of Metaskins
He continued: “Lots of people do not understand how difficult it is to build a metaverse that hosts thousands of people from geographic locations throughout the globe–all powered by the blockchain. But if it was easy, there would be many of them. For now, we strongly believe Decentraland is the best version of the metaverse.”
Cummings isn’t just talking the innovative, futuristic talk—he and his team developed “the first two on-chain [blockchain-based] casinos in the metaverse, hosting a variety of games for metaverse users to enjoy.” The gambling houses are still currently the only two of its kind in the metaverse, both fittingly located in two venues—The Holy Temple and The Aquarium—in Decentraland's Vegas City. “These casinos boast traditional, easy, and fun-to-play gaming options like blackjack, high card, and a metaverse lottery game,” Cummings explained.
Cummings noted that the casinos are a great place for friends to meet up using their digital avatars, "and play games together for a much more fun experience.”Photo: Courtesy of Metaskins
The casinos have played host to “tens of thousands of players” in the near year and a half they’ve been open.Photo: Courtesy of Metaskins
The casinos have played host to “tens of thousands of players” in the near year and a half they’ve been open, taking advantage of what Cummings described as “two main aspects of gamification.” First, “the social aspect of things,” which the co-founder detailed as when “friends’ digital avatars meet up in the casinos and play games together for a much more fun experience.” Second, the unique digital environment. “Metaverse games can be gamified in a way most cannot. There is so much utility to be given out in the form of rewards within our metaverse games,” Cummings said, noting that “the rewards aspects that can be used in-world is [also] limitless!”
“I see the metaverse [as a place] where most people spend the majority of their days. From work to school to socializing to shopping to gaming, this will be a space that is shared by and lived in by most,” Cummings said.Photo: Courtesy of Metaskins
This is where NFTs come into play, he said. Aside from the ability to buy NFT assets in stores within the casinos, the “biggest winners of the day, month, or year all get access to NFTs as further rewards that are [then] confirmed on the blockchain.”
Cummings advised event professionals to not see the volatility of cryptocurrency as a representation of the metaverse’s future. Instead, consider Metaskins as a type of fully customizable, branded venue for virtual or hybrid events. And with the introduction of “phygital”—the blending of physical and digital worlds—Cummings said parties are brought to “another level.” 
To make an avatar in the casino, users must create a crypto wallet where they can upload funds to bet during games that resemble those typically found in a gambling house.Photo: Courtesy of Metaskins
Metaskins ensured to include avatars for educational use to assist users who may be new to using Decentraland.Photo: Courtesy of Metaskins
