#crowdpark

Crowdpark, the company I proudly work at, today announced two new games for iOS devices:

AnteUp is the best social betting app out there, handsdown. Bet your friends anything and kick ass - now from whereever you are. It's super easy to use, has a great design and connects perfectly with facebook and your personal social graph (if you choose to).

Get it in the store (IT'S FREE): http://itunes.apple.com/de/app/anteup-bet-friends/id544687883?mt=8

Pet Vegas is the "slot machine you are guaranteed to love". The cutest pets with gorgeous graphics in an exciting and very entertaining slot machine casino experience! That's the marketing speech, but what I can say is that we loved to build that game and are really proud that it finally hit the store. 

By Sacha Robehmed 

Berlin's tech ladies turned up en masse yesterday at Google for the Berlin Geekettes July meetup, sponsored by Crowdpark

With close to 100 ladies and a few men in the audience, an introduction by Jess Erickson started off the evening. She described how Berlin Geekettes has taken shape since its formation just months ago, and outlined future plans. Next, the audience heard from Lisa Lang, Head of Content for Campus Party Europe. Lisa encouraged the ladies attending yesterday’s event to get involved in the 10,000-strong tech conference, happening in Berlin this August. There will be a Berlin Geekettes women in tech panel at Campus Party Europe, and you can win tickets to the conference. Then, following the recent Rails Girls Berlin workshop, organisers Jocelyn Afful and Dajana Günther talked about their plans for further Ruby on Rails learning opportunities for Berlin’s women. 

Having shared information about upcoming events for Berlin’s tech women, it was time to hear from inspirational founders. Caitlin Winner, cofounder and Chief Product Officer of Berlin startup Amen, shared insights about what she has learnt cofounding a startup - because of course, “Experience is the Best Teacher Ever.” Caitlin had everyone enrapt with her tales of weird online communities, press doesn’t equal success, a company is more like a sports team than a family, and that having a celebrity investor is fun. 

Caitlin Winner’s decision to share general and not gender specific advice contrasted with Zoe Adamovicz’s talk. The CEO of Xyologic first described her background as one of very few women at Warsaw’s Technical University, standing out from her male peers. Zoe then shared her view that being a woman in tech actually allows you some advantages. With Alice in Wonderland references, she encouraged the audience to become Queens of their own worlds, and use their femininity to help them run a successful business. The questions that subsequently followed Zoe’s talk sparked heated debate on whether women in tech should be given preferential treatment during the hiring process.  

These discussions carried on into the networking event. Sipping drinks and munching on snacks, it was a great opportunity to meet new Geekettes, and catch up with old.

Thanks to everyone who came along and made it Berlin Geekettes @Google such a successful evening. See you at the next meetup!

Also, our thanks go to sponsors Google and Crowdpark for helping host the event. 

Crowdpark, the maker of the Bet Tycoon game on Facebook may be considering adding Bitcoin as a virtual currency used by the game's half million users. Louis Bedigian (@LouisBedigian), on staff at Benzinga, writes that the startup's Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer "would love to [implement bets made with bitcoins]".

Crowdpark makes social gambling and prediction-markets games and plans to expand with the sports markets. The report follows Crowdpark's announcement that it had received $6 million in new funding.

Winnings from Bet Tycoon wagers are good only for additional in-game use so apparently the service does not run afoul of the online gambling laws that are in effect in many jurisdictions.

There are several organizations offering online gambling using bitcoins and if Crowdpark does begin accepting bitcoins wagers it will have competition. A prediction market called Bets Of Bitcoin has been operating since August. A online sportsbook that accepts bitcoin wagers, BTCSportsBet, has been in operation since February.  Players that win on their wagers with these services can withdraw their bitcoins and, in-turn, use those funds for purchases or for conversion to cash after being sent to an exchange.

There have been no reports by any of the bitcoin wagering services of any contact from law enforcement or any other government agency.  Some arguments have been made that because it hasn't even been determined that bitcoin is a currency that these gaming services can accept bitcoins for wagers without there even being a violation of online gambling laws.

Perhaps the statements by Crowdpark's co-founder statements truly indicate the ambitions for the company and that progress is made towards them.  In doing so the company will help to answer these outstanding questions of importance to many Bitcoiners.