Dominode, a developer of verified identity solutions for regulated industries, has closed on a $1.3 million venture capital investment from New York-based Blockchange Ventures.

This funding will accelerate development of the Dominode Digital Passport, a suite of proprietary solutions to protect, secure and authenticate digital identity for professionals and businesses operating in regulated industries around the world.

"In the United States alone, nearly one in four jobs are in licensed occupations, and 27 million businesses must be licensed or permitted to operate legally," said John Toohey, Dominode CEO & Co-founder. "These businesses and workers must regularly seek approvals from one or more of the 70,000 licensing jurisdictions. And, the need for verified identity isn't just a domestic challenge. It impacts regulated industries around the globe."

The Dominode solution leverages blockchain, smart contracts and crypto technologies to give professionals and businesses direct control over their identity data that exceed current standards of privacy, protection, and portability. Further, regulators and oversight agencies are provided a compliant, secure and scalable solution to leverage the verification efforts of peer agencies while adhering to legislated privacy obligations. Underpinning the Dominode solution is a system of token-based incentives that motivate cooperation and collaboration between peer agencies. The Dominode trust token is a form of settlement between transacting partners that is paid as a reward for validating identity data elements and providing necessary services to participants.

Blockchange Ventures Managing Partner Ken Seiff said, "We are excited to continue supporting the Dominode team, which is working to solve a significant problem. We backed this team because they have both deep technical competence and significant industry expertise." He continued, "Their leadership and platform are laser-focused on solving the unique and complex challenge of secure identity verification for regulated industries. They have the potential to reshape how dozens of industries control and share their highly valuable digital identities."

Initially, the Dominode team is focused on the regulated gaming industry. Toohey explained, "Because the Dominode leadership team has more than 60 years combined experience in the regulated gaming industry, building a verified identity solution for this sector was a logical first step in constructing the platform. After successfully solving the gaming use case, Dominode will have a platform that can be applied to many other industries."

Toohey said the challenge is particularly complex for the global casino industry. The American Gaming Association and the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers report that in the U.S. alone, there are more than 16,000 business entities authorized to operate gaming or supply gaming equipment. In a U.S. industry that employs 1.7 million workers, licensing is a strict requirement and involves more than 100 regulatory agencies. And, the U.S. is representative of just 30 percent of the worldwide casino market.

Toohey and the Dominode leadership team will attend TOTALLY GAMING ICE, February 2-8, in London, and the KNOW Identity 2018 Conference, March 26-28, in Washington, DC, as a Bronze Sponsor.

About Dominode: Dominode is a blockchain innovation company that is building and deploying the definitive verified digital identity solution for regulated industries. Learn more about the world's first permissioned, secure and tokenized blockchain network for licensed professionals, businesses, and regulators at www.dominode.com.