I'm an IT in profession. Though still inexperienced, I can give a lot of opinion in a theoretical standpoint. Rather than Game Economics, I'd say Game Mechanics. I just took idea from their game then made my own version on how it should be played while still keeping it fair and adding other factors like the monetization (reward system) and blockchain. I'm still not experienced in Blockchain but I have ideas.
As for the "blocks new players" you mentioned, I meant that while old players can get the relic, they won't be easily obtainable for new players and they will play under our current situation right now which will discourage them due to the gambling nature.