The online gambling industry is constantly improving employing various innovative technological solutions. The platforms make every effort to enlarge their client base. For this reason, introduction of cryptocurrencies into the gaming world was simply a question of time. Let’s find out what advantages have been acquired by those gambling platforms that have started accepting payments in cryptocurrencies in addition to fiat money.
Crypto gambling market
Currently, the global casino market is estimated at more than $250 billion. Large-scale conferences and other events take place in the industry. The use of crypto for topping up the balance at gambling platforms has contributed to the growth of the number of their users. According to research, a large portion of gamblers prefers using crypto money instead of fiat money to make bets. This trend is gaining momentum.
Digital currencies are still something special in the iGaming world but they are becoming more popular day after day. A growing number of gaming platforms – old and new – have started to support payments in cryptocurrencies. Besides, the list of tokens that the platforms accept is also growing longer. According to statistics, the total amount of bets made in the iGaming industry reached $6.3 billion by the end of 2023.
Dominating cryptocurrencies in the online gambling market
Bitcoin and Ethereum have been the most popular cryptocurrencies in the iGaming industry over recent years. BTC has been the most dominant currency but because its price has been steadily growing, many gamblers have switched to other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Litecoin, Tether, Dogecoin, and others. They may be bringing smaller profits but they are easier to mine. .
As of the first quarter of 2021, the share of BTC bets in online gambling was 83% but it fell to 58% by the end of March 2024. The main reason for that is the growing price of Bitcoin.
Trends in crypto trading
The rapid growth of popularity of cryptocurrencies has made many companies around the world adjust to the new reality. Digital currencies are used alongside fiat currencies in many industries and online gambling is not an exception.
The crypto gambling market is growing and developing. More and more companies that never worked with crypto before are turning their projects into hybrid platforms. In addition, a large number of new platforms aimed at crypto from the start are becoming available to gamblers. They are focusing on crypto not only because of the market’s prospects but also because the blockchain technology allows making safer and faster transactions to and from crypto wallets.
Gamblers also find several advantages when using the DeFi system. This is a finance management system typical of cryptocurrencies. It allows the gambling platforms to offer opportunities for decentralized games and bets under the governance of smart contracts.
Advantages of cryptocurrencies for online gambling
- Anonymity. All crypto transactions are anonymous. When a transaction between two wallets takes place, only their numbers are publicly available. Their holders don’t use their real names when registering the wallets: they can use any nicknames.
- No need to pay for conversion. If a gambler has fiat currency that is not accepted by an online casino or a betting company, he/ she will have to exchange it into an acceptable currency paying a commission for conversion. If the casino accepts crypto, the gambler can buy the coins that he/ she needs straight away.
- Fast speed of payments. Payments are made via decentralized blockchains. A crypto payment does not go through any processing or confirmation procedures, as is the case with bank transactions and other financial operations.
- Security of the wallets. Crypto wallets are well protected because they can be accessed only with multi-layer authentication (password, confirmation code to the email, authentication application, et.). Even if the online casino database is hacked, the attackers will only get the wallet numbers that will be of no use to them.
- Opportunity to gamble from any place in the world. You can make crypto bets from wherever you are.
- No chargeback threat. Chargebacks are a pain in the back for online companies bringing a lot of trouble. Naturally, any company wants to make money, not to give it back. Chargebacks are impossible with crypto payments: once a payment goes through, it cannot be returned.
- Gambling operators can set their own transaction limits. Crypto transactions are made without any intermediaries who might set some limits. The owners of online casinos can set the minimum and the maximum levels for bets and withdrawals.
If you are impressed with the prospects of the industry and you would like to start your own online gambling company, please consider acquiring a gambling/ gaming license in the Isle of Man, Comoros, Curacao, or Costa Rica. It is simple to do that and a single license is going to be good for all games.
Disadvantages of the use of cryptocurrencies in online gambling
Even though cryptocurrencies are one of the most attractive means of payment in the gambling/ gaming world, they have two main drawbacks. First, they are highly volatile and second, they are not widespread thus far.
All cryptocurrencies are volatile: their exchange rates are unstable. This fact allows some people to make good money on cryptocurrencies. The same fact may cause the online casino owners to lose money if the price of a certain coin drops sharply.
Even though the use of crypto in the gambling industry looks very promising, the gambling/ gaming platforms are only starting to use cryptocurrencies alongside fiat currencies. Their owners see that cryptocurrencies have good prospects and they are starting to accept more and more tokens but they proceed with caution.
What awaits crypto gambling?
Crypto transactions are faster, safer, and more confidential than bank transactions or other financial operations such as electronic money payments, for example. Using tokens for making bets in online casinos is a handy instrument indeed. No wonder why the popularity of crypto gambling is growing.
Experts predict that the current trends in the industry will remain the same in the near future, that the number of crypto casinos will continue growing, and an increasing number of crypto games will appear. Alongside these trends, the regulation of the use of cryptocurrencies on the part of national authorities is also going to toughen.
11 June 2024 