Cryptocurrency usage is extensive in the online gambling segment, making it the driving force behind the adoption of cryptos. People have started to prefer crypto gambling and sportsbook options over conventional offerings due to its various underlying benefits, attractive discounts in the form of deposit bonuses (bonus for depositing funds), no deposit bonus (complementary balance within the account that can be used to place bets without making any deposit), a variety of promo codes(e.g. bet365 bonus codes), etc., and virtually nil transaction and processing fees offered by these platforms. In this article, we will briefly discuss the adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain in online gaming and their benefits.
A Backstory
Over a decade has passed since the introduction of the very first cryptocurrency – Bitcoin and since then, the sector has witnessed unprecedented growth in terms of the number of cryptocurrencies, adoption rate as well as the uses of cryptocurrencies and their underlying technologies. When Bitcoin was launched, it was hailed as a democratized, decentralized universal store of value that can be used by anyone, anywhere in the world, without having to depend on banks and governments. While the mainstream financial sector as well as the governments were disturbed by this new development and started considering it as a threat to the very economical as well as governance structures the nations are built on, something amazing happened. It was soon discovered that the cryptocurrency’s underlying blockchain technology has a huge potential to solve various real-world issues across multiple industry segments.
Since then, the use of blockchain technology sans cryptocurrency is being explored by various industries including the mainstream financial sector. However, one industry stands apart from the rest, and that is the online gambling segment. Online gaming platforms are probably the only ones to have not only adopted blockchain technology but also cryptocurrencies as a mode of payment. According to reports, the online gambling industry has been instrumental in promoting the use of cryptocurrency as it adds to the convenience, privacy as well as security for both the users as well as platforms.
Why the Gambling Industry?
Gambling-related activities are regulated by the governments across a majority of jurisdictions, which had forced the online gambling platforms to limit their geographical reach to specific jurisdictions while ensuring compliance with all applicable laws of the land. At the same time, many countries have made gambling illegal and those residing in such geographies were left with no alternative. That is until Bitcoin came along. The decentralized and peer-to-peer nature of cryptocurrencies made them the perfect solution to the global gambling industry’s woes.
Online gambling platforms started offering cryptocurrencies as one of the payment options, allowing anybody with access to internet and bitcoin to create an account on the platform, irrespective of the jurisdiction and start playing. Without a need for payment processors and banking channels, all transactions could be managed and settled over the crypto blockchain, keeping everyone happy in the process. Also, the direct and verifiable nature of transactions dramatically reduced the deposit and withdrawal times for users from what used to be few days or a couple of weeks to a matter of few hours or less.
With a huge problem solved by cryptocurrencies, the industry decided to take it a step further by using blockchain to bring in more transparency into the gambling process by creating provably fair games. Few projects have also created decentralized casino platforms on blockchain that combines all the goodness of the crypto revolution and overcome the jurisdiction hassles as well.
Why Use Crypto-Supported Casinos and Sportsbooks?
As explained earlier, cryptocurrencies offer a range of benefits over fiat transactions. For starters, users don’t have to share personal or banking information in order to initiate such transactions. Also, they can make near-instant deposits and start playing their game of choice on such platforms. In the event of winning a wager and want to make a withdrawal, platforms generally process cryptocurrency withdrawals within 24-48 hours and the funds will appear in the user’s wallet. The lack of geographical restrictions for crypto-transactions also allows gambling enthusiasts to pick from a long list of platforms, and many of them have minimal or no-KYC for faster onboarding.
However, it is not advisable to pick the first crypto casino or sportsbook one comes across. The users will have to conduct their due diligence to ensure that the platform they wish to create an account on, is legitimate. There are plenty of reviews of such platforms available on the internet to make the job easier. It is also advisable to focus on transparency and provable fairness (provably fair) which choosing the platform. Many online crypto-gambling platforms also have attractive bonuses and promotional offers in place for first-time users or otherwise. Users can check for such offers and bonus codes on the internet or by visiting the casino/sportsbooks’ webpages.
At the end, a couple of points to remember:
- Do your due diligence to choose the right platform that suits your needs.
- Transparent and Provably fair platforms are always a better choice.
- DO NOT wager more than you can spare.
