Cryptocurrencies are having a heyday despite global stocks experiencing a massive meltdown. Stock markets in major developed economies including the US are plunging faster than the 2008 Great Financial Crisis following the COVID-19 outbreak and tanking oil prices. Despite taking a beating early on, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are rallying – maintaining a bullish position despite rising market volatility.
But it’s not just the investors that are favoring the currencies written on decentralized ledgers. In recent years, online casinos have also thrown their weight behind cryptocurrencies.
One of the major hurdles for cryptocurrencies, when they were first introduced, was the absence of platforms where owners could spend them. Today, major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are accepted by major online retailers like Paypal through conversion services. As more establishments accept cryptocurrencies as payment, online casinos have also taken a liking to the benefits of digital assets. But why exactly is that?
Removing barriers
Predicted to reach $87 billion by 2024, online casinos are now the fastest-growing segment of the social gaming market. As online casinos rise in popularity, it’s also pioneering some of the most innovative solutions in the industry. One of these is the use of cryptocurrencies as payment.
Both game developers and players often struggle with the same barriers: fraud risk, hidden fees, high cost of entry for game developers, operational overhead, player access to funds, player withdrawal delays, and general lack of trust. This is where cryptocurrencies come in.
Taking in new users is the lifeblood of any gaming platform, and online casinos are no exception. In fact, online casinos tend to be quite generous with their bonuses to attract new players, with Gala Spins offering an extremely generous $1.78 million giveaway, as well as daily prize drops from a number of games on their site. Of course, to further entice them, cryptocurrencies can also be used to deposit through platforms like Skrill, which ensures that both the casino and player are protected, especially when such big amounts are involved. Not to mention, players will also be secure in their anonymity, should they win prizes or giveaways.
By using a decentralized platform for payment, developers and players can now exchange money more securely and, more importantly, without a middleman. This is a huge step into creating a frictionless system and will pave the way to the wide adoption of online casinos for casual gamers.
The future of online casino payments?
Today, there are numerous online casinos that accept cryptocurrencies and even those which are cryptocurrency-only. In fact, these sites tend to have the highest payouts across the markets as they’re more likely to have no hidden fees and transaction fees. Most of these sites accept major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dogecoin. The only downside, for now at least, with these sites is the fact that registration tends to be more tedious as verification is needed for your coin wallet.
But that might also change as smart contracts start to become a popular platform for crypto payments in the online casino space. Smart contracts are coded agreements that live in a permanent address on the Ethereum chain. These agreements can interact with other contracts to automatically enact functions that pose less risk while being more convenient. Blockchain-based online casino games that are integrated with smart contracts have more leeway in offerings as gamers can play with almost zero financial risks.
Transparency and trust are at the heart of what cryptocurrency provides the online casino market. As more cryptocurrency-based and cryptocurrency-only online casinos continue to rise, it’s exciting to see where this great match is heading.
