Gambling on the internet has been a big business for several years now, and the market continues to increase year on year. A key driver behind the success of online gambling has been the willingness of gambling platforms to evolve and adapt new technologies in the online space.
Now, the internet and the gambling industry find themselves presented with possibly the most significant technological advancement in online transactions since the internet’s invention: cryptocurrencies and the blockchain.
In recent years, it has become impossible for companies to ignore the rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and the opportunities they offer for advancing the gambling industry. For the platforms that choose to adopt this technology, the benefits could be game-changing.
You can use this crypto casino guide to see the top platforms already making use of the technology. This article will explore precisely why crypto could be so important for online casinos in the coming years.
How Online Casinos use cryptocurrency
For the general public, the most common use of cryptocurrency is to send and receive payments. Of course, this is one fundamental way that online gambling sites use crypto. Many popular casino providers are already beginning to accept payments in crypto.
However, there are more ways a casino can use crypto than only for payments.
Over the past few years, we have started to see online casinos that have been built entirely around crypto and the technology that supports it, known as the blockchain.
The blockchain is essentially a database or leger that records every single transaction ever made. This database is decentralized, completely visible, and cannot be manipulated, making it highly secure.
The “transactions” on the blockchain are not just monetary; any kind of data can be sent and received, which opens up an entire world of possibilities.
For example, online casinos can use the blockchain to create fairer, more secure, and transparent games where gamblers can clearly identify how a game works and verify its fairness.
The Importance of Cryptos for Online Casinos
The use of cryptocurrency for online gambling can benefit both the customer and the casino itself. Here is a list of some key advantages to using crypto for online gambling.
Simple Global Payments
You can send cryptos like Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum worldwide to and from any location with an internet connection. On top of this, the fees do not change no matter where you’re sending funds, and the transactions are almost instant in most cases.
Such fast and cheap transactions mean customers can use a wider variety of online platforms without worrying about additional fees. Crypto also gives you total control over your money, which means you can even use it in places where your traditional bank accounts are restricted.
In simple terms, crypto offers a level of freedom and control over your money that is often taken away when using traditional banking methods.
As a bonus, the reduced fees mean crypto casinos can operate more cheaply and pass some of these savings to the users. The cheaper a casino is to run, the cheaper it should be to use so both the provider and customer can benefit.
Provably Fair Games
One of the significant hurdles for new customers in the online gambling space is overcoming the worry of getting scammed or online games being rigged. Of course, in most cases, online casinos operate just like a physical casino, and customers aren’t being scammed.
However, it is complicated to see exactly how these online casino games work and judge whether or not they are indeed fair.
Crypto casinos change the game again and make it possible to prove to the players their games are fair. How crypto casinos are provably fair can seem complicated, but it all becomes relatively straightforward once you play the games for yourself.
Here is a basic explanation of how the blockchain is used to create provably fair games inside crypto casinos:
- The games make use of cryptographic hash seed numbers that are virtually unbreakable and cannot be manipulated.
- Before bets are placed, 2 of these hash seeds are generated by using random numbers.
- It is these hash seeds that represent the outcome of the game. Exactly how the hash seeds work together in a particular game must always be explained by the casino operator.
- The blockchain encrypts the hash seeds so they cannot be seen in full by either party.
- Before the game starts, the player receives one hash seed.
- The player will receive the original, non-encrypted seeds once the round or game is over.
- The original seeds are checked against the seed received at the start of the game, which verifies the game was indeed fair and random.
- If the game were fair, the seeds would be the same, and the player can use their seeds alongside the casino’s explanation of how the game result is achieved to confirm this.
- All hash seeds are encrypted and issued before the game, so there is no way of manipulating them to rig the games.
I understand this description seems highly complicated, which is down to using such advanced technology to make the games provably fair. Still, it is easier to make sense of it all once you are using the casino and playing the games.
The video below explains how this concept works in traditional card games:
Fewer Regulations for Casinos
This one is a fascinating point for casino operators who use cryptocurrency exclusively and don’t accept payments in Fiat currency at all.
Crypto is not treated as “real money” by regulators. You can think of it as betting with monopoly money, but this monopoly money can be converted and exchanged for real currency.
As a result of not using traditionally recognized currencies on their sites, the casinos do not need to adhere to many of the strict regulations imposed upon gambling providers. Fewer restrictions mean a lower barrier to entry and cheaper running costs for casino providers, leading to more casino options being available to gamblers.
The obvious concern for customers is that fewer regulations could mean more scams. After all, the regulations are put in place to protect customers, so using casinos that don’t need to adhere to them must be risky, right?
Not when it comes to crypto. As mentioned earlier, the blockchain technology that crypto casinos are built on is already secure, decentralized, transparent, and can’t be manipulated, so it needs no further regulations.
