Introduction
Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency was invented about a decade back in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto, a person or a group of individuals whose origins are still shrouded in mystery. In 2009, it was officially launched as open-source software. This digital currency has slowly gained popularity and is currently being widely accepted as a mode of receipt and payment in almost all types of transactions.
The gaming industry is no exception, and casinos of both the brick-and-mortar variety and the online ones are accepting crypto in gaming. The traditional casinos now accept Bitcoins, which is called bitcoin casinos, for deposits and withdrawals along with fiat currency and debit and credit cards. There are also standalone online gaming sites that exclusively deal in cryptocurrencies. The playing experience in both forms is the same, and it is the transaction mode that differs only.
Why do players prefer crypto transactions at casinos?
The first is that deposits and withdrawals are made in the Blockchain node. Hence, there are no third parties like financial institutions or currency-issuing regulatory authorities involved in the transactions, unlike cash or cards. This secrecy is critical for those who want to conceal their gambling activities. Most importantly, there are no transaction fees for cryptos against substantial charges levied when credit or debit cards are used.
The speed of withdrawals gives cryptocurrencies an edge. A regular currency withdrawal at a casino can take almost 6 to 7 business days to complete, whereas, for cryptos, it is under 12 hours on average. This is because cryptos are stored through smart contracts in digital wallets and can be withdrawn instantly. Gamers have an advantage here as their funds are not blocked for long.
Finally, best crypto casinos steal the show over regular casinos in transparency and this is the biggest reason for the growing popularity of Bitcoin casinos. The odds of winning a game is linked to a random number generated between the user and the smart contract. This number can be verified after a game is over.
these factors have contributed to the exponential growth of the online cryptocurrency casino industry.
Which major cryptocurrencies are used in online casinos?
Here are some of the cryptocurrencies most used by players at online and regular casinos.
- Bitcoin (BTC): Bitcoin leads the pack, being the first digital currency launched in 2009. Despite this, it has retained its hold on the cryptocurrency market and is the most widely used and circulated among all other cryptos. Even though other cryptos have used better technologies on the Blockchain node, Bitcoin has consistently retained its value among peers.
This is one reason why Bitcoins are accepted in all Bitcoin gcasinos worldwide as a mode of payment. Most gambling websites in the USA accept Bitcoins apart from the usual transaction methods like credit and debit cards. Players also prefer to hold Bitcoins in their digital wallets as it is considered a safe-haven investment during troubled times and economic recession.
- Ethereum (ETH): Ethereum was introduced in 2015 and is based on a significantly faster and more efficient Blockchain than Bitcoin. It created a storm in the crypto world immediately after launch and quickly rose in the popularity charts to be firmly placed after Bitcoin. This crypto was created to be a platform for Blockchain projects and not an investment option like Bitcoin. However, soon, people realized the worth of ETH, which led to an exponential rise in its value.
In online gambling, ETH has shown excellent results and a way to manage payments effectively. New blocks are mined every 7 seconds, making Ethereum transactions so fast that payments are completed in less than a minute.
- Monero (XMR): Monero is an altcoin that improves a critical feature of other cryptos – the anonymity of transactions. The crypto has a processing method where it is impossible to trace any transactions back to the owner. All information is encrypted on the Blockchain network with a wide range of solutions. This attribute has made Monero a preferred mode of payment for online gamblers who want to conceal their identity and gambling activities. However, Monero is a private and not a public cryptocurrency and has been banned in several countries by regulatory authorities as there are concerns that it might be used for illegal activities.
- Litecoin (LTC): Litecoin was introduced in 2011, a couple of years after Bitcoin is the second oldest crypto in the world. Initially, it was based on the Bitcoin pattern and code but deviated considerably from it after making several changes over the years. It now has its own unique platform. LTC is an improvement over Bitcoin as blocks are mined every 2.5 minutes against 10 minutes in Bitcoin. This makes Litecoin much faster than Bitcoin. Hence online gamblers prefer Litecoin as the transactions are completed faster, and their funds are not blocked for long. This is one advantage that Litecoin has over Bitcoin for online gaming enthusiasts using cryptocurrency.
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH): Bitcoin Cash was invented as a necessity and released in 2009 as an offshoot of the original Bitcoin. As the Bitcoin blockchain increased in popularity, more people started investing in it. The result was that transactions slowed down, and the platform came under scrutiny. At this juncture, a few programmers got together and created the Bitcoin Cash, based on the existing Bitcoin code but with enough changes to have a new Blockchain for itself. BCH is one of the top cryptocurrencies today and in online gambling enjoys the same level of support as Bitcoin.
Conclusion
It is now quite common and natural for online casinos to accept cryptocurrency as a mode of transaction. Bitcoin is no longer the only one, but the market is ever-growing with a host of them. The main benefits are maintaining secrecy and speed in transactions, both critical factors in a gambling scenario.
