Today, 1.6 billion people across the world participate in gambling. Over the last five years, the industry has seen a dramatic shift over to online gambling in which the industry has demonstrated some impressive growth. According to a UK study, 17% of the population opt for online gambling, generating a revenue of £5.3 billion each year for the online market alone.
New and continually developing technologies are fueling the growth of online casinos, in which the widespread innovation of the tech world has meant that games have become more accessible, more engaging and a lot more entertaining for players. This growth has in turn also fueled the online payment industry as providers seek easier and more secure ways for their customers to pay for online gambling services.
Below, we’ll explore how players are utilizing the benefits of online casinos and the role cryptocurrencies play in facilitating a more accessible and secure online gaming environment.
What is driving the rise in online casino game play?
The rise in online casino game play has been encouraged by the fact that online games are a lot easier to access than their physical casino counterparts. While visiting a real-life casino and soaking up the rich atmosphere is still popular, online gaming has become more frequent thanks to mobile gaming functionality that enables players to play on the go, at any location and any time.
Mobile gaming has now developed into intuitive and seamless apps that enable players to quickly access their accounts and favorite games, while still maintaining the same visual and user experience qualities that desktop gambling offers. Coupled with the rollout of 5G technology, online gaming is now faster than ever with significantly reduced lag times, faster downloads and uninterrupted live streaming.
Cryptocurrency as a form of payment for online casinos
As online casino providers have become so popular, there has been demand for easier and more secure online payments. As such cryptocurrency has become a popular online payment method, bringing with it a whole host of benefits to gamers. While cryptocurrencies were once dismissed by major financial investors and industries as a fad, today the online cryptocurrency industry is thriving, with many different types of cryptocurrencies having emerged.
One of the main issues that online casinos faced with traditional payment methods, such as debit card payments, was that each payment made by a customer has to be authorized by the bank. This can cause delays with importing and exporting funds to a gamers account and can impact on the quality of their gaming experience. On the other hand, cryptocurrencies operate through BlockChain technology, rather than being processed by a central bank authority. This means that there’s no lengthy approvals and funds can immediately be transferred between a player’s environment and their crypto wallet.
The rise of crypto casinos
A crypto casino is a casino that only takes cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. Crypto casino websites offer an in-house crypto wallet where players can safely and securely store their crypto cash. These types of casinos were not only created as a way of distinguishing themselves in a market that was becoming highly saturated, but also to improve the user experience for online casino players.
Another issue that fueled the rise of crypto casinos was the state of online cybersecurity. As online activity has become more popular, inevitably, so too has online crime. From phishing emails to payment card fraud, there are many things that players need to be aware of when making transactions online. Crypto currencies remove the need for players to be over cautious by decentralizing the payment system and reducing the likelihood of a cyber-attack on customer’s payment accounts.
The benefits of using cryptocurrencies at online casinos
There are a whole host of other benefits to using cryptocurrencies that create a safer, more convenient and more enjoyable online user experience. Let’s take a look at some of these advantages below.
No International Payment Fees
Many online casinos are based offshore. This enables a more favorable tax disposition as well as enabling services to be offered to countries where gambling is not yet allowed (as with some states in the US). However, international payments incur a fee. Cryptocurrencies eliminate this transaction fee while also shortening the international transfer process.
More Anonymous Play
Many players prefer to use online casinos without their activities being tracked by others. While standard payments leave a paper trail, cryptocurrency payments are much more difficult to track and do not leave a paper trail with an individual’s private details.
Faster Transactions
Since players do not need to wait for their bank to authorize a payment, funds can be instantly deposited into an online account or e-wallet without any fuss or additional identification procedures.
Better Exchange Rates
All data about every single crypto transaction is stored on open-source, public ledgers of digital currencies. This means that with much better transparency, exchange rates are more beneficial to players.
Overall, crypto currencies have transformed the online gaming space. By enabling a more secure environment for payments and an enhanced user experience, online casino game play has been taken to yet another level.
