Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were, until recently, considered too volatile to be consistently used as a mode of payment. Fiat currencies are expected to be a lot more stable, and so it was no surprise that cryptocurrencies struggled to gain attention as anything other than a high-risk investment option for some people. However, this has begun to change recently, especially online, where a number of businesses are beginning to accept cryptocurrencies as a medium of payment. This is especially true in the world of online gambling, with some of the features and characteristics of cryptocurrencies leading them to be quite attractive for gambling customers on these sites.
One of the biggest concerns for users of gambling websites is safety. Cyber crimes are increasing at a very fast rate, and gambling websites are always an attractive target for cyber criminals, making this a valid concern for those users. However, using cryptocurrencies will make fraud extremely difficult, since crypto transactions are encrypted, and use blockchain to help make them secure. This makes them quite difficult to hack or to even get user credentials which could be sued to gain unlawful access to customers’ crypto accounts and wallets.
Another benefit of using cryptocurrencies is that transactions are much cheaper than traditional payment methods. Online gambling has significant transaction fees at times, which can increase the cost for gambling fans by quite a fair amount. Thus, cryptocurrencies offer a very affordable alternative, and this could be an important factor in cryptocurrencies becoming more important for online gambling in 2021 and beyond since they have zero or very low transaction fees.
Using cryptocurrencies can also help circumvent location restrictions. Many countries restrict access to online gambling websites, which means that users need to use VPNs to access them. However, using bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to play games can help solve this problem, by allowing those in restricted countries to be able to add funds and then access these websites.
One of the biggest issues when gambling, or indeed doing anything online, is the speed of the internet. Slow internet speeds can completely ruin the experience online, while it can also lead to lost funds if transactions take too long to be completed. Traditional payment methods also often need 72 hours for transactions to go through, which means that players can often not play immediately and wait for a frustratingly long time. This can also cause problems if players need to make withdrawals immediately. However, cryptocurrency transactions take less than 10 minutes to be completed, on average, which means that using them can easily mitigate these concerns for gambling users.
Traditional payment methods are also quite centralized and are not flexible, which again can be a problem in today’s age, where increasingly everything is becoming decentralized. Cryptocurrency, on the other hand, is decentralized, and that is one of the biggest advantages of this technology-cum-financial innovation. Users will thus have flexibility, as well as the ability to make payments and withdrawals from anywhere in the world.
Lastly, the biggest reason why online casinos will go for cryptocurrencies is that many of them are already adopting them. This has proven to be popular with customers, so those who are holding back on allowing cryptocurrency to be used are only losing users by doing so. Regulations are also being eased gradually all over the world, while the announcement by PayPal that it will allow cryptocurrencies to be used on its platform is sure to see a huge increase in crypto transactions online, including at online casinos and gambling websites.
All of these reasons show why cryptocurrencies could be crucial to online gambling in 2021.