Is Crypto Really the Future in Online Gambling?
Published June 23, 2018 by Ivan P
Can cryptocurrencies really substitute fiat currencies in online gambling? Is the future of the internet gambling industry written in crypto?
Cryptocurrencies, or cryptos, as they are often referred to, have been all the rage lately. Everybody's talking about them and what the rapid increase in popularity and acceptance of cryptos such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and other altcoins could mean for the economy at large. More specifically, however, cryptos have often been brought into connection with online gambling and there are many industry insiders who believe these could represent its future, and we've seen a noticeable surge in casinos accepting bitcoin opening their virtual doors, like BitCasino.
In this short piece, we'll explore the foundations of such expectations to try and reach the conclusion of just how realistic they are and if we should really expect to do most of our online gambling in bitcoins in a few years time.
The Crypto Appeal
Proponents of cryptocurrencies and their application in online gambling have a very solid fundamental idea. In their very essence, cryptos have been designed to be decentralized and largely anonymous, which means that one's gambling habits are kept private and away from prying eyes of financial and other relevant institutions.
As such, they appeal to the players and casinos are usually open to consider anything that keeps their players happy. That's probably the reason we're seeing more and more gambling sites starting to offer bitcoin and other cryptos as deposit and withdrawal options.
The Other Side of the (Alt)coin
Although the idea of cryptos in online gambling sounds great in theory, those familiar with the industry probably know there aren't many big, established brands to have adopted bitcoin or other alternatives. Why, one must ask, if this is such a great thing?
The single-word answer would be - regulation. Over the last couple of years, the industry has been experiencing a general outcry for much stricter rules and much better insight into players' behavioral patterns, including procedures to verify the origin of deposits. Cryptos make all of this much harder.
Industry regulators don't want anonymity and privacy. They want the full control and insight and anything that stands against these goals isn't welcome in their eyes.
Can Crypto Really Be the Future?
Although there are many more pros and cons we could talk about when it comes to cryptos and online gambling, as the things stand right now, cryptocurrencies taking over the gambling industry isn't a highly like development.
If and when cryptos receive their own legal framework in some way, shape, or form, this could change. Of course, at that point the whole idea would lose almost all of its original appeal, as privacy and anonymity would be off the table. But, that's a discussion for an entirely different article.
