In the past decade, cryptocurrencies have become a big part of the online gambling sector. By some estimates around 30% of all online betting transactions are now done via crypto. But why is that? What is it about this virtual currency that gamblers are so attracted to? And will interest and use continue to grow?
This article will look at how and why cryptocurrencies are so suited to online casinos, how they spread across the business and what other areas of innovation have been looked at. From there it should become clearer what the future of cryptocurrency gambling will look like heading in the next half decade.
The First Crypto game Were Pioneering in Spirit
The original online gambling sites that accepted Bitcoin began doing so in around 2013. In that year 1BTC had a high of $140 and a low of $70. The technology was still relatively new at that point, so it remained niche.
Back in 2013 there was little commercial gain in offering crypto gambling as it was far from mass market adoption or even awareness. At that time many of the altcoins commonly used for gambling today (Ethereum, Tether, Monero, Dogecoin) weren’t even available. In fact, when the first crypto-focused casinos launched, most of them only used Bitcoin and blockchain-based games.
A top cryptocurrency casino in today’s market will have dozens of crypto options from stable coins to the biggest meme tokens, as well as all the main competitors. Its games will go from the usual online casino games by global providers but also exclusive blockchain-powered titles and other innovations. Plus, of course, excellent bonuses to get you started with a bang.
The original crypto casino operators and blockchain game developers weren’t in it just for the potential money – they were looking for ways to expand the use cases of cryptocurrency because they were invested in the spirit of freedom and decentralization through open-source tech.
As Cryptocurrency Payments Became Faster, Adoption Followed
Fast forward five years, and BTC’s peak price in 2018 was $17,172. That explosive growth of 121x or 12,165% understandably attracted a lot of attention to the crypto market.
That increased investment and innovation almost exponentially. Transactions – both between crypto wallets and exchanging – became easier and more accessible. Internationally, many people caught on that crypto allowed the easy flow of money across borders with little international scrutiny (things have changed a little in recent times) and the number of commercial uses for cryptocurrencies also took off.
Early crypto casino operators were suddenly booming, with new developers making blockchain-based games every day. The often highly regulated and bank-reliant existing online casinos were suddenly in a race to keep up with casinos that didn’t need KYC checks or bank processing for transactions and could get players signed up and gambling in literal seconds.
Provably Fair and Blockchain Games Captured Wider Interest
The next piece of the pie was the meteoric rise in interest in blockchain-based games. Online casino games rely on Random Number Generators, which pseudo-randomly choose outcomes based on the odds set by game makers.
These can and often are certified by independent companies and regulators to ensure fairness. However, with the launch of blockchain-based games players could check each transaction and number generated on a public blockchain to see for themselves if it was fair.
This, combined with some smart marketing, the general crypto boom and some simple but engaging games that captured mass market appeal saw blockchain-based casino games become some of the most popular options available.
By the 2020s crypto casinos were huge business. One study found that 8.5% of global sports betting revenues were processed through cryptocurrencies. The market was estimated to be worth at least tens of billions of dollars, with offshore companies and other opaque structures (as well as blockchain anonymity) making it difficult to tell exactly how much.
However, it is widely agreed that crypto gambling represents a significant chunk of the wider online gambling business income at this point. Games developers with just a single blockchain gambling game are getting more concurrent players than some massively well-known videogames, and almost certainly more than any single slot currently on the market.
Challenges, Growth and the Road Ahead
By some estimates, up to 40% of online gambling could be done through crypto by 2030. Market analysis has noted that crypto gambling deposits often surge after a big price rise in the markets, and with global developments looking promising for crypto market growth (as well as BTC at $105,000) few would bet against this trend continuing in at least the short to medium term.
However, there will be challenges ahead. Many large crypto casino operators have looked to move into more regulated spaces and diversify their offerings, while large blockchain game developers are increasingly hosting their own platforms rather than going through casinos. Although the global outlook is good for crypto right now, there are no guarantees in future government cooperation across the board.
The business will need to navigate these challenges for themselves and players, as well as other stakeholders, if the growth is to live up to its likely possibilities.
