It's 2015, and the first whispers of a new form of money emerge. Nobody really knows about it, but cryptocurrency is heralded as the latest form of money, one that is set to flip finance as we know it on its head. Online gambling was one of the industries that latched onto this new form of currency, and the landscape has never been the same again.
We now have online casinos that will only accept crypto, taking fiat money completely out of the equation. With its anonymity and decentralised framework, crypto was bound to get an audience amongst online gamblers.
It's now almost a decade since altcoins like Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Litecoin emerged from the internet's fringes. With some four or five years into their acceptance, we look at how crypto has changed the ever-evolving world of online gambling.
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Bonuses galore: How crypto won the gambler over
If we are talking about “crypto” changing online gambling, then bonuses have to be one of the first things we discuss. Conventional fiat money sites made no-deposit casino bonuses one of the staples for online gamblers—a small bankroll you play with even before you spend your cash, just to see if you like the casino.
👉 Crypto casinos took it a notch higher. As they were introduced, crypto casinos dished out all kinds of free welcome rewards to get gamblers to try out this new form of payment.
In what seemed almost like a coordinated attack on fiat-money casinos, crypto-gambling sites gave out free altcoins by the bucketload, rivalling traditional sites in every sense of the word.
Of course, these lured curious, on-looking gamblers in by the masses because what does it hurt to claim a free reward that wins you real money? Whilst we cannot dismiss the generosity of virtual casinos even before the advent of altcoins, it has to be said that sites are giving out more rewards owing to the pressure cryptocurrency bonuses have put on them.
Even now, crypto casinos beat their fiat-money alternatives when it comes to bonus rewards, and the wave is not letting up.
Up for some free coins? Gamification became a thing
Apart from the fact that crypto casinos provided an alternative payment mode, they also introduced gamification to online gambling. You now have crypto casinos that let you earn coins in inventive ways like challenges and point scoring, making the whole gambling experience much more fun.
Gaming is now more engaging and competitive as crypto casinos add game-style mechanics to mundane tasks like sharing a link, which previously relied on user satisfaction rather than a payout in the end. It has proved to be one of the most potent tools crypto casinos are using to get players on board.
Too good to turn down: Instant payments
If there is one single complaint you cannot miss among online gamblers, it is how long it takes to process transactions using traditional payment options. In comes crypto to change it all.
With crypto casinos, you get instant cashouts—a thing hitherto unfathomable among online gamblers. Altcoins are known and loved for their lightning-fast processing. Crypto casinos have leveraged this to let players know just how legitimate their winnings are.
You no longer have to wait days to get your winnings paid out. Simply request a cashout, and the transaction is completed right before your very eyes, with the amount showing up in your crypto wallet faster than you can switch tabs on your computer.
The decentralised nature of blockchain, which is the underpinning technology for altcoins, means there are no banking institutions to worry about, making the whole transaction process much faster.
Is cryptocurrency the future of online gambling?
Absolutely yes! Crypto is changing the online gaming landscape in more ways than we have the time to discuss. We may have talked about the overload of bonuses and how fast you get your winnings, but there is more to come. With the metaverse already taking shape, gamification will go up a notch or two.
đź‘€ Having gotten past the initial excitement of it, crypto is revolutionising how we play casino games online even today. Crypto casinos are coming up with in-house tokens, letting members mine crypto, and more.
One of the biggest changes we are seeing is more accessibility, thanks to crypto's decentralisation and anonymity. While we may speculate, our predictions are only a fraction of the sweeping changes we can expect.
