It has been a long while since people could gamble online. Today, online casinos like casino Japan or casino UK are dime-a-dozen. Digital financial technology, however, is shaping the gambling industry. Particularly, people are more likely to play with cryptocurrency nowadays than with fiat.
So, which markets did cryptos penetrate the most? While most casinos only accept Bitcoin and Ethereum, they still managed to rack up a huge sum because of the ease of use and anonymity that digital currency provides.
Crypto Market by Region
By region, Asia-Pacific dominated cryptocurrency gambling, having 22.6 million players that hold cryptocurrency.
Next to Asia is Europe, with 5.9 million gamers, followed by the rest as follows:
- The Middle East and Africa – 5.8 million
- Latin America – 4.3 million
- North America – 3.3 million
By revenue, the Asia Pacific region also generated the highest earnings at $157.3 million. North America, however, is trailing behind Asia despite being the last in the number of crypto-currency holders. North America generated $80.3 million.
By platform, the mobile market has the highest revenue at $128.4 million. This is followed by console games at $89.9 million.
Crypto Gambling is on the Rise
Blockchain technology paved the way for people to develop faster and better technologies. Experts say that the global gambling industry will hit more than $565 billion by this year. Right now, about 50% of all Bitcoin transactions are related to gambling.
Why is cryptocurrency gambling on the rise? First, digital currency makes it easier for people to access funds. In the gambling world, many banks and credit card companies prohibit their users from making deposits in online casinos. Because of this, gamblers cannot play. They cannot make wire transfers, and they also cannot fund their casino accounts with either a debit or credit card.
To get around this, gamblers buy cryptocurrency assets from their usual banking methods, and then they use the cryptocurrency to pay for their gambling activities.
Top Crypto Casinos in the UK
There is not a lot of information going on in crypto casino gambling. However, there are stats available in the UK.
Here are the top crypto gambling destinations:
- Energy Casino
- NetBet
- Yako Casino
- AHTI Games
More and more casinos are opening up their portals to cryptocurrency gaming. The market is expected to grow, especially now that countries like Canada and the US are passing legislation to approve gambling sites.
Why will gamblers use cryptocurrency?
While not all crypto coins are ideal, the two currencies that dominate the market are Ethereum and bitcoin. Eventually, some others will get the same level of trustworthiness as these two.
Here are the benefits of cryptocurrency:
- No severe restrictions
- Not regulated: cryptocurrency is decentralized
- The winnings are easy to disburse and transfer
- Cryptocurrency is more secure
In addition to the benefits laid out earlier, it makes sense to look deeper at why gamblers will eventually shift to this mode of funding and withdraw their casino accounts.
Lower commission rates
Since digital assets are decentralized, no institution takes fees. If you use traditional banking systems, all kinds of transactions have an accompanying fee. For example, the recipient of payment with a credit card typically pays 3% to the credit card processor. This does not happen in the cryptocurrency world. It does not mean that there are no fees, but the fees are minimal compared to traditional funding methods. For example, miners will only get $0.04 in fees.
Faster transaction
The cryptocurrency was born out of the need to make transactions faster. It does not take days to verify payments. With cryptocurrency, payments typically only take only a few minutes.
Security of transactions
Cryptocurrency transactions are secure. You cannot cancel them. You also cannot reject them. Once you send the money, that money will go through. What it means is that scammer cannot alter the records or the ledger. The thing is that you need to be 100% sure to who you send the payment. A mistake can cost you an entire fortune. Because of this level of security, casinos can take a ride on the security that cryptocurrency platforms enjoy.
Anonymous transactions
When gamblers use cryptocurrency, they do not ask for personal information. Banks, on the other hand, require your street address, employment records, etc. When withdrawing funds, casinos only need a player’s e-wallet. They do not ask for identity verification as banks do. As such, players find cryptocurrency an ideal method to play online.
In crypto gambling, fraud is also unlikely to happen. Of course, it can only happen if the owner of the crypto wallet is hacked—everyone can be hacked if not careful enough.
The market that cryptocurrency has penetrated the most is the Asia Pacific, but this is eventually going to change. With China setting new rules against digital coin mining, the market is going to change.
North America and Europe are the likely candidates to have dominance in the crypto-gambling market soon. In these regions, lawmakers are passing new legislation which makes it easier for people to put up an online gaming company. Both regions are also taking a more relaxed stance on digital assets than China.
