Cryptocurrencies Have a Place in Land Casinos

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Friday, June 30th, 2017 | Written by Stephen Smith

Ever since its launch in 1997, online casinos have been introducing a younger crowd to the casino industry. Helping the process along has been major improvements in mobile bandwidth and the Internet, in general, which have made online casinos more convenient, and a much better sources of entertainment for the younger generation. However, during this innovative period, land based casinos have suffered since their revenues are dropping due to the competition taking place within an already competitive market.

Enter Cryptocurrencies

Recently, a cryptocurrency called Bitcoin has been making its way into online casinos, and is gradually becoming a crucial aspect of online gambling. While many put the focus on the fast transactions and anonymity that it provides, Bitcoin also offers both flexibility and security as there is a really high level of privacy associated with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, while payments are made instantly and are solidly irreversible. In addition, there are no transaction fees, and anyone losing a bet will not get a charge back, or a reimbursement, which was a big problem that in the past resulted in an increased cost of transactions for online gaming. Needless to say, with the usage of such cryptocurrencies, online games are becoming more transparent and trustworthy, making it possible for gamblers to be confident in the fairness of every bet. Furthermore, future innovations that may include having an online component using Bitcoin set up within a standard, physical casino could also encourage younger players to join casinos, as well as attracting other new customers to the world of offline gambling.

Multitude of Benefits

Using Bitcoins to gamble is a lot safer in terms of money security since sites that gamble with Bitcoins still hold funds for a short time period. When players want to leave an online casino, these Bitcoins are transferred into their online wallet by way of a cash out that comes with no fees at all. As a digital currency that is encrypted and is reinforced by an independent blockchain network, Bitcoin also allows casinos to have more verifiable transactions, making it hard for an unscrupulous casino operator to defraud a customer. Furthermore, there is little chance that a person may claim that they did not receive chargebacks or refunds as Bitcoin produces a paper trail on a public ledger.

Land Casino Applications

Bitcoin in physical casinos could present a whole host of innovative possibilities for the industry. By allowing Bitcoin into standard physical casinos, for instance, it could open the doors for online players to be able to place bets in land-based casinos. While it may seem far-fetched, just a bit of change to infrastructure and regulations could certainly make this a reality. Other benefits of Bitcoin include making gambling faster, and safer, while also eliminating the awkwardness that’s associated with using credit cards or cash. Furthermore, using digital currency in a physical casino allows for a new range of software and hardware innovation to be explored, which will naturally lead to a numerous new lines of business.

Cryptocurrencies Volatility

In sum, Bitcoin is certainly finding a home within the gambling industry, with one recent innovation including CryptoChip, a new United Kingdom based start-up, offering a CryptoChipping exchange service which converts digital currency into physical casino chips. In addition, some of the major cryptocurrencies have seen a massive surge in their values of late, with Bitcoin and Ethereum leading the charge having been on a tear since the start of 2017. Ethereum, for instance, started 2017 worth just a few dollars each, but a few weeks ago peaked at $420 per coin. Nevertheless, cryptocurrencies are a notoriously volatile market, and this year Ethereum has seen at least three market corrections in which values dropped by around 35%, 40% and 50% before quickly recovering ground.

While this volatility can be a drawback for a digital currency looking to be considered a legitimate holder of wealth, gamblers may also appreciate the bullish trend that has also caused the value of coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum to skyrocket.