The latest casino industry reports show that at least 30% of all online wagers are being made with cryptocurrencies, which points to the increased popularity of these payment methods, both with casino operators and their clients.
In fact, more casinos are choosing hybrid payment options such that they accept traditional currencies alongside crypto payments. Some casinos have gone fully crypto, allowing their players to thrive without using traditional currencies for withdrawals and payments. Such innovation has been especially apparent with sites offering real money slots, as these games often attract a tech-savvy crowd. With this growth, casino industry stakeholders cannot help but wonder whether crypto payments will soon become a mainstay and what this means for players and casino operators. We explore this in detail.
Why Are Casinos Going the Crypto Way?
The crypto casino market has grown so much that an approximate 50% of all Bitcoin transactions relate to a form of online gambling. It’s thus no surprise that more operators want a piece of the pie. But why have they been so quick to jump on this trend?
- Chargeback protection. While many players are honest and will accept that they have lost a wager, some are not quite so honest. There have been several cases where players have lost money in a wager and reported the wager to the credit card company as fraud, resulting in a chargeback. Fighting such reversals can be tough, and casinos often have to grapple with losses. But with crypto payments, such chargebacks are not possible as reversals can only take place if the casino is willing to okay the transaction, which will help casinos protect their bottom line.
- Fee reduction. Casinos do what they can to make online casino games more accessible to players, and sometimes, that requires them to take a financial hit. It is thus quite normal for casinos to cover processing fees in deposits and withdrawals, either completely or partially. Additionally, setting up traditional payment options requires capital investment from the casino, which eats into their earnings. Crypto payments are enabling casinos to avoid such fees as they do not require intermediaries such as banks or payment gateways, which are usually to blame for the added costs. Since casinos and players can send each other money directly, they both get to save money, and casinos can use these savings to invest more in expansion or innovation.
- International reach. Going online has enabled casinos to tap into a wider market. But in regions where traditional banking systems are unreliable or have several restrictions, casinos face difficulties in providing payment options to their players. As such, this has played a role in their limited growth over the years despite operating online. Luckily, crypto payments have been able to bypass these limitations by allowing players to transact without relying on banking systems, which are often affected by tons of political and legal factors, even in regions where online gambling is legal.
In addition to these perks, the use of crypto payments has eased the automation of payouts. In the past, casinos would rely on their customer service agents to review and approve withdrawals. But since crypto payments come with smart contracts, casino operators can set up these payments in such a way that the review process is automatic and accurate, thus freeing up customer service agents to focus their time on more pressing matters, such as customer queries and complaints.
Are Players Onboard?
It’s clear that casino operators have a lot to gain from the use of crypto payments. But are players also laughing all the way to the bank? Absolutely. On top of enjoying faster and cheaper payouts, players have a lot to smile about. For one, crypto-enabled games allow players to verify the fairness of the game, which enables them to trust the outcomes more than when they have no way of checking how the outcome was arrived at. Secondly, the customer verification processes in crypto casinos are often shorter than those in traditional casinos, which makes the signup process faster. It is safe to say that this crypto adoption will be a win for all parties involved.