It’s not a matter of ‘if’ but rather ‘when’ bitcoin will become a globally recognised payment method in online gambling. So far, it’s only the top guns of the business that have adopted this means of payment into their platforms. Experts in the field, however, predict there’s a time not so distant when cryptocurrency and gaming will go hand in hand. Even as it stands, choosing bitcoin as your primary payment method for gaming comes with several distinct advantages. We’ll pinpoint all of them and try to explain them to the best of our ability while not getting overly technical in the process.

What’s in It for You – The Player?

It’s hardly a mystery why the big crypto coins need little time to skyrocket in popularity. While the whole concept is still somewhat foreign to the masses more and more people wake up to the truth that It’s there to assist and make everything better. Yes, that includes online gambling! If you’re one of the folks that can’t make heads nor tails of it, here’s exactly what you need. Later in the article, we’ll weigh the pros and cons, but in this section, we’ll focus entirely on the advantages of using the blockchain for real money gambling. This is what players love about betting with cryptocurrency.

• Negligeable transactions cost
• Super high transaction speed
• Manage your coins easily via a user-friendly e-wallet.
• You don’t have to disclose personal information
• Operate over encrypted channels.
• The technology promotes fairness and transparency.

What the Operators Have to Say About the Blockchain Technology?

A handful of leading gambling operators saw in the blockchain technology, namely Bitcoin, the instrument to help them create a safer gaming environment. More than that, the technology doesn’t necessitate the interference of third-party companies for payments to be processed – a win-win for casinos and customers. But let’s get back to the ‘safer’ part. How exactly does Bitcoin guarantee you safer transactions you may ask? That’s deeply embedded in the very nature of this technology. It’s based around the idea of strongly encrypted channels, anonymity, and transparency. Casino companies have literally everything to gain and nothing to lose connecting their business to the blockchain. The things owners of such companies get most excited about are:

• Customers set up their account and deposit quickly, thus spending more time on gambling.
• Low-cost, affordable transactions encourage players to deposit more and more frequently.
• Direct control over the company’s own finances, not depending on third parties.
• Bitcoin is available worldwide
• Provably fair games
• Cryptocurrencies are an emerging market and the interest in it is expected to grow

Provably Fair Games Explained

Remember we mentioned transparency as one of the main advantages? – this is where it comes into play. The concept of provably fair games is based around the idea that players can confirm the fairness of the game process. That is they can actually confirm the RNG mechanism is working as it’s meant to. Still, the question remains – how’s that possible? Firstly, the whole system that makes this possible uses a cryptographic hash in order to prevent manipulation from outside. The outcome of a given round is determined by two seeds of random numbers that are generated before it starts. The exact correlation between the two seeds of random numbers and the final outcome must be clearly stated by the gambling operator somewhere in the game rules. Most importantly, players receive a hashed version of their seed, which can later be used to verify the genuineness of the result. All this happens as a background process before the players place their bets. Immediately after the round is settled and the outcome is revealed, those who have participated receive the two original seeds unencrypted. With this technology, gamblers can compare the random numbers sent to them before and after the round and easily notice any discrepancies. In addition, the random number generator produces the two seed before any wagers are placed.

How Fast are the Payments? – Crypto Currencies Transaction Speed

One of the that gave rise to the popularity of the technology was the promise for instant transactions. Indeed, the word ‘instant’ gets thrown around left and right, but the fact of the matter is, transactions do take some time to process. That time depends on how fast confirmations (a block is mined) in the respective blockchain We don’t take the matter lightly and took the time to try and answer how fast can you expect to move your coins from your wallet to an online casino and vice versa. The websites that accept cryptocurrency usually have a rule for a minimum number of confirmations required for a transaction to go through. This is done to avoid the risk of double-spending because confirmations are needed for the whole system to function properly. The more confirmations are done, the smaller the chance of double-spending. As the information about a transaction gets ingrained into the blockchain with each confirmation, that also means it becomes irreversible. Let’s look now at the estimated transaction time for the best cryptocurrencies for gambling. Keep in mind it’s based around the approximate time a blocked is mined in.

Are There Disadvantages to Using Blockchain Technology for Gambling?

Unfortunately, things like anonymity can be regarded as a two-edged sword. For example, the fact that transactions can’t be traced opens the door to the very same criminal activity the industry is trying to prevent nowadays. This means that the situation with money laundering could get worse as crypto coins such as Monero and Bitcoin get adopted on a large scale. Price volatility is another big concern. All cryptocurrencies, with no exceptions, are prone to price change. The value of a single unit of currency changes on a day-to-day basis exactly because the blockchain is ungoverned and decentralized. This creates the feeling of insecurity in some many users and casino players, thus making them reluctant to even get started with the technology. The lack of a solid track record is a big negative. We already mentioned the fluctuations in price, but what about the test of time? We see crypto coins come and go – how do we know for certain that we are investing in the one that’s going to stay? A few years of operation in the world of online payments is nothing to get too excited about. Furthermore, some of the user features are still being developed. Some people even go on to call the technology experimental. Last but not least, for the reasons we already pointed out, there is a limited number of gambling venues that enable their customers to deposit and withdraw using cryptocurrencies (mainly Bitcoin). That means that your favourite casino might not be catching up to the trend yet. In turn, you’ll have to settle for one of the popular gambling brands want it or not. In other words – your choice will be limited.