For many years, if you’ve wanted to gamble online you’ve had to use a traditional currency, such as the euro, the dollar or the pound sterling. In early 2009, the world of money was shaken up with the introduction of Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency.
This is a special type of currency that’s entirely digital and isn’t linked to any central bank or financial institution. Even though it’s not regulated by any government, it promises a safer, more secure service thanks to its use of cryptography.
Since Bitcoin’s release, loads more cryptocurrencies have launched, such as Litecoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and Stellar. Many people enjoy gambling online with cryptocurrencies because of the advantages they offer over traditional currencies. These include anonymity, the lack of taxation, the fast transactions, the ability to use cryptocurrencies globally and the fact that the games are provably fair — in other words, anyone can check to see the games are fair and not biased in any way.
So what should you know about cryptocurrency and gambling? Read on to learn more.
Risks
While there are some clear advantages to using cryptocurrencies for online gambling, there are some risks. The biggest one is the value of your money. Bitcoin especially is highly volatile because there’s a huge demand for it, yet there’s only a limited number of Bitcoins that can be made available.
The value of a single Bitcoin can vary greatly from one day to the next. You never know when it’s going to suddenly increase or decrease in value. Other cryptocurrencies can be just as unpredictable as Bitcoin.
There’s also the fact that cryptocurrencies aren’t government-regulated. While this does give players more privacy, it also means there’s more of a chance for illegal activity to take place, as cryptocurrency transactions are unable to be traced.
In the future, there’s a chance governments will introduce regulations on cryptocurrencies. While this hasn’t started happening yet, it is fairly likely. After all, governments will no doubt want to ensure these digital, decentralised currencies are safe for users and will want to try to earn revenue from them by taxing them in some way.
For now, cryptocurrencies aren’t regulated, though if governments start introducing laws and restrictions, the experience of using these currencies online may become different and less convenient.
Using cryptocurrencies isn’t as straightforward as using fiat currencies. If you’re going to start using this type of currency, you’ll have to acquire a secure wallet (a piece of software or even hardware to store your money) and learn how to go about handling transactions.
So long as you have a basic understanding of how cryptocurrencies work, you should get used to using them sooner rather than later. It’s important you know what you’re doing and you’re aware of how volatile cryptocurrencies can be before you start using them.
Rewards
Almost all online casinos have some sort of welcome package for new players. Sign up for a casino and you’ll be entitled to a free bonus; this can include bonus money, free spins or cashback, for example.
Casinos that accept cryptocurrencies, including “crypto casinos,” are no different. If you’re thinking of gambling online with cryptocurrencies, before choosing a casino do some shopping around and see what bonuses different ones have to offer. You’ll find that some have more generous bonuses than others.
Also, check to see if there’s a loyalty scheme and VIP club. Loyalty schemes offer better rewards the more you play and VIP clubs have extra special perks and bonuses for the most loyal players.
Which Online Casinos Accept Cryptocurrency?
Even though cryptocurrencies are becoming more and more widely used, they’re still not accepted at most online casinos. Therefore, if you’re keen to gamble online with cryptocurrencies, you’ll probably have to do some looking around to find a suitable casino.
You should find a good number of casinos that accept popular cryptocurrencies along with fiat currencies. There are even some that just accept cryptocurrencies and no traditional kinds of currency at all. At these crypto casinos, there are usually several different major cryptocurrencies you can gamble with.
If you’re looking to gamble at a crypto casino, it’s suggested that you double-check the site is reliable and can be trusted, as you would before signing up to any online casino. This is especially important since cryptocurrencies aren’t regulated.
There’s every chance that in the near future, the number of online casinos accepting cryptocurrencies will increase. After all, casinos are businesses and they need to make money. If loads of people regularly use Bitcoin, for example, it makes sense for casinos to let people use this payment method to gamble with online.
Commonly Accepted Types of Cryptocurrency
Of all the dozens of cryptocurrencies in use, it’s Bitcoin that you’ll find most widely accepted at online casinos. This is mainly because Bitcoin is the most popular of them all. Others such as the previously mentioned Ethereum and Litecoin are also accepted at a lot of online casinos, as is Bitcoin Cash.
Bitcoin is accepted at most casinos that let you gamble with cryptocurrencies. Other cryptocurrencies, however, aren’t so widely accepted; if you’re intending to gamble with one of these, you may have to stick with a crypto casino.
If you want to play specific games, you may find that a casino that accepts your preferred cryptocurrency doesn’t necessarily offer all the games you’re after. You may have to sign up for more than one casino if you’re looking to regularly play a broad selection of games.