Bitcoin was launched in 2009 in January – and it wasn’t until 3 years later, in May 2012, that the first Bitcoin deposit at an online casino was accepted.
Since then, hundreds of crypto casinos have been established, and they are slowly but surely taking over the entire online gambling industry.
So, what is it that makes these cryptocurrency casinos so special? We will take a look at all the benefits players get when using them to gamble online, as well as a few mind-blowing stats.
Latest Crypto Gambling Stats
The massive rise of cryptocurrencies at online casinos really began in 2021, with crypto accounting for 26.30% of all online wagers placed in sports betting sites and online casinos.
That’s a massive increase from 2020, but even more impressive is the huge 116.7% increase in total wagers placed with crypto in 2022.
In Q1 2022, crypto accounted for a massive 35.96% of online wagers, posing some serious trouble to online casinos that still rely on FIAT deposits and payouts.
In Q1 2023, the total crypto bets have increased by another 44.66%, which not only means that crypto gambling is here to stay – it is likely to take over in the following years.
In fact, over 60% of all Bitcoin transactions worldwide are used for funding online casino accounts, which should tell you more than enough about the popularity of this industry.
But why exactly are people turning to crypto so massively when it comes to online gambling? Let’s see.
Benefits of Using Cryptocurrencies at Online Casinos
Cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH wouldn’t account for over 30% of all online casino wagers if they didn’t come with a bag of benefits for those who use them.
- Anonymity: When players gamble with crypto, they do not have to reveal any banking information and connect their casino account with a financial institution. This lets them keep their most important information private. When you consider the cyber attacks that can happen on such platforms, this makes a lot of sense.
- Fast Payouts: Bank transfers, by nature, are very slow. Most winners at online casinos wait for more than a week to get their winnings through a bank. With crypto, winnings arrive in just a few minutes.
- Bigger Bonuses: Most Bitcoin casinos offer much bigger bonuses than traditional online casinos. In fact, it’s not uncommon to find welcome offers as big as 5 BTC when you’re using crypto gambling sites.
- Big Withdrawal Limits: Crypto casino sites are especially suitable for high-rollers because of the big withdrawal limits they offer. Most of the top BTC casinos allow players to withdraw up to 10 BTC in a single transaction – something regular casinos can’t match.
There are plenty of other advantages of using crypto casinos like their superior game selection and overall fewer restrictions.
So why doesn’t everyone just switch to crypto gambling? Well, there are a few drawbacks, too.
Disadvantages of Using Cryptocurrencies at Online Casinos
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows – crypto casinos do come with their own set of drawbacks.
- They Are Volatile: The price of crypto can rise and drop by more than 10% within 24 hours, which makes it a fairly risky digital asset to have. When you have your crypto deposited at an online casino, you will be unable to sell it quickly during huge price swings.
- Subject to Error: If you send money to the wrong bank account, it will bounce back. If you send crypto to the wrong address, it will go into the abyss never to be seen again. Indeed, if you get 1 letter or digit wrong when transferring cryptocurrencies from your wallet to the casino’s wallet – it will be gone forever.
- Unregulated: Since cryptocurrencies are not regulated by a financial institution, crypto gambling is not allowed in many countries across the world. This is why it’s important to check your local laws before joining any crypto casino.
5 Upcoming Crypto Gambling Trends
We are likely to see an even bigger integration of crypto in online gambling in the near future. Here are some of the biggest crypto-gambling trends that are on the rise:
- Betting on eSports With Crypto
The time of Gen Z has come – combining crypto betting with this generation’s favorite video games. eSports have been on the rise ever since 2009 when the likes of Dota 2 and League of Legends were all the craze.
In 2024, most Bitcoin betting sites are expected to offer odds for the most popular video game tournaments.
- Metaverse Casinos
Yeah, we’ve come a long way. They are still not a real thing, but Metaverse might just become the biggest advancement in online gambling come 2024. And what currencies are players going to use to play games? You already know the answer.
- Gambling With NFTs
NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens, are already accepted by some crypto casinos that have adopted a Web 3.0 technology – but there are still very few of them.
In 2024, we expect many more crypto casinos to start accepting NFTs as a valid payment method. This will unlock a unique experience for players.
- Instant-Win Games (Provably Fair Games)
They might have looked a bit funny at first, but now thousands of players are placing bets on Instant games that you can only find at crypto gambling sites. All of these games run on a blockchain technology that allows each player to check the fairness of the outcome after placing a bet.
Some of the most popular instant games are Crash, Plinko, Balloon, Bomb Squad, etc.
- Live Chat Rooms & Social Betting
Many popular crypto casinos have started introducing live chat rooms directly on their platforms, while others are building Discord communities.
There’s always good-natured banter going on, and this adds a really great social element to the crypto gambling world, which is otherwise an activity that you do on your own.
So, Is it Worth it to Make the Switch?
Whether or not players should replace traditional online casinos with crypto gambling sites is entirely up to them – but the fact that cryptocurrencies offer a lot of benefits when it comes to gambling online is right there.
Those who value much quicker payouts and bigger withdrawal limits should definitely consider crypto casinos. If you’re afraid of their volatile nature, however, it’s best to trust your instincts and keep using traditional casinos.
Thanks for reading, and we’d like to say goodbye with a few fun facts about Bitcoin casinos:
- Cryptocurrencies were first used to bet on sports
- Canadian rapper Drake won and lost $25 million worth of crypto playing roulette at Stake.com
- In March 2022, famous Twitch streamer Trainwreck won 524.7 BTC ($13 million at the time) playing the slot game Might of Ra with a 0.02332 BTC wager.
- Around 80% of crypto casino players use mobile devices or tablets to gamble