Cryptocurrencies are huge right now. They’ve moved from the deepest and darkest corners of the internet to the mainstream news, with the biggest sites and newspapers reporting on them on an almost-daily basis.
The problem is that most of those stories revolve around Bitcoin. In fact, based on the reporting of the BBC, CNN, and other major networks, you could be forgiven for thinking that Bitcoin was the only cryptocurrency and that everything else was just a cheap imitation.
But there’s more to cryptocurrencies than BTC, and there are many altcoins out there that have exciting futures ahead of them and are built on state-of-the-art blockchain technology. The question is, will there ever be given the same respect as BTC?
The casino industry is one of the few that has wholly embraced these currencies, and their acceptance of coins like Litecoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Monero, Ripple, and countless others could be the shot in the arm that altcoins desperately need.
Why Casinos are Changing the Crypto Game
Online casinos are constantly trying to outdo each other and appeal to as many players as possible. They often use the same white label providers, which means that the software, games, and even the bonuses can begin to look a little generic.
It’s why you may feel a touch of Deja-vu as you move from one casino to the next.
Offering more unique payment methods is one of the ways they can break the mould and appeal to players that other casinos have overlooked.
It’s why we went from occasional sites featuring Bitcoin Casinos such as coinbuzz.com, to a glut of sites accepting hundreds of alt coins in the space of a few years. Not only do these alt coin casinos give users a place to spend their currency, but it encourages the transfer of huge sums of money and serves as proof of concept for anyone looking to follow suit.
After all, other companies will learn about those figures. They will be told that more consumers are using Ethereum than Skrill and that even the most obscure cryptos are beating better-known e-wallets, and when they do, they’ll be eager to embrace them.
Why Altcoins are Becoming the Standard for Casinos
Historically, the gambling industry has attracted both the best and the worst consumers. It has been home to people who just want to play a few games on the weekend and high rollers looking to blow all of their cash on a few games of Blackjack. But it has also attracted fraudsters and money-launderers who see it as an easy meal-ticket.
For this reason, cryptocurrencies are still viewed with suspicion by regulators in the United Kingdom, Gibraltar, Sweden, and Malta, and most cryptocurrency casinos and sportsbooks are licensed in Curacao.
One of the great selling points of these currencies is that they provide some level of anonymity. As a result, a player can join a casino without verifying their name or address and can start playing within minutes. There are many sites licensed in Curacao that actually list this as their USP.
But to the UK Gambling Commission, that’s abhorrent, as it means that underage gamblers, problem gamblers, money launderers, and even individuals in restricted countries can play.
UK casinos are required to verify that everyone is exactly who they say they are, and that takes time. The general consensus is that it also renders cryptocurrencies useless, with the assumption being that no one will want to use them once they become just as time-consuming as regular currencies.
That couldn’t be further from the truth, though. The major news networks may be reluctant to accept that alt coins exist, but consumers aren’t. The recent surge in activity concerning Dogecoin and XRP has led many everyday consumers to invest, and they’re starting to see casinos as the best outlet for utilizing their new currencies. They don’t care if the process is just as time-consuming, but these are the currencies they want to use.
It will surely be a matter of time before UK and European casinos push the regulators to make a change and start embracing these currencies, and when that happens, they will become ubiquitous on all online gambling sites.
Alt coins will be as common as PayPal and Neteller, and that could have a knock-on effect that benefits the entire crypto industry.
It’s an exciting time for the industry and while things could turn sour in a heartbeat (such is the volatility of cryptos) it seems more likely that they have a bright future ahead.