Crypto Casinos vs. Traditional Online Casinos

Online casinos have been around for a long time. As soon as the internet became widely available gambling establishments saw an opportunity to bring their business online. The same goes for the use of cryptocurrency. Online casinos with Bitcoin as a payment method provide players with anonymity online, which is one of the most valuable commodities these days.

In this article, we’ll compare and contrast traditional and cryptocurrency casinos. Many gambling establishments operating today still provide their players with both options. Both fiat currency and crypto casinos have their upsides and downsides the players should be aware of.

Transaction Fees

 Transaction fees are paid every time you deposit funds to your casino account and when you withdraw your winnings. The fees are much lower when paying with Bitcoin. That’s because there’s no centralized bank structure that issues cryptocurrencies and therefore there’s no one to pay the fees to.

Some BTC casinos also have a limit on how much a player is allowed to withdraw within a single session, a single day, or within a month. This can be somewhat limiting and fiat currency casinos have much higher limits in this regard.

Transaction Time

 It’s much easier to transfer BTC than traditional fiat money. Since there is no centralized structure behind BTC, the transactions are decentralized and therefore much faster. In fact, they are instantaneous.

With fiat payments, the transaction process can take some time. The size of the fee depends on the amount you’re transferring and what kind of payment method you’re using. When the funds are transferred to an e-wallet, there’s an additional waiting period until the player gets the money from the e-wallet to their card or bank account.

Privacy Online

 One of the biggest advantages of using cryptocurrency as a payment method is that it allows for privacy online. BTC casinos let their players sign up with nothing but an email account. Since cryptocurrency wallets are also anonymous, the player doesn’t have to provide any personal information.  This isn’t an option for those using fiat currency, as they are transferred via a bank or a debit card.

However, some countries are introducing stricter regulations with the so-called “know your customer laws”. These require the casinos to get the ID of every player that uses their services, regardless of the payment method they are using.

 Security

 Bitcoin is based on blockchain technology which creates a ledger of transactions. This means that there’s nothing a casino can do to change the proof of a transaction. The technology therefore makes money transfers between a casino and a player transparent and immutable. This is especially important since the players bet in online establishments while being based all over the world.

Blockchain technology also allows casinos to put the terms of the bet into the code of the cryptocurrency itself. That way the payments are made as soon as the terms are met and there’s no chance a mistake might happen.

Fair Bets

 BTC casinos probably have provably fair bets. That’s because the bets are a part of the code, and the code for blockchain is open source. Every player can therefore take a lot of the code and figure out the exact terms of the bet the casino has set up.

This means that every player knows the chance of winning in each game and what the return to player rate is. The players should also check how volatile or risky the game is. All games have an edge in favor of the house. Games of skill such as poker have a small edge, while roulettes and slots have a wide edge favoring the casino. The players need to be aware of their chances and Bitcoin casinos allow it.

Regulations

 One of the biggest attractions of using cryptocurrency casinos is the fact that there are much less regulations involved. The crypto industry is decentralized by its nature and it’s still relatively new. All of this means that regulations otherwise applied to casinos and financial transactions, in general, don’t yet apply to crypto.

However, now that more countries accept BTC as legal tender and when it’s widely used, some money laundering regulations are applied to Bitcoin casinos as well.

Game Selection

 When it comes to which games are available there are no big differences between traditional and crypto casinos. Both offer games of luck and games of skill and games that you can play for small amounts, as well as games for high rollers.

Some games are available to cryptocurrency players only. These games take advantage of the Bitcoin technology. They include in-game bonuses and mini-games more similar to computer games than to ones played in casinos. Such additional games require fast transactions and predetermined odds and that’s why blockchain-based crypto casinos are well-suited to them.

Bonuses

 Cryptocurrency casinos and traditional online casinos provide similar if not the same bonuses. These come in the form of deposit matches, welcome bonuses, and free spins. Some also offer referral bonuses for every new player that an existing one brings in. These bonuses come with wagering requirements that the player needs to meet in order to withdraw them.

Some cryptocurrency casinos provide bonuses that are specific to their use base. These are usually welcome bonuses and the casino provides a payment in one of the cryptocurrencies they accept for every new user that signs up.

Mobile Compatibility

 Most if not all modern online casinos are mobile-compatible regardless of what kind of payment methods the players use. Younger players are used to playing on mobile devices. This is especially true when it comes to games of luck such as slots, Plinko games, or dice games. These games don’t require the players to fully pay attention to the gameplay. It’s enough to set up the betting parameters and let the game play out.

Online payments to and from casino accounts can also be made on a mobile device, regardless of which currency the players are using.

Volatility

 Cryptocurrencies have proven to be volatile and their value is tied to market forces, beyond the player’s control. This means that the winnings the player has made in cryptocurrency casinos may not be worth as much as they did when they won. This isn’t the case with traditional fiat currency winning, as their value is set by the central bank.

Over the years Bitcoin has had its ups and downs and its value has changed over time, but in the long run, it’s on the rise and it pays off to store value by buying Bitcoins. The players that collect their winnings this way should keep track of the crypto market as well.

To Sum Up

 Crypto casinos are similar to traditional online casinos in most of their features. They provide the same games, the same bonuses, and wagering requirements, and they can be used on mobile and desktop devices alike. BTC casinos are probably fair as their code is open-source and available for players to go through and study.

The payments made via crypto are instantaneous and the fees the players need to cover are smaller than with fiat currency casinos. The value of the cryptocurrency payments can change as it’s not tied to the work of any central bank.