Lately, we’ve been witnessing a sharp rise in bitcoin gambling. Online casinos left and right are introducing bitcoins as one of the payment alternatives, looking to cater to the growing base of bitcoin users. Once only an obscure concept, bitcoin has certainly become a mainstream thing and a legitimate payment method, so it is only natural that the online gambling industry is looking to be a part of the boom.
However, opinions on what future holds for bitcoin and online gambling seem divided. Some believe it will take over and completely take over the industry, while others are convinced that the bitcoin craze will go away as fast as it had appeared. The question is, who’s got it right?
Upsides of Bitcoin Gambling
There are certainly quite a few upsides to playing slots and various casino games using bitcoins. The first one that comes to mind is the increased anonymity provided by bitcoin transactions. Quite a few online casinos allow players to join, deposit, and play without revealing any of their personal information. In the world where there is a growing fear of excessive government control, this is an important consideration.
Casinos employing blockchain technology beyond just processing payments will be able to offer provably fair games, thus addressing players’ biggest fears. Instead of having to put their trust with eCogra or whatever other third-party, they’re able to see the results of every spin and every card dealt.
Potential Pitfalls
However, there is the other side of bitcoin gambling that isn’t as favorable to the players. One of the big issues are excessive fees often connected to transactions. Players were never to keen on paying any fees when gambling, and with bitcoins, these can sometimes be quite substantial.
The processing speed might be an issue as well. While bitcoin transactions are processed fairly quickly, it usually takes a few minutes for the money to become available. Compared to traditional methods like e-wallets and credit cards, this isn’t too impressive. When you deposit with Visa or Skrill, money is available instantaneously.
The bitcoin volatility could be another thing to deter casinos from moving to the next level of cryptocurrency gambling. We’ve seen bitcoin going up and down like crazy over the past few months and this is probably a kind of risk not too many operators are willing to take. To be able to operate a large-scale bitcoin operation, they need a substantial amount of crypto available to them, and if there is a risk of a sharp drop in value without a proper warning, serious companies might choose to stay away.
Will 2018 Be the Year of Bitcoin?
When all these reasons are weighed, it is still impossible to say with certainty. It is safe to assume, though, that bitcoin will need to achieve some degree of stability before it is widely accepted by big online gambling operations. Without that, the risk is simply too big and that single negative could easily outweigh all the positives.
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