Take a minute and think about a casino. You probably imagine reams of people gyrating over slot machines and craps tables or trying their hand at the tables. However, with the pandemic causing lockdowns across the world, the gaming industry is taking a big hit.
Las Vegas revenues are down 40% on the year, and there’s uncertainty around if the live gaming industry will even get back to the heights of 2019.
As a result of the exodus from traditional gaming venues, many people turn to online casinos for their dose of gaming fun this year. There are hundreds of online gaming platforms waiting to take your action right now, with all the games you can expect to find in a regular casino.
Revenues from gaming exceeded $449 billion in 2018, with an annualized compound growth rate of 4.1% over the last four years. However, with growth expected to plunge, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, we can expect online revenues to exceed predictions.
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Online Casinos And Payment Methods
Most online establishments offer you a wider range of payment methods, including cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawal options. Crypto is becoming more popular as a means of payment online, thanks to the Blockchain’s transparency.
Today, there are casino sites that use Ethereum, Bitcoin, and various crypto assets for deposits and withdrawals.
There are several advantages to using crypto to fund online gaming. One of the biggest benefits is the avoidance of tax laws regulating gaming proceeds using fiat currencies, like the Dollar. The Dollar is a tightly controlled and regulated market, with every transaction being taxable in some way or another.
However, governments, issuing authorities, and central banks have no control over any crypto assets. Therefore, there is no way for them to establish tax laws on gaming profits made using crypto. It’s when you go to cash the crypto into Dollars or Euros that the taxman steps in and wants his cut. If you’re trading crypto for fiat, you have to play the game, or your risk penalties and jail time for tax evasion.
However, with global retail adoption of Bitcoin, ETH, and other cryptos accelerating, the future is bright for crypto. We imagine it won’t be long before crypto emerges as a viable payment system that allows you to circumvent the Dollar for all financial transactions.
How Does Blockchain Fit Into Online Gaming?
All automated gaming strategies at online casinos return anywhere from 80% to 99.9% of the players’ betting pool. However, some gaming sites are nothing more than “bucket shops” looking to rob customers. The customer never winds anything, and they always lose.
However, these casinos are not in it for the long run and typically close and reopen under a new domain when people figure it out. Some of the issues surrounding unfair online gaming practices include the following.
#1 Slow, Misleading, Or Complicated Withdrawals
People play for fun, but they also want the incentive of making money. When it’s time to cash out your earnings, many online casinos make it hard to withdraw from your account. They might withhold your payment and request KYC documents, or they might say they can only process withdrawals after a few weeks.
Either way, it’s going to cause you plenty of frustration jumping through hoops to get your money. Many platforms asking you to wait a few weeks are using deflection tactics. They wait until they have a critical mass of complaints and then shut down the site and steal the accounts.
#2 Rigged Play
Every casino pays out to its customers. If they don’t, then they lose business to other casinos that have better payout ratios. However, there are plenty of sites out there that never payout; you continually lose and never win. Online casinos can manipulate the Random Number Generator (RNG) mechanism, providing the house with an unfair advantage you can’t see.
#3 Bonuses with Unattractive T&Cs
Many new players look for casinos offering the best bonuses and matched deposits when signing up. However, few players ever read the rollover terms and only figure them out after committing to the platform. High rollover bonuses make it harder to obtain your bonus, and it keeps you playing longer, increasing the risk of losing your account.
#4 Spam Attacks
Some casinos sell your personal information to spam emailers and Solo ads vendors that spam your email accounts. Identity theft is also a concern at some online casinos.
#5 Questionable Best Practices
Some casinos offer rubbish customer support and lack the proper encryption protocols on transactions. This practice puts you at risk of hackers compromising your account, and your identity.
How Can Blockchain Tech Resolve These Issues For Online Casinos?
First, the payment issue is easy to fix. There are no complications or delayed payments when using blockchain technology. With crypto-assets like Ethereum, you can program the payout into the smart contracts for immediate payouts.
When the contract completes, such as a hand of cards, the casino player receives payment immediately, with no delay crediting accounts. Deposits and withdrawals are cleaner, with no delays or excuses on the casino side.
Blockchain also resolves the randomness issue with online gaming and RNGs. Every transaction on the Blockchain is transparent, allowing players to figure out if the casino is rigging the action. Developers will also publish source code with all the games, allowing people to view the open-source format for errors and inefficiencies or scams.
Regarding the other issues with casino best practices – Blockchain technology means that you don’t have to register your identity to start playing. Since there are no financial regulations around claiming or proving your identity, all you’ll need to play is a blockchain address.
Wrapping Up
Blockchain technology offers a massive leap forward for the online gaming community. By changing to a blockchain-driven system, online casinos can increase player certainty and confidence by issuing smart contracts that pay out a specific portion to the players. This transparency helps improve the playing field for both the casinos and customers, providing an ethical, honest gaming venue player can trust.
If you are interested in even more entertainment-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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