Is It Safe To Play at Online Casinos With Cryptocurrencies?

There’s a lot of confusion regarding cryptocurrencies. As with any new technology, there are also scams surrounding cryptocurrencies. This is particularly in the case of online casinos, so this article will help shed some light on how cryptocurrencies work, and how to avoid scams.

What Is Cryptocurrency?

In simple terms, cryptocurrencies are essentially numbers and accounts. From this perspective, it’s not that different to normal bank accounts. After all, the vast majority of currency is already digital.

What makes cryptocurrencies different is that your bank account details are stored on thousands of computers, instead of a centralized computer network or database (like with your bank). Additionally, your bank account with regards to cryptocurrency is called an address. An address is much the same as an account number at your local bank.

Put an even simpler way, cryptocurrency is digital money stored on thousands of different computers.

Why Is Cryptocurrency Becoming Popular?

Probably all regulated casinos allowing you to play live roulette online will eventually accept cryptocurrencies. The UK has some of the best online regulated casinos. And when it comes to online casinos, regulations are preferred – because they protect you. But for now, most regulated casinos don’t accept cryptocurrencies. With now even Paypal accepting cryptocurrencies, we can expect they’ll grow in popularity.

The whole idea of cryptocurrency is that no centralized authority has control of the funds. It is becoming popular because central banks such as the Federal Reserve are able to print money from nothing. I don’t mean literally print cash notes. I mean increase the amount of digital cash in circulation.

Explaining inflation is beyond the scope of this article. But I’ll give a basic explanation . . .

Say you had a cart of 10 apples. You might consider yourself quite wealthy to have so many apples. You could sell them for 10 oranges.

Now imagine someone else comes along with a cart of 1000 apples. And they are willing to sell 1000 apples for one orange. This makes your 10 apples look like peanuts. Your apples have a much lower value. So to buy the same amount of oranges, you will need far more apples. And that’s what inflation is.

The problem with inflation is your wealth is gradually eroded, even as it sits in a bank account. And that upset many people. Then someone created the private currency called Bitcoin; where there is a defined and finite supply of money.

There’s more to it though. For example, cryptocurrencies are much easier to transact with. You don’t need ID to open an account, and even international transfers are much quicker – and cheaper. So there are a lot of advantages to cryptocurrencies.

But there are also downsides, with the main one being it’s much harder to get your funds back if you get scammed. But the extent of this downside depends on who you sent funds to. Because if you sent normal funds overseas, and got scammed, then it’s just as difficult to get funds back.

Why Online Casinos Offer Cryptocurrencies

Essentially cryptocurrencies are just another option for you to deposit funds. There are no major reasons why you would choose a cryptocurrency casino, rather than another casino that accepts cryptocurrency.

There isn’t a lot more privacy as you might expect. That’s because to withdraw funds, you’ll still need photo ID at any regulated casino.

Use of cryptos in gambling began with poker between friends. At this point, online casinos weren’t dealing with crypto. Our private teams were early adopters of crypto when playing roulette, which we’ve found is the overall most profitable casino game. But we also quickly learned most unregulated casinos were dishonest, and refused payouts.

Beware of Strictly-Crypto Casinos

Casino and gambling law can work either for or against you as a player.

Cryptos are mostly unregulated. So anyone can create a crypto wallet and send funds across borders, without any identification. This lack of regulation makes it easier for unlicensed casinos to run.

While it makes it easier for you to play at casinos, do you really want to play at an unlicensed casino? After all, an unlicensed casino isn’t bound to any particular standards, or codes of conduct that ensure fair games for players.

Should You Favor Crypto Casinos?

Cryptos may eventually be a key part of a fairer financial system. But for now, they’re just another currency – like the Australian dollar versus the United States dollar. At this stage you may find transacting with cryptocurrencies easier than fiat currencies. But again there are downsides mentioned earlier.

More important than the currency used are:

The Reputation Of The Casino

Is the casino widely reported for payout refusal? Is their support lacking?

The Fairness of Games

Does the casino provide some way of verifying the fairness of game results? Otherwise, how will you know you aren’t being cheated?

The Casino’s License

This is most important. A casino without a license is a casino without accountability. If they cheat you, few legal authorities will do anything to assist you. That’s because the jurisdiction of the casino will be unknown. So as far as the police are concerned, it’s probably someone else’s problem.