.png)
Traditional online gambling is facing a new threat with the sharp rise in cryptocurrency casinos in the international market. Unlike standard online casinos, which rely on conventional financial systems and centralised databases for transactions and game integrity, these crypto-centric platforms distinguish themselves by harnessing the power of blockchain technology. This provides users of crypto-centric casinos a more secure gaming experience that should provide a better gaming experience as can offering a free spins code for existing customers.
The additional benefit of these crypto-centric casinos is the privacy they offer. In what could be considered more “outdated” online casinos, users' personal and financial information is significantly less secure as they are based on centralised platforms that have failed security measures in the past. This means players are able to play their favourite games anonymously, and with significantly higher safety. The key defining feature for many gamers however, is the faster verification and processing times, cutting waiting periods typical with more traditional online casinos.
However, unlike traditional casinos, the international market for cryptocurrency casinos can be a minefield. Many countries are locked out entirely due to regulations. This has increased the user-base for unregulated websites, especially in countries such as the United Kingdom and certain states in the United States, where many of these casinos target their marketing towards.
When you really start to dig into the complexities, the picture looks darker. A recent UN report has highlighted that illegal online casinos have emerged as hotbeds for cryptocurrency-based money laundering. Because the casinos themselves are so easy to set up, and how sophisticated and secure blockchain technology has become over the years, it’s become incredibly difficult to track cryptocurrency movements. Especially through the use of third-party payment solutions and e-wallets.
Using stablecoins like Tether on blockchain networks such as TRON, the illegal side of these operations are funnelled efficiently and quickly. The UN report highlighted the need for government vigilance, suggesting that it should act in accordance with the use of improving awareness and policies to prevent these procedures.
With an increasing number of countries outright banning the use of cryptocurrency based online casinos, gamers are faced with a double-edged sword. While crypto casinos offer a more secure and anonymous gambling experience, for some, it can require skirting the law. And for others, it can mean their favourite casinos are no longer accessible in the future.
For those who actively participate in online gambling through cryptocurrency casinos, developments of innovation and new games and casinos clash head-on with a growing call for regulations and preventions.
Contributors
