Cryptocurrencies are perceived ambiguously in the online gambling industry. Some projects
do not see the future behind technology, while others value anonymity, financial independence, and fixed commissions of cryptocurrency systems. In any case, the accountability and immutability of the blockchain registry are already making the industry more transparent.
Gambling brings huge profits to their organizers. So, according to the data, the total profit of the online gambling industry in 2017 exceeded $50 billion.
According to American journalist Paul Wilson, 60% of the gambling software market is occupied by three game providers: Playtech, Microgaming, and Net Entertainment. Usually, online casino owners do not buy software. They rent it for $11,000—$12,000 per month plus royalties of up to 45% of earnings.
Legal support for the project is also expensive. The license to operate an online casino in Antigua and Barbuda will cost $100,000. In other jurisdictions, the rates are lower, but an annual extension may be required.
How can blockchain protect players? Blockchain makes the entire gameplay and algorithms “under the hood” transparent: transactions and actions of both the player and the casino are displayed in an immutable public registry. We can see how this works using the example of Winz io, one of the most reliable crypto casinos nowadays.
The decentralized nature of the blockchain will prevent the casino operator from manipulating players’ money and hiding their financial situation. If funds are stored in a smart contract, payments will be made automatically, and casino owners will not be able to prevent this. In addition, the blockchain will allow any player to check whether the casino can pay the jackpot and whether other players have received their money.
It will not allow you to cheat with algorithms: in traditional online best progressive jackpot slots, most of the in-game information is hidden from the user. Therefore, the results are not immune to manipulation. Online platforms that use blockchain to guarantee fair play are coming up with clear ways to ensure transparency.
How it works: the algorithm generates a sequence of pseudorandom numbers. It will set the outcome of the upcoming game. For example, for roulette, it is a sequence of numbers that will appear on the reel, and for dice, it is a sequence of values that will appear on the dice. N(N-1)/2. The sequence ends up in a temporary storage, where the player cannot just look. A special service generates a hash of the entire sequence and writes it to the blockchain.
When the game has started, the algorithm extracts the results from the storage and enters them into the game. The player sees how the ball hits a certain roulette cell or how certain cards are dealt. At the end of the session, the player can view all the pre-generated series results in temporary storage and see if they match his observations.
As a result, the user can make sure that the casino does not interfere with the algorithms and sets of values according to which the cards are issued or the number on the dice falls out.
What are the numbers? According to statistics, 10% of the population is prone to gambling addiction, respectively, the greater the penetration into the cryptocurrency market, the more active casino players there are. The dependence here is direct. However, there is also some inverse relationship. The fact is that in countries where casinos are regulated by law — for example, in the UK, artificial restrictions are imposed on the size of bets and deposits for players. This leads to an outflow of players into the crypto casino segment.
The layer of crypto games has appeared recently, and it already has fans who reject the so-called “classic gambling” and recognize only what works on blockchain technologies and uses cryptocurrency. Nevertheless, they are also part of the gambling industry, that is, gambling. In general, the number of users has grown, and there are patterns, and how strong they are is a completely different story.
In conclusion, online gambling is growing every year and will continue to grow, including the share of players using cryptocurrency. It’s simple: the more widespread the cryptocurrency is among the population, the more players will use it.