Pros and Cons of Using Crypto as a Payment Method in Online Casinos.

Cryptocurrencies recently hit the headlines big time with Bitcoin’s record-breaking run at the end of last year and the beginning of this one. This was mainly spurred on by PayPal’s announcement that it would start supporting crypto payments, as well as an uptick in interest from institutional investors.

While BTC price may have fallen off the heights it reached in early January, it confirms once again that cryptos are here to stay. And with more and more online casinos accepting cryptocurrencies as a payment method, in this blog, we’ll look at the advantages and disadvantages of depositing and withdrawing with them.

Pros of depositing with cryptocurrencies

As we said, more and more gambling sites are supporting crypto payments. And using this method of transferring funds does have some distinct advantages, which are as follows:

Privacy

Note that we said “privacy” not “anonymity”. Cryptocurrencies do offer a high degree of privacy and even anonymity when used for online payments. But they are not, contrary to popular belief, absolutely anonymous.

While using cryptos for transactions, your identity is completely hidden. The transactions are visible in the blockchain, but users are identified only by their public keys, a string of randomly generated numbers and letters.

However, if you ever want to transfer your crypto for fiat, or vice versa, you will have to connect to an ewallet or bank account linked to your real identity. When this happens, your transactions can be traced back to you.

Of course, for the average gambler, this will not be cause for concern. Apart from anything else, reputable registered casinos will still demand Proof of Identity to meet their Know Your Customer requirements even if you are depositing in crypto.  But digital currencies still offer enough privacy to help you avoid difficult conversations with your “significant other”.    

Security

As the name suggests, cryptocurrencies are based on cryptography, the science of secure communication techniques.

Blockchain, the underlying technology behind most cryptos, encrypts, records and timestamps all transactions into blocks in a very technical process that we won’t attempt to explain.

Suffice to say that one a transaction has been confirmed in the blockchain it is virtually impossible to alter it. This is because all blocks are interdependent and a change to one would necessitate changing all preceding blocks in the chain.

Transparency

The fact that “privacy” and “transparency” can both be advantages of cryptos is a confusing point for many people. But as we explained above, transactions on the blockchain are publicly available, but the user’s identity is hidden.

The advantage here is that once your transaction is complete, you immediately have easily accessible confirmation of it.

Imagine, for example, you deposit funds on a Friday using a credit card and the casino fails to credit them to your account. You would then have to wait until the following Monday morning when the banks open to obtain proof that the transaction was made before you could access your funds.

If you had deposited with crypto, you would be able to send the casino confirmation of the transaction immediately and be back playing in next to no time.

Bonuses

It’s a well-known fact that online casinos offer all sorts of bonuses and promotions to entice players in. Which is fine, in fact, better than fine. So what if the casino has an ulterior motive, that doesn’t make the offers any less attractive.

What is not such widespread knowledge is that some casinos will offer extra incentives if you deposit in crypto. If you take your time to shop around for the best deal, you’ll find ones like that at 777bay.com, which gives you a whopping 150% of your first deposit, along with 150 free spins, just for using crypto.

Cons of depositing with cryptocurrencies

As you can see, there are several good reasons for gambling with crypto. But every coin has a flip side, so now we’ll look at the disadvantages involved in digitalizing your gambling bankroll.

Volatility

The first and most obvious disadvantage is volatility. Unless you are using a stablecoin like Tether, the fiat value of your deposits or winnings can change from day to day, making it hard to keep track of exactly how much your bankroll is worth.

To help get around this problem some sites, such as 777bay.com Casino, which we mentioned earlier, instantly convert your crypto deposits to a fiat currency of your choice. This allows you to accurately keep track of your wins and losses. If you choose to withdraw in crypto as well, your funds are converted back and transferred.

Speed

Transaction speed used to be listed among the benefits of cryptos, but this is no longer the case. The speed of transactions at any given moment depends on the amount of traffic on the blockchain.

And as cryptos become more popular, the traffic is getting heavier and processing times slower. Bitcoin, as the most popular, is the worst offender here. To illustrate the point, the median transaction time for BTC is currently around 10 minutes but was as high as 25 minutes in October 2020.

This is relatively fast when compared to a payment option such as credit cards. But it is still very frustrating not knowing when your payment will go through so you can continue playing.

Conclusion

Cryptos do have some distinct advantages as a payment method, but there are also drawbacks. And since most of the advantages, such as security, are shared with ewallets, it’s really a matter of your personal preference which method you use. But whichever you go for, ewallets or cryptos, we wish you Good Luck on your adventures.