Gambling as a concept has been around for thousands of years and seems to evolve alongside humans. With technology in the mix, it is easier to gamble from the comfort of your own home and even on the go. But one of the more recent developments to hit the gambling space has been decentralization.
Based on blockchain technology, decentralisation offers a plethora of privacy and control for users and can be a way to create more trust between them and the platforms that they use. But how exactly would this work? Some of these benefits are as follows:
- More Control Over Funds
When broken down into the basics, gambling on centralized platforms has an element of risk. Consumers are essentially depositing their funds onto a site to gamble and simply trusting that their funds will not be stolen. While the gambling sector is better regulated these days, there is no shortage of people who claim that their site of choice took their funds and closed their accounts.
And this is where decentralization comes in, specifically with the use of cryptocurrency. When playing with crypto, users have the option to connect their existing wallets to their gambling site and play their games. If they win, their winnings are automatically deposited and should they lose, a withdrawal is initiated. But throughout this process, their funds do not actually leave their accounts and they retain ownership over them. In this sense, decentralization addresses an age-old concern of casino users.
- Increased Privacy
Being cautious about revealing professional information online is very important to the modern consumer and thankfully, those who gamble online can enjoy more of this thanks to decentralization. We’ve already spoken about how users don’t have to give up their funds if they use their crypto wallets. But this also means that they don’t have to give up their data either.
Usually, when signing up for a centralized exchange, users need to provide their name, address, email, and even government ID in some cases. When using a decentralized exchange, they only need to connect their wallet and begin playing. Essentially, they can gamble anonymously and enjoy a degree of privacy they otherwise would have had to give up. This also ties into the fact that opening a crypto wallet can be done, in some cases, with just an email address, meaning that the consumer enjoys privacy at all levels.
- Faster and Seamless Transactions
Another benefit that decentralization can offer the industry is more seamless transactions. A major pain point for both casinos and consumers is the long periods of time it can take to process deposits and withdrawals. This is because centralized gambling establishments rely on traditional banks, which are not always gambling-friendly. There have been instances of banks imposing limits on how much can be spent on gambling platforms or even banning gambling-related transactions as a whole.
Naturally, this causes grief to all involved but it’s easily remedied through decentralization. When a crypto wallet is used in place of traditional banking tools, users have complete control. No one can restrict where they spend their funds and how much. Transactions using crypto are also known to be very fast and efficient, so there is no waiting on the part of the consumer or the casino they use.
- More Profit
One of the major appeals of decentralization for the gambling sector is that it intertwines it with the crypto industry and this expands the possibilities of profit for all parties. Unlike fiat currency, crypto assets see their values fluctuate all the time. The token that is worth $100 per unit when it is gambled can be worth $200 by the next day. Whether the consumer themselves win their game or the platform profits, there is the chance to make more money depending on the state of the market.
It is this chance for double profit that has fueled the popularity of cryptocurrency among gambling consumers and has, in turn, made crypto more popular on these sites. This is on top of the other benefits which make the process safer and more convenient overall. And as long as crypto remains profitable, it should remain popular within gambling-focused spaces and platforms.