The world is changing. It used to be that if you wanted to play casino games you had to get in the car, drive down to the nearest ATM to get your money out, then head over to your designated bricks and mortar to play some games.
Nowadays you don’t even need to leave your house, you can play games from the comfort of your home through a wide selection of online casinos! You can just relax, fire up the online slots and away you go! The money will be transferred, securely, by your credit card or a service such as PayPal.
But even then, the world is still evolving and the systems of payment being used have continued to change. Nowadays the big new thing is cryptocurrency and, while the technology is still in its infancy with the Bitcoin bubble already beginning to show signs of strain, the only industry that’s really expressed an interest in utilising this new technology is the world of gambling.
Cryptocasinos are still new on the scene but boast a few enhancements over existing casinos that help make them appealing to gamblers. However, there are also a fair few inherent dangers to go with them that any punter should bear in mind before they sign up.
One of the most intrinsic and double-edged features is the nature of cryptocurrency itself. Because everything is recorded via blockchain and confirmed in the public ledger by anyone currently mining for coins, the speed of a transaction is far faster than you’d expect to see using a bank.
In addition, as users are anonymous and encrypted, you can make the payment without it being traced (which is good if you’re a privacy-conscious internet user).
But these benefits can also be taken as negatives if you look at them in another way – the speed of transactions also means the movement is final as there’s no way to rescind a transaction once it’s gone through.
This is particularly perilous in the case of fraud as, although it may take a while to process a transaction, a bank will help you get your money back if you get ripped off.
Cryptocurrencies aren’t able to help in the event this does happen but there’s no need to worry Except that there aren’t any specific regulations of cryptocurrency gambling, you have to hope the site has a regular gambling license in order to operate.
For a detailed breakdown of the pros and cons, check out this infographic!
