How Blockchain and Smart Contracts Are Transforming Online Gambling
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
The online gaming industry has come a long way, especially in the US, where most forms of online gambling had been restricted. The niche is thriving now that the different states can make their own regulations, and most have already allowed online casinos and sports betting. However, there are still some issues that continue to plague players and operators, some being slow payouts and high fees.
Some operators have solved this by bringing in more technology-driven platforms and taking advantage of blockchain and smart contract technologies. The number is growing steadily, and you can join TenexCasino: America’s top-rated crypto casino and sportsbook, to get an overview of the new experience.
Today, we look at some benefits the industry is set to gain from crypto casinos and sportsbooks.
The Automation and Fairness of Smart Contracts
Smart contracts are the backbone of blockchain-based gaming. These are small automated programs, and they help eliminate the trust problem players often associate with gambling platforms. This can be in terms of game fairness or manipulated payouts.
Smart contracts operate based on pre-set rules. If the conditions for a game or payout are met, payments are released automatically and immediately. There’s no need for human intervention or third-party approval, which eliminates delays and opportunities for manipulation. The player won’t have to worry about any sinister motives from the operator.
Enhanced Security for Players
Security has always been a major concern in online gambling, as you have to trust a platform with your personal information, payment details, and even your winnings. Less-reputable platforms can compromise all these, and a single data breach can also lead to exposure for millions of customers.
Blockchain technology helps deal with these issues as everything is decentralized, transparent, and tamper-proof. All information is secured from a single breach point due to the casino’s centralized nature, and transactions are also protected with advanced cryptographic techniques.
Further, smart contracts ensure that all transactions are only carried out after certain conditions are met, protecting players from bad actors.
Ownership and Transfer of In-game Assets
Blockchain has done more than change how things work behind the scenes – it has also introduced new concepts. One of these is true ownership of in-game assets.
Traditionally, all chips, tokens, and rewards earned in games and online casinos are tied to the platform, meaning the player has no control outside the gaming platform. With blockchain, the assets a player gains can be tokenized and stored in a player’s crypto wallet. This means that the player can take them to a different platform or game, and they can also sell them to other players or collectors.
This flexibility and new concept make gambling more engaging for players as the time spent playing also has real-world value.
Lower Fees & Costs
One of the biggest advantages of playing with a crypto casino or sportsbook is that the player gets to keep more of their winnings and make deposits at a significantly lower cost. This is because players on these platforms can make payments with Bitcoin or Ethereum (among others), which attract minimal fees.
In contrast, traditional payment systems involve several intermediaries, such as payment processors, banks, and regulatory agencies. Each of these takes a cut of your money, making transactions significantly more expensive.
The operators of these casinos also benefit as blockchain transactions can be automated with smart contracts to bring operational costs down.
Cross-Border Accessibility
In traditional online casinos and sportsbooks, there are lots of local restrictions, currency conversion problems, and even issues with incompatibility of payment systems. Blockchain gets rid of these as crypto payments are universal. You won’t need to convert your funds to make cross-border payments and won’t need to worry about exchange rates or bank approvals.
This means that when choosing a platform, you can choose any of your liking, as long as it’s available in your region. You’ll enjoy the gaming experience more and benefit from better privacy as your bank can’t snoop on your transactions.
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