BITCOIN!
OK, now that we have your attention, let’s focus a bit more on what this site is about. If you’ve been paying attention to industry news, you know that cryptocurrencies are beginning to gain increased acceptance around the world, including in online poker rooms and casinos.
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There are numerous crypto casinos and crypto poker rooms that have sprouted up that are also beginning to carve their own niche in the industry. Like with anything new in the gambling world, there are things you need to be aware of when considering whether to play at a crypto poker room or online casino.
Below, then, are seven things you need to know prior to signing up at a crypto casino or poker room.
Similar Games But Often Much Smaller Selection
Whether you play at a crypto casino or a crypto poker room, you will see the same style of games you’re accustomed to seeing. You can still play slots, blackjack, roulette, table games, and Texas Hold’em Poker.
The difference is that the selection of games is often going to be much smaller in a crypto poker room or casino than at standard online casinos and poker rooms. You may, for instance, be limited to only Texas Hold’em or Hold’em and a sprinkling of Omaha. Crypto casinos will often have a small selection of games that are specifically designed for crypto, so you often will see games from second- and third-tier providers.
The exception to this rule are standard casinos that also allow you to make deposits and withdrawals in crypto. For instance, you can play your favorite Poker Games at one of the many new UK online casinos and enjoy fantastic promotions and the latest game releases from a healthy bunch of software providers. These are different than straight “crypto casinos” that only allow you to deposit/withdraw and play with cryptocurrencies.
In the future, we will likely see more operators adopt cryptocurrencies as online gaming payment methods and the quality of gaming at crypto sites will naturally improve as a result.
Bitcoin is Often the ONLY Option for Crypto Funding
You want to play at a poker room or casino accepting cryptocurrency? Great! Chances are that you can fund your account with Bitcoin… or Bitcoin. If that won’t work for you – you can use Bitcoin. Presently, many places that accept cryptocurrency deposits are only taking Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is the most well known and the one cryptocurrency you can find on every exchange, so it’s logical that it is the primary one accepted for online gaming purposes. This is beginning to change as the popularity of altcoins increases. The main reason this is beginning to change is because of one universal truth about Bitcoin in it’s present form, namely…
Fees Are Too Damn High (for Bitcoin)
If you’re new to Bitcoin, or have never made a physical transaction using Bitcoin, then you’re going to be in for a bit of “sticker shock” when you make your make your first deposit at a crypto poker room.
For example, last month, I made a small deposit to an online casino as a test. I sent .001 Bitcoin (~$13.30) to the casino. The transaction ended up costing me .00226 Bitcoin (~$30.06). Thus, the total transaction hit me for .00326 Bitcoin (~$43.36).
Imagine being someone who makes multiple deposits a month to a crypto poker room. That’s going to get awfully expensive in a hurry. If your crypto casino offers other cryptocurrency options, you’ll save a lot of money. For example, had my casino accepted Litecoin, the fee for the same transaction would have been around $1. Other altcoins charge even lower fees.
You Can Get Money On and Off Much Faster… Usually
The primary advantage to using Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies to funding your online casino or online poker account is that you usually don’t have to go through any type of verification process with the operator. I say usually because there are a few out there that still require some type of verification for withdrawals, which, for many, defeats the purpose of using crypto to play online poker in the first place.
In standard cases, all you need to do to fund your account is register one, then send Bitcoin (or other crypto) and follow their process to send cryptocurrency to your account. When you’re ready to cash out, you can request a cashout to your crypto wallet using your receive address.
The speed of how quickly your account is funded is often based type of crypto used. In many cases, your funds are available in a few minutes; FAR faster than withdrawals are traditionally processed with fiat currency. With that said, each operator works differently with regard to how they credit your funds. Some will credit after one confirmation, while others may require as many as six. Be sure to read your gaming site’s fine print!
Moreover, cashout speed also often depends on whether an operator utilizes automated or manual processing. Depending on which currency you’re using and whether it’s being done manually or not, processing (and thus, cashouts) could thus take anywhere from a couple of minutes to even days.
Recently, there have been some issues reported with Bitcoin transaction speed, with some transactions taking days or even weeks. While atypical, it is something to consider. If your site accepts a different cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin, this would be another reason to use it.
Your Money May Lose Value, Even If You Don’t Play
One thing you don’t really have to worry about with fiat currency deposits is the money losing value if it just sits in your account. However, with cryptocurrency, the value of each coin or bit of coin in your account fluctuates daily, and pretty wildly at that.
For those new to cryptocurrency, think of the price fluctuations in the same vein as stock price fluctuations. A stock’s value is often different at the middle of the day than at the end, and many fluctuate throughout the day.
With some cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, these fluctuations can be massive. Last month, Bitcoin was worth $19,000 per coin. At the time I’m writing this, it is hovering around the $13,400 mark. It would not be shocking to see it jump to $15,000 tomorrow – or drop to $12,000. In fact, the price may have spiked or crashed during the time it has taken you to read this article! (OK, that’s perhaps an exaggeration, but not by much!)
Your Money May Gain Value, Even If You Don’t Play
Obviously, if a crypto’s value drops, it can rebound. Again, Bitcoin is a great example of this. Anyone watching the prices recently has seen it drop to around $13,000 and then go back to $17,000 and then head right back down.
Many cryptocurrencies are presently experiencing booms with many at or near all-time highs. A great example is an altcoin known as Dogecoin. While established as a joke currency, it has a strong following and is one of the most commonly used currencies despite it’s super low value.
Until recently, the coin hovered at around $.006. It shot up to almost $.02. That doesn’t sound like a big deal, but if you had $100 in Doge last month and sold at it’s high, you would have “gotten back” over $300.
One great thing about playing crypto poker is that if you win, your winnings can increase in value, making you a winner twice over.
Crypto Isn’t Going Anywhere
Contrary to popular belief, crypto is not about to experience an industry-destroying bubble. That’s not to say that there won’t be a major downturn in the crypto economy and that a lot of currencies will fail. That part will happen.
What will likely happen is that we will see the best cryptocurrencies survive and thrive, and the world will enjoy their benefits. So get used to the changes that will occur in the gambling world due to cryptocurrency. It isn’t a short-term fad like bubble insurance, but rather a viable way that online casinos and poker rooms will be doing business for the foreseeable future.
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