Since the boom of cryptocurrency, many industries have done their part in finding different ways to use them. The gaming industry is no exception to this. In recent years, many different crypto gaming platforms have been created. Often utilizing a pay-to-earn scheme, these programs use cryptocurrencies for financial transactions.
Within the greater gaming industry, the iGaming sector – especially online poker – has been one of the early adopters of these digital coins. Many online casinos allow users to make deposits and cashouts through cryptocurrencies rather than fiat money. To illustrate, some major online poker providers even say they transact up to $100 million worth of crypto monthly. This has pushed for a greater acceptance of the coins.
How crypto came into play
Games today often follow trends in technological advancement. If consoles and computers could process higher graphics and interact with optimized role-playing AIs, then developers would find a way to integrate them into a game. In a way, the adoption of cryptocurrencies within the industry is another reflection of how innovation encourages adoption.
The use of digital currencies for games can trace its roots back to World of Warcraft. It allowed players to purchase in-game gold so they could buy cosmetics. Then Bitcoin SV was created. Over time, more people mined the coins and traded across different online forums, allowing crypto to gain more traction and popularity. The iGaming industry, in particular, paid interest to the digital coins.
After all, providers realized that utilizing cryptocurrencies in their operations helped attract new users. Crypto also provided benefits that other forms of payment – such as credit cards and digital wallets – didn’t. Most notably, crypto wallets featured lower fees and faster transaction times compared to traditional financial institutions. This meant that players and platforms could exchange bigger sums of money in a shorter span of time.
Over the past few years, the online poker industry has emerged as the biggest crypto champion within iGaming. Major providers – and even poker pros – have expressed their support for the digital coins to be used in the game. Organizations like the World Poker Tour (WPT), and players like Phil Ivey, have backed the use of crypto and other digital assets within the industry. This has encouraged a greater acceptance of crypto for gaming enthusiasts, pushing for it to be adopted by the industry as a whole.
Why it continues to be used
As mentioned above, there are quite a few benefits to using cryptocurrency. For users, blockchain technology provides anonymity in an online space. Rather than have their names and personal information attached to their account, they are given a unique numerical identifier. This limits the chances of their data being stolen by hackers and malicious software. Using crypto can also be cheaper as most wallets impose minimal transaction fees.
For the iGaming industry as a whole, the adoption of cryptocurrencies can help further gaming legislation. Case in point, many believe that crypto can help legalize online poker platforms and casinos. The main obstacles preventing the changing of federal policy towards internet casinos are the laws that prohibit banks from processing these transactions when they take place outside of their jurisdiction. But because financial institutions are not the ones distributing cryptocurrencies, these tokens have served as a way for providers to operate legally.
The future for iGaming
Despite its rapid adoption in the past few years, the recent crypto crash poses some uncertainties for the digital coins. Though analysts predict the value of crypto will jump back up, they can’t tell when exactly this might happen.
The uncertainty behind crypto’s current status will likely affect the iGaming industry’s broader adoption plans. While providers that already use crypto will probably not eliminate them from operations, newer platforms might take longer to embrace them.
But once the cryptocurrency market starts to stabilize once again, they will have a bright future ahead in both the online poker and iGaming industry as a whole.
