How to use cryptocurrency for gambling

Using cryptocurrency for gambling is the clear choice for people who are unsure whether a centralised organisation will determine odds in a fair way or have sufficient funds to pay out winnings.

With cryptocurrencies, everything is powered by smart contracts that can be audited, meaning anyone can check what is happening behind the scenes. Speed, convenience, and anonymity are other key advantages of using cryptocurrency for gambling.

Getting started

If you’ve decided that gambling with crypto is right for you, the first step is to find a casino that has a valid licence and offers your chosen cryptocurrency. In Great Britain, you can check the Gambling Commission’s website to make sure the website is properly licenced.

You’ll then need to decide which type of gambling site to play on: cryptocurrency-only or established sites with crypto options.

Cryptocurrency-only sites deal only in cryptocurrency – that means you have to make deposits in crypto and any winnings will be paid out in crypto. Payments tend to be faster, but you need to have your wits about you. Many sites don’t have an established track record, while some are scams that are simply there to steal your money.

In contrast, an established site with crypto options will have been around for several years and, over time, added crypto as an accepted payment method. These sites are seen as a safer option, but the downside is they probably won’t facilitate as many types of cryptocurrencies as crypto-only sites do.

Features to look out for

New features have been introduced that aim to make using cryptocurrency for gambling even more attractive.

“Provably fair” gambling, which arose from the development of blockchain technology, uses advanced cryptography and mathematical algorithms to ensure fair outcomes in games. By using random number generators, seed generators, and hashing, players can verify that game outcomes are random and haven’t been tampered with. Provably fair gambling games include dice, baccarat, jackpot, poker, and roulette.

Some sites also let players invest in the house in exchange for a share of the winnings. Others enable players to stake bets and settle them directly on the network through a process called on-chain betting. Instead of depositing Bitcoin to the casino’s web address, on-chain betting lets you send tokens to a smart contract when you place your bet.

Accepted coins

Bitcoin is the most commonly-accepted cryptocurrency among online gambling operators. In the majority of cases, even if you make a deposit with a non-Bitcoin currency, the payout will most likely be processed in Bitcoin. Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dogecoin are also accepted by some brands.

Bitcoin-based gambling sites tend to offer the highest payouts, but the downside is you can’t gamble on-chain. This means you have to trust a centralised operator to hold on to your money.

An alternative to consider is a casino that is based on EOS – an operating system that supports industrial-scale decentralised gambling applications. By using EOS coins, you can bet directly on-chain and transactions are free and settled instantly. EOS also enables you to log in to different gambling sites and bet from one account, rather than depositing funds on each site you want to bet on. Sometimes there is an opportunity to share in profits by staking tokens on the EOS network.

Registering

Online casinos often have a lengthy registration process that requires you to prove your identity. However, there are a few Bitcoin-based casinos that operate on a no-registration basis, enabling you to start playing straight away. Ensuring these sites are licensed and trustworthy is especially important.

In order to prevent fraud, some casinos also require authentication when it comes to withdrawals. It can take around 24 hours for the casino to process your request and send the funds to you.

Conclusion

If you’ve got a good understanding of how cryptocurrency works and enjoy using online gambling sites, then using cryptocurrency for gambling could be for you. Access to provably fair gambling, anonymity, and streamlined transactions are some of the main draws of gambling with crypto. Just make sure you do your homework when choosing a site – and, as with any gambling, don’t ever bet more than you can afford to lose.