Most people now will be aware of cryptocurrency after Bitcoin started to make waves in the mainstream media around a year ago. In short, cryptocurrency is a digital form of currency that operates as a medium of exchange. It gets the crypto part of its name from the use of cryptography that is used to secure and verify transactions. There are many advantages that come with using cryptocurrencies and this has seen companies such as betting providers take a keen interest.
The first real advantage is easily the biggest and that is privacy. With cryptocurrency, users will benefit from unrivalled amounts of privacy when conducting transactions online. When Bitcoin first hit the market in 2009, it was created with privacy in mind. Due to cryptocurrencies being decentralised it means that neither banks or governments have any form of jurisdiction over transactions. This also means that users personal or financial details will never be visible, anywhere.
Transactions are also lightening fast when using cryptocurrencies as a payment method too. This is because there are no third parties such as banks interfering in any of the processes. So, when it comes to a betting site there will no longer be a need for customers to wait two or three business days for withdrawals to hit their account. This has long been one of the drawbacks when betting online, but with cryptocurrency withdrawals could be processed within minutes.
One key reason as to why betting providers will indeed be looking at offering cryptocurrency as a payment solution is also due to gambling being banned in certain countries around the world. Due to the anonymity provided by cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, the user’s location will never be revealed, meaning that they can bet freely from wherever they are around the world.
There are also benefits for the actual betting provider too when it comes to offering cryptocurrency as a way to pay. Transactions using cryptocurrency as a payment method are very cheap or free for example and this is a big plus for betting providers. For instance, bookmaker Betpoint has already started to consider making this payment option available to its members. Furthermore, it will also give operators a chance to attract a whole new wave of bettors to their service, people who may not have felt comfortable using the more conventional payment methods on offer in the past.
It’s always important for industries to move with the times, and betting providers have certainly done that over the years. You can certainly see why they are looking into offering cryptocurrency as a payment solution, especially with the advantages it brings for both the operator and the customer.
It’s likely that in the future we will see betting operators begin to accept crypto, but it’s probably going to be the more established ones such as Bitcoin that are accepted first. The mainstream media attention has seen many new cryptocurrencies pop up all over the place and these are likely to be overlooked with a preference for the ones that have been around a good while and proved their worth.