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While online casinos accepting various payment methods have been around since the late 1990s, crypto casinos are much newer. The first cryptocurrency to exist was the now-famous Bitcoin, launched in 2009. Just three years later, the first crypto casino appeared on the scene.
While crypto is still a dicey topic among many — with some shouting its praises and others warning of its dangers — it has become a standard part of financial infrastructures. There are currently over 22,000 types of cryptocurrencies with a total value of more than $1.1 trillion.
As with the currency itself, some people proclaim the benefits of using a crypto casino to gamble online. Others, meanwhile, prefer the safety and stability of traditional online casinos that use payment methods that are less ‘high-tech.’
But even among these people, the question that is often asked is which is better: crypto or traditional online casinos? To answer this, we’ve looked at all the pros and cons of both types of casinos below.
Online Casinos
Traditional online casinos have a wide array of benefits and features that attract millions of gamblers each day. Due to their long existence online, they also have a proven track record, and the best casinos can be used without fear of being scammed or taken advantage of.
While there are many, some of the best advantages of these types of casinos are:
Regulated and Secure
One of the biggest worries about gambling online is safety. Thankfully, in almost every part of the world where online gambling is legal, regulation ensures online casinos are safe, usually by requiring any online gambling site to have a license issued by a regulator.
All transactions and activities of online casinos are regulated by these oversight commissions to ensure that they are fair and transparent. This prevents you, the player, from paying the cost of whatever unsavory business practices an unlicensed casino may be involved in.
Responsible Gambling
One licensing requirement for an online casino is it must have dedicated responsible gambling features that allow gamblers to opt out or seek help. This protects vulnerable players from becoming indebted or playing uncontrollably.
While some crypto casinos offer this facility, not all do because they do not require it to be licensed. Therefore, there are some without it. This could easily entrap those who are predisposed to gamble beyond their means.
Thousands of Options
The number of online casinos available internationally is vast, partly because they have been around for so long. Thousands of them offer unique features, rewards, and bonuses.
Alongside the many casinos to choose from, each has hundreds, if not thousands, of games to enjoy. These are supplied by the most reputable names in the business and guarantee a good time when playing online.
While this advantage is not unique to traditional casinos, and you will find crypto casinos with plenty of options, there are fewer to choose from. If you’re unsure where to start, you can check out the best sites at Casinos.com.
Crypto Casinos
Like traditional casinos, there are some unique advantages to playing with a crypto casino. The greatest of these are:
Security
Although many people have questioned the validity of crypto casinos and how safe your money is, crypto’s blockchain nature makes depositing with these casinos incredibly secure — if the site you’re using is legitimate.
That said, there is no regulation over crypto casinos in many countries. Therefore, they don’t require any form of licensing (in most areas). Because of this, while your money may be secure because the blockchain you choose handles it, you’ll need to be sure that you trust the site you’re transacting with before depositing any funds.
Anonymity
One of the most significant benefits that crypto casinos have over traditional online casinos is the ability to gamble anonymously.
The regulation for conventional gambling websites requires strict KYC (know your customer/client) policies when registering an account. To complete the KYC criteria, you’ll need to provide various private details, including your name, physical address, contact details, and (in some cases) source of funds. Many crypto casino sites, however, do not have this requirement.
All that some cryptocurrency gambling websites require is a username and an email so that you can recover your account if you ever forget your password. But even this is sometimes unnecessary — meaning you can play without providing information about yourself.
Fees and Transactions
Another benefit to crypto casinos is that they generally charge far lower fees than the standard payment methods found on traditional online casino sites. Because you only pay a small processing fee for your transfer to be processed on the blockchain, you could pay much less — or nothing at all, depending on your chosen cryptocurrency.
Transactions are also fast with crypto casinos. Although traditional online casinos have made great strides in this area, with payments like Visa and Mastercard now being almost instant, crypto casinos almost always have your funds readily available as soon as you’ve completed your deposit.
Which Is Better?
As you can see, both types of casinos have plenty of advantages. However, there are also some disadvantages. For instance, traditional casinos may take an extended time to process withdrawals. Meanwhile, crypto casinos could be highly volatile due to the nature of the currency that they deal with.
Because of this, there is only one answer as to which is better: neither. Both casinos offer great chances to gamble and offer unique attributes that the other may fall short in.
The only way to determine which is better would be by assessing them on a player-by-player basis. One casino may cater more to a particular individual’s needs than another. For example, if a player wants to stay anonymous, then a crypto casino would clearly be better.
Therefore, when looking for an online casino (whether you’re using crypto or fiat currency), always consider what you’re specifically looking for. Using that knowledge, you’ll be able to find the type of casino that best suits your needs and will help you enjoy your time gambling and (hopefully) winning as well.
