Cryptocurrencies may be the way of the future, or they may be integrated into the global monetary system, making them irrelevant. However, regardless of what the future brings, they are relevant now, and using crypto online has several advantages.
Aside from using crypto, another frowned-upon but legal activity is online gambling. Crypto and gambling go well together because money from crypto is relatively untraceable, and both concepts speak to the pioneering rebellion in people.
That being said, let’s take a look at the online gambling market and how it interacts with Ethereum.
What is cryptocurrency and Ethereum?
Before we can begin to understand ETH betting, we must first explore cryptocurrencies.
The concept of crypto entered common parlance only a few years ago, and many people do not understand the concept or why it is useful. So, let’s try to break that down a bit.
Every country has its own currency that it usually prints. Normally, that currency would represent value that exists in the real world. For example, the reason why people call dollars “bucks” is that one dollar could buy you one buck hidden back in the day.
But what if your government wants to finance a war or pay much more welfare than it has the money to deliver? Well, it prints more money, right?
Sure, this strategy works for a while, but soon, you will start to notice that there are 20 dollars for every buck hidden in circulation. This is a concept called inflation, where the overprinting of money causes it to lose its value because it has no real-life equivalent.
This is one of the problems that cryptocurrencies are trying to solve. These currencies are entirely digital and finite. You cannot create more, and no central authority controls Ethereum creation. For online gambling, this is better, as you may not want the government to stick its nose to your activities.
As a last mention, we should note that most casinos can support users who wish to deposit Ethereum, but that is not an example of Ethereum gambling benefits. With a standard casino, you need to convert crypto into fiat currency, which costs you extra, and then play with that money that you just bought.
An end-to-end Crypto casino, as the name suggests, lets you use Ethereum even while playing. So, you can deposit Ethereum, bet with it, and then get Ethereum back.
Selecting a good crypto gambling site
Ethereum crypto casinos can be a vast subject, depending on how much you want to analyze it. But the most important part is to make sure that Ethereum online casinos in general, and the particular casino that you want to patronize, are legal in your country.
Legality
Gambling regulations can vary wildly across the world, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all law that dictates these activities. A gambler should never attempt to do anything without checking to see if these casinos are legal where he lives. Also, you should check this with your VPN turned off, as the VPN simulates that you are in another country.
So, if you get the message of prohibited content while accessing the site with your own IP, then it is best to reconsider.
Scam sites
If you want to gamble with Ethereum, then you have to avoid scam sites. This is somewhat in line with the previous criteria regarding legality.
If you are sure that gambling sites are banned where you live, but you still find a page that isn’t blocked, that is maybe a scam site. It will look, feel, and sound very similar to a normal site. Even the games will be real. Users will be able to play normally, and the ruse will only be revealed when you want to withdraw the money that you made. That will not work, and you risk losing all the time and money that you spend on that fake site.
The second criterion that you can analyze is reputation. Of course, decentralized Ethereum casinos are quite new as a concept, as blockchain cryptocurrencies are also quite new. But still, sites existed pre-crypto, back in the old days, of cash, credit cards, and government-issued fiat currency.
There are entire communities of people who have been gambling online for decades, so they know the ins and outs of the landscape.
Be sure to take time to read forums and ask questions to make sure that the specific site that you are interested in is legitimate. The ultra-popular brands get millions of users, so you can be sure that those are legitimate businesses that do not scam people.
How to set up
Let’s say that the idea of gambling with crypto interests you, but you have no crypto and have not gambled before. Then, you will need to get some fiat money, a photo ID, and a laptop or PC.
Then, you have to go to a crypto exchange page, where you will set up an account. Be sure that the site is actually readable by humans who do not have internet-speak as their first language. During setup, you will probably be asked for a photo ID, which you will then provide.
If the verification is not instant, you may need to wait a few days for that to finalize. After verification, depositing money should be as easy as working with any other site where you have online transactions.
Benefits and Drawbacks
In terms of the downsides of using crypto to gamble, we have a couple. First, cryptocurrency markets are famously volatile, so the value of your wallet can change radically overnight. This isn’t a bug, it’s a feature, but it adds another layer of consideration to your decision. But then again, as the recent inflation explosion showed us, government money is not free from value fluctuations either.
The second issue is that so much technology and terminology can be daunting to learn for those who are not tech-savvy.
There are multiple benefits.
First, there is the factor of anonymity. Privacy and anonymity are key ingredients of human dignity. Those who think “I don’t need privacy because I have nothing to hide” are missing the point. For whatever reason, if you don’t want people sticking their noses into your business, it’s best to use crypto.
If you gamble with fiat money, then those transactions will be far easier to track and monitor.
As for the websites themselves, we mentioned previously that end-to-end ETH casinos do not charge extra fees to let you play. And finally, there is safety. Most of these sites are extremely safe and customer friendly.
Conclusion
Cryptocurrencies and online gambling are a match made in heaven. Both concepts speak to the rebel, risk-taking side of people. Choosing to gamble with a currency that is inflation-proof, non-taxable, and free from government manipulation may be the way of the future.
