I am certain that we are all very familiar with ‘Casinos’ and what they basically are, however, Crypto Casinos are the latest and most up-to-date incarnation of a very old concept.
Gambling itself, has of course, been around since very ancient times with the first physical casino, the Ridotto, appearing in Venice in 1638. This first casino was Government owned and controlled, and no doubt, a perfect vehicle for the Government to control and gain from a lucrative and very popular pastime!
From that very first establishment, physical casinos proliferated across the centuries and across nations, evolving into what we now would recognize as the modern physical casino model…the basis of, but still some way away from modern Crypto Casinos.
Physical Casinos
To properly illustrate the evolution of physical casinos into Crypto Casinos, it would be helpful to firstly outline the major characteristics of traditional brick-and-mortar casinos:
At its basic level, a casino is a physical establishment within which gambling takes place via the medium of games of chance, but which in some instances involve a level of skill and knowledge. Some examples of games commonly played include; roulette, blackjack, baccarat and slot machines, with more technologically focused pastimes including video poker.
This basic casino model has itself evolved from 1931 onwards, into a ‘resort’ model with casinos being incorporated into cruise ships and land establishments incorporating hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, live entertainment and even sporting events…basically a ‘Disneyland of gambling’. Major centers of such set-ups include; Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Monte Carlo and Macao.
Basic Casino Characteristics
Whether traditional sole-use building or resort casinos, certain characteristics remain constant and it is important to understand these fully:
- Casinos operate on a Fiat Currency model. Yes, you exchange cash for ‘chips’ or other tokens of value and back again, but essentially, no cash, no play!
- Participants have to be physically present and often players must become members of an establishment and present ID, sometimes at least 24 hours in advance of play in order to comply with strict national regulations.
- The games and chances of winning are not random! Most games have pre-determined, mathematically calculated odds that always favours the House over participants…in other words, the odds are always stacked against the players. In games where players play against other participants rather than directly against the house, the house takes a commission, known as the ‘Rake’. The Rake is a sliding-scale commission often ranging between 2% to 10% of the pot in each hand.
Online Casinos
In 1994, the precursor of all online casinos first appeared, with fully functional gambling software developed by a technology company from the Isle of Man; this software was then combined with online security software and secure online transactions finally became truly viable, leading to the establishment of some 200 casino sites by 1997 and ultimately, the online casino space that exists today.
The advent of online casinos brought us a step closer to modern crypto casinos and this model gave casino operators convincing advantages over traditional casinos:
Firstly, there was no longer any need for the vast capital outlay required for the establishment of a bricks-and-mortar casino building. Add to that the savings in fixtures and fittings, running costs and staff costs, this model suddenly opened up access to a wider range of casino entrepreneurs than had previously been the case.
Secondly, traditional casinos needed to have physical machines / roulette / card tables. Once installed, operators were basically stuck with their equipment with rotations to other gaming machine variants, cumbersome and expensive; online casinos could simply change or add gaming variants by programming these changes.
The advantages of online casinos to players also stacked up quite convincingly over traditional casino models:
- Whilst in a traditional casino the odds of winning were stacked firmly against the players, in an online casino, the odds were determined by ‘Random Number Generators’, providing a fairer outcome for participants.
- Before starting any game it is easy to determine the true chances of winning by looking up the RTP. RTP stands for Return to Player and so if a game shows an RTP of 95% then out of every one hundred pounds bet, the casino will keep five pounds and return ninety five pounds to the players.
- Online casinos often offer various bonuses to new and returning players; offers include, matching player deposits, percentage-based rewards and even loyalty based or VIP programs for regular customers.
- Online casinos are available worldwide 24/7 and unlike traditional casinos, do not require customers to make time-consuming physical journeys to physical locations.
Online Casino Characteristics
So in contrast to physical casinos, online casinos have the following characteristics:
- Similar to traditional casinos, online casinos operate on a Fiat model; players are required to deposit staking funds into their online accounts before being able to play.
- Participants do not have to be physically present and have worldwide access to gaming 24/7. Whilst membership of an online casino is required, this can be activated immediately and gaming can commence immediately. Members can retain online player anonymity with other players, however, ID will still have to be proved to the online casino to enable membership.
- The games and chances of winning are more random than at traditional casinos, with notional odds determinable pre-participation.
- The crediting and withdrawal of funds is subject to the time constraints of the banking system and of the architecture of the crypto casino.
Crypto Casinos
The first enabler of crypto casinos appeared on the scene in 2009 with the advent of Bitcoin and the blockchain technology that it was hosted upon. The blockchain (more about that in later articles), offered a brand new architecture enabling the creation of a completely decentralised and owner anonymous currency that could be used for online transactions.
It was not until 2012, however, that the very first crypto casino, Satoshi Dice was launched. In essence, this was simply a one-game casino that allowed users to bet directly on the outcome of an RNG (Random Number Generator). The game was played solely with Bitcoin but uniquely allowed for staking and winnings to be actioned instantly, directly on the blockchain, completely dispensing with the need for any third-parties such as banks or payment processors. The game and the Satoshi Dice crypto casino, although simple, was hugely popular and led to the proliferation of crypto casinos. Although no exact figures seem to be available, a decent mathematical approximation places the total number of crypto casinos as at 2026 at somewhere in the region of 1700.
Today, things have moved a long way from that original Satoshi Dice crypto casino; not only do crypto casinos accept a wide variety of cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin, but there are a huge variety of games available to players such as all manner of slots and table games but also live sports betting. An increasingly popular addition is that of live dealer games, where players can experience the thrill of playing in a physical casino with a live dealer and other live players.
Although it may, at first glance, not be obvious as to the great leap in technology and additional advantages that crypto casinos offer as opposed to ‘older’ model online casinos, a review of their characteristics should prove enlightening:
Crypto Casino Characteristics
Instant deposits and withdrawals: One of the greatest advantages of crypto casinos is their speed of processing of deposits and withdrawals…which is pretty-much instant! Both physical and non-crypto online casinos, were restricted by their payment processors and architecture and transactions could sometimes take several days to process. However, blockchain technology now allows for a more convenient and enjoyable experience.
Greater security and anonymity: The privacy and security of players personal details and financial information has always been a concern amongst players of online casinos, however, with crypto casinos, crypto currency transactions are fully encrypted. Additionally, the blockchain hosts all transactions making the theft of information all but impossible. Players are also able to enjoy fully anonymous gaming as they do not actually need to share personal information.
Provably fair gaming: Crypto casinos utilise a blockchain technology framework and cryptographic hashing to generate truly random game outcomes. Because the blockchain is essentially an ‘open ledger’ viewable by anyone, players can check these cryptographic hashes to verify that game outcomes are truly unbiased. As can be seen, crypto casino gamblers now no longer have to rely upon a casino’s word that their games are fair and this has given crypto casino games a huge surge in popularity and ensured returning clientele.
Lower fees: Crypto casinos, by virtue of their transaction medium (cryptocurrencies), benefit from significantly lower overheads than physical casinos or non-crypto online casinos. Because of the elimination of third party payment processors, participants can now benefit from much reduced transaction processing fees enabling them to retain more of their winnings, maximise their staking deposits and enhancing their overall financial positions.
A greater variety of games and access to bonuses: With traditional online casinos, players can be restricted in the variety of games that they have access to or the prizes available to them, dependent upon their physical location or the payment method that they utilise. Crypto casinos, however, offer full access to all available games, prizes and bonuses regardless of a player’s location or payment method.
Crypto Casinos – The Future
The growing popularity of crypto casinos looks bright: With the increasing adoption of blockchain technology into more-and-more facets of everyday infrastructure and with the ever growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies into the mainstream, along with the added benefits of security and anonymity, ever greater numbers of players are availing themselves of these benefits and are steadily migrating to crypto casinos from both brick-and-mortar and online casinos.