“Online gaming has a reputation of cheating its players, more so with online gambling”
Every online game available to your mobile phone and computers has been thought of at least one of these three things: an unwinnable system, addictive gaming style, and high costs for transactions and microtransactions.
And while destroying candy on a puzzle block or roaming around to collect monsters have a bad rep for draining parents’ credit cards, online gambling’s reputation is much worse. Speculation regarding the benefit of online casinos and online gambling are highly negative. There is still a certain finesse in going to an actual casino. And it’s because players can see people they are dealing with. There is still a small amount of trust that people feel when they see their blackjack dealers and slot machines. Online gambling doesn’t have that trust. Until crypto gambling came to be.
Pressing the Red Switch
When people think of online gambling, they always imagine a white suit and a pen behind another monitor, which is somehow connected to theirs, pressing a red button for them to lose. And while this may be too simple to actually be truthful, fair game isn’t always fair.
The idea of blockchain fixing everything is a hyperbole. It’s still quite a long way of testing and retesting for us to know how blockchain can fit into our daily lives. But blockchain always comes with the word transparency. And transparency often builds trust. These two are the kind of things online gambling face criticism. As Poutintisev, CMO of Bitbook told Forbes:
“This will not change, blockchain will not magically transform gambling into a wonderland where players win most of the time... Blockchain will store records of all games and bets, their results, and the amounts that were won and paid out. Players can always access the transaction history to confirm that the system paid out all that was due and that the odds were not rigged".
EVENT: Blockchain Gamble—The So-Called Solution in a Forum
The event details are as follows:
Title: Blockchain Gamble
Date: July 27,2019
Time: 1PM to 5PM
Venue: BlockchainSpace, Acceler8, 111 Paseo De Roxas Makati City
The event was held by BlockDevs Asia, a community of blockchain builders, who have been conducting multiple blockchain events across the continent.
This event aimed to:
build a stronger blockchain developer community by increasing their knowledge in the technical and legal aspects of the blockchain gaming and gambling industry, and
encourage developers to build gaming and gambling platform that utilizes blockchain.
The event had 60 participants who had a chance to listen to expert talk on blockchain casinos and online gambling. The discussions involved DApps statistics, development of blockchain/decentralized casinos, examples of said industry with comparison of used protocols, and integration of well-known online games to an online platform. The participants had a chance to ask questions.
The panel noted a surprising active audience participation. An important question that left an impression on the panel of people was:
"How can we convince ordinary gambling players to play on a blockchain gambling games instead of the existing traditional online gambling games, taking into consideration that people will play on a site with the highest jackpot available?"
The event also gave out prizes and winnings to participants during the event.
Online Gambling and Everything that’s Going Wrong
To make things clearer than it is, let’s list down all the things online gambling does wrong.
A Trustworthy Image
Trust goes on top of everything. People just don’t find online gambling trustworthy. From sketchy gambling practices to fraudsters and scammers everywhere to game rigs and odds. Online casinos have it difficult to let people know it’s safe to come to them.
When you know someone isn’t trustworthy, you will keep yourself (and your money) away from this guy. This is the one thing online casinos have to deal with.
Questionable Records and Fraud
And of course, we all know that inescapable hacking that some people do. When it comes to anything digital or the internet of things, cybersecurity is always a question. Frauds account for much loss in online casinos. People can dupe operators, withdraw money when they seem fit and hide under false identities and anonymity.
Membership and Accessibility
Not all suitable players have a bank account or want a credit card. Not everyone wants to put that sensitive information at risk. And not to mention that minors could get away with joining online casinos. Though security measures have been placed, the soft malleability of online gambling puts most players at risk.
Putting credit card information isn’t always something people want to do over a screen.
Payments and Payment Duration
When people win big time, some casinos take their time paying up. This adds to the trust issue. Online casinos are dependent upon cash flow. And extremely lucky winners are their biggest risks when it comes to this. That doesn’t mean winning is bad. Players can still win. But when they do, payments don’t always come up fast.
And not to mention the lack of payment methods. Online casinos mean cash isn’t suitable. And credit cards are a big risk.
Costs
Online casinos depend on third parties like banks. Often, this makes transactions costly. Not to mention keeping an online casino running would be costly too. As long as one or a few entities hold the whole system. It’s always going to cost more.
Crypto Gambling and How It Could Change Everything
Blockchain and cryptocurrency have been making buzz as a technological disruption. While other industries scoff at the idea, the online gambling industry should look into crypto gambling. It may as well be the next step for its future.
Record Transparency
Blockchain would allow crypto gambling to have a set of immutable records to show all transactions from all parties concerned verified by the same people within the system. And though this could create a strong community, an insurmountable account of records would allow players to cross-check all odds and transactions done for them.
This very benefit would solidify trust with crypto gambling among other things.
Cryptocurrency
The use of cryptocurrency in blockchain is no question. Not only does it provide another form of payment method, but it would also function on a fast system, reducing transaction time and fraud. This would also widen accessibility especially to people who don’t want to use their credit cards or would find a digital asset a more safe, secure way to place bets on a system.
Identity Verification
The blockchain platform would require the essential amount of identity verification. Most online casinos would go through extreme lengths in verifying one’s identity. This causes players to raise eyebrows when multiple IDs and account numbers and names are needed. Blockchain’s own hashing and cryptography remove that. And furthermore, a blockchain system adds security to that information. As no one would access it unless the data holder allows them to do so.
In addition, identity verification would create less shadowy places for fraudsters to hide in. The system would allow the blocking of a player, especially if there’s something illegal involved. And the records would stay.
Decentralization
Adding to the lack of trust, Poutinsev also had this to say regarding decentralization:
"As long as casinos dictate which games you can play and which sports you can bet on, the system remains fully centralized. Users should be able to add their own events and games. They do not necessarily have to be sports events – any type of event can be an object of betting.”
A decentralized form of playing not only allows players to have other bets they can play on but odds are somehow in their own control. It’s a new kind of way to provide a stable guessing game than placing trust solely on a centralized body.
While cryptocurrency regulation has been mixed with red tape and green lighting, crypto gambling, though decentralized, would still function under legal terms and the law. The point of crypto gambling is to change the very untrustworthy image of online gambling by bringing in a new platform and a new form of asset.
More Than Just An Idea
Crypto gambling is on the rise. And probably because it’s more than just a good idea. There is much for the industry to set food in and placed against physical casinos. The promise of fair play and a good game is near at hand. At least blockchain, cryptocurrency, and crypto gambling have that to offer.
