People love to gamble. This age-old activity typically evokes images of red-carpet casinos, endless slot machines, and piles of poker chips. However, like so many activities in the digital age, the in-person gambling experience is quickly being supplanted by an online variant that is incredibly popular.
In 2019, the online gambling market in the US alone nearly reached $46 billion, a number that’s expected to double in the next four years. Collectively, there are thousands of online gambling sites producing ever-new, ever-intriguing opportunities for users to compete, wager, and (hopefully for the user) win.
Despite its growing popularity, few online gambling outfits are integrated with traditional casinos, a reality that causes a credibility problem for companies and puts consumers at risk. As technology publication, TechAddiction, rightly notes, “There are no official product safety standards and regulations for online casinos. Players who choose to wager at online gambling websites essentially do so at their own risk.”
Users are well-aware of this predicament. According to a 2019 survey, “Only 26% of those surveyed believed communication of online casinos were truthful.” Simply put, online gambling is (and will continue to be) big business, but, for this new expression of an old industry to maximize its potential, it will need to establish a framework for trust and reliability.
Enter the blockchain. This burgeoning technology has been hailed for its applicability to everything from supply chain management to money movement. Still, its impact on online gambling might be one of its most prescient use cases.
Here are three reasons that blockchain technology will bolster gambling innovation in the years ahead.
#1 Provably fair gaming
Casinos are no strangers to fairness controversies. Maxims like “the house always wins,” are often buoyed by concerns about the trustworthiness of the deals and institutions. Given the opaque nature of online gambling, which is governed by lines of code rather than human dealers and moderators, the need for transparency is even more apparent.
That ethos is inspiring new blockchain-based gambling outfits that emphasize this priority. For one, FortuneJack, which offers everything from live casino play to sports betting, is offering consumes unparalleled insights into their operations. Guided by their “high winnings, low house edge,” FortuneJack provides a litany of games that are built upon the concept of being provably fair. To support their efforts in transparency, FortuneJack is deploying cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, which has the added benefit of unlocking new fintech solutions that will continue to push the industry further down this road.
While web-based online gambling institutions are free to make a similar assertion, only blockchain technology has a built-in infrastructure to make it a reality.
#2 Privacy-centered participation
Users have many reasons to be skeptical of online casinos. In addition to concerns about fairness, online casinos collect copious amounts of user data that differentiates their revenue stream while putting user privacy at risk.
For instance, in January, an online casino leaked the personal details for 108 million bets, an astounding, and potentially embarrassing data breach for the platform’s users.
Online gambling may rely on big data, but blockchain-based platforms don’t have too. Some, like FortuneJack, have committed to not collecting user data or selling personal information to third-parties. Blockchain technology makes it possible for players to participate anonymously without compromising security or integrity. By using cryptocurrencies and smart contracts to facilitate the activity, blockchain-based gambling institutions can protect user privacy while continuing to offer compelling, engaging opportunities for their customers.
#3 Edge-case innovation
Industries like gambling and adult entertainment have indirectly driven tech innovation for years. Their industry-specific solutions have served as the bedrock for solutions in other sectors. Currently, few technologies carry the enthusiasm and potential as the blockchain.
Therefore, gambling platforms that rely on this technology are positioning themselves to pursue edge-case innovation that enables new and better iterations of online gambling. This tangible use case could model the potential of blockchain technology and allowing other industries, including fintech, to rely on a decentralized model moving forward. Like FortuneJack, many other platforms are looking to capitalize on this moment.
Similarly, platforms like TruePlay, a blockchain-based affiliate marketing platform, is integrating gambling products into its product catalog. Looking to capitalize on the transparency of blockchain technology, another decentralized platform, TrueGame, is doing the same thing.
In other words, the problems of fairness, user trust, and data privacy are the same shortcomings that companies in virtually every other industry are grappling with as well. In this way, blockchain-based gambling outfits might be the models for our next round of innovation.
In the meantime, users can turn to blockchain-based online gambling platforms to provide the safe, fair, and transparent experience that they want. With more than $100 billion on the line, blockchain platforms should get ready to open their metaphorical doors to the masses.
Disclosure/Disclaimer: This article is sponsored and provided by a third-party source and should not be viewed as an endorsement by ZyCrypto. Readers should do their own research before having anything to do with the company, goods, and/or services mentioned in the above article.
