However, a couple of interesting things have happened since then that have started to affect both fiat and crypto players. It’s beginning to look like a battle of currencies to see which one will prevail as the obvious favourite in the gambling industry.
We first noticed that some major jurisdictions began tightening their grip on gambling legislation, which resulted in operators having to restrict more countries from playing. In some cases, things went so far that some casinos now restrict 90% of all sovereign territories from using their services. At first, we thought this must be some mistake, but then more such brands started taking similar actions.
An obvious response that could result from this is more players turning to cryptocurrency and its anonymity. Resorting to crypto so you can play where you shouldn't – which isn't legal – is not something that should be encouraged. However we can't ignore the possibility that many players might resort to it anyway.
The second change in this time of crypto stagnancy was the rise of fiat payment fees. Banks and payment providers started charging much higher fees for transactions, resulting in many operators changing how they operate. Where players used to be able to deposit or withdraw only a couple of dollars and casinos were more than happy to cover the transaction fees because they were small, we now see higher minimum transaction limits and fees having to be covered by the players. Some casinos continue to cover fees for smaller groups of players, like VIPs, while casinos that would cover all fees are becoming increasingly hard to find.
Cryptocurrency is once again a possible solution because there are no intermediaries to charge fees. But that applies only if operators process transactions directly on the blockchain and not through third-party crypto payment providers. If not, the payment providers also charge a fee, although maybe not as high as for fiat payments. Due to the fact that the ability to process transactions directly on the blockchain usually requires a team of developers and custom software behind the operator, such operators are a minority. But the plot twists some more.
Although crypto seems like a simple solution to many problems, it might not be so easy. Another change started rolling out, this time affecting more crypto-oriented operators. No matter which currency you use to play, some operators are becoming much more strict about KYC. Players are required to submit KYC much sooner and to perform more basic operations. We’ve only noticed this with some of the bigger brands so far, but it shows that something is also happening in the crypto part of the industry. The rumour is that even the more accessible licensing regulators are tightening their requirements, starting with the more ‘exposed’ brands.
And finally, some banks have already started blocking or limiting outgoing transactions intended for buying cryptocurrencies. Although the reason behind this is said to be scam prevention, it nevertheless limits the use of cryptocurrency.
While all these changes are happening slowly and gradually, you can still play quite normally from many countries at most operators. It will be interesting to see what the future brings and which currency will become the more obvious and convenient in the gaming industry. It’s been known for some time that some governments want to limit the use of cryptocurrency or at least force a way to centralise it and what better time to do it than in the lull of the crypto market when the hype and the pressure of crypto users isn't as high?
It’s been known for some time that some governments want to limit the use of cryptocurrency or at least force a way to centralise it, and what better time to do it than in the lull of the crypto market
