What to Look for in a Crypto Casino

Posted by Harry Kane on Friday, August 12, 2022

While cryptocurrency may have endured a sustained and marked crash through 2022, the first half of this year has seen the market embark on a steady, albeit modest, recovery. Currently, it’s total market cap value has recovered to reach $1.12 trillion, although this is down from the $3.10 trillion peak recorded in November 2022.

Of course, the market’s peaks and troughs have little relationship with the popularity of cryptocurrency, which continues to benefit from the emergence of third generation tokens and targets and increased number of applications. These include the iGaming space, with a growing number of operators now accepting multiple crypto assets as viable payment options.

As the range of online crypto casinos continue to grow, however, it can become harder for players to distinguish between reputable and scam sites. In this guide, we’ll take a look at how you can verify reputable crypto casinos and what exactly sets these sites apart.

A Brief Introduction to Cryptocurrency Casinos

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) dominate the iGaming space, with a number of casinos having been developed as decentralised apps (Dapps). However, there are also a growing number of third generation blockchains that are dedicated to iGaming, with FUNToken (FUN) currently the market leader in this respect.

Through its underlying Polygon blockchain technology, FUNToken provides provably fair gaming while enabling operators, players and developers to enjoy low latency transactions that are completely free of charge. This is typical of third-generation gambling tokens, which seek to streamline and democratise online casino transactions.

Then there’s Exeedme 2.0 (XED), which enables you to participate in competitive tournaments and hubs with players from across the globe, unlocking crypto rewards and tokens in the process. This type of platform is increasingly prevalent, while it adds another layer to the overall marketplace.

Overall, and with cryptocurrencies becoming increasingly trusted and mainstream, they’re also being embraced by a much larger number of casinos and sports betting platforms, affording you far greater choice when looking to gamble with BTC and similar tokens.

What to Look for in an Online Crypto Casino

With this in mind, the question that remains is how can you identify the safest and most reputable crypto casinos? After all, cryptocurrency tokens are renowned for being used as

part of complex and largely untraceable financial scams, so it’s imperative that you’re able to make an informed choice. Here are some considerations to keep in mind!

#1. Reputation and Trustworthiness

Because of the latter point, your ability to locate trustworthy operators with a positive reputation is especially important when gambling using crypto. So, in addition to verifying a site’s licensing details, you should also prioritise platforms that have operated for a significant period of time and avoided any type of regulatory breach.

Similarly, browse online for detailed user reviews relating to the casino in question, as these offer a first-hand insight into the site and how it operates. It may also highlight specific or recurring issues that can influence your decision, such as problems with obtaining winnings or vague (or misleading) bonus terms and conditions.

Similarly, check to ensure that the crypto casino offers fair and transparent gaming. More specifically, review the games’ library to ensure that each title has a published return-to-player (RTP) rate, which stipulates how much you can expect to recoup on average for every £1 wagered online.

If you’re wagering at a sportsbook that accepts crypto payments, check to see if the site publishes its overall RTP rate across all sports categories and verticals. Sites with the highest payout rate offer the lowest house edge by definition, ensuring that they’re highly thought of and can be trusted from the perspective of fairness and transparency.

#2. Security and Privacy

While crypto tokens are inherently secure by themselves and leverage cryptographic private keys to help users process and encrypt the receipt of funds, the same rule may not apply to your casino of choice. In fact, rogue and scam casino sites my leverage crypto assets to encourage you to register, before stealing your funds once they’ve been either deposited or won.

So, review each site to check that it boasts a minimum SSL encryption standard of 128-bit, while giving additional credence to operators that deploy two or multifactor authentication when you log in. The latter provides an additional layer of account protection, which may prove crucial when wagering large sums of BTC, ETH or alternative token.

Remember, ensuring that a site is licensed is also key, but you should note that official crypto sites don’t commonly hold a license from immediately recognisable authorities like the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) or Malta Gambling Authority. Instead, they’re more likely to be licensed by the Curaçao eGaming Authority, which is generally less strict and adopts a much looser regulatory framework.

Ultimately, it’s important to remember that not all crypto sites have been created equal, as while some are relatively traditional casinos that accept tokens like BTC, others have been built on a specific blockchain and are completely decentralised by nature. However, you’ll need to proactively ensure that your chosen site is secure and capable of respecting your privacy at all times.

#3. The Wider Range of Payment Methods in Play

Given the diversity of crypto casinos, many offer a broad range of payment options, combining Visa debit card and e-wallet transactions with tokens such as BTC and ETH. Others offer a particularly large and extended range of tokens, including Litecoin (LTC), while some allow you to gamble with a single cryptocurrency through a dedicated blockchain (like FUNToken).

As a general rule, you should prioritise sites that offer popular and trusted crypto assets such as BTC, ETH and LTC, while also paying attention to the published timeframe for withdrawals. This is because some casinos feature extended internal processing times, which may be a red flag in terms of the operator’s trustworthiness.

On a similar note, consider the site’s level of customer support and the average response times across channels such as live chat, email and freephone (along with the quality of their FAQ page). This is important, as good customer service is indicative of a player-centric site and one that can be contacted if you have an issue with your withdrawals.