Crypto is emerging as a popular payment method globally, and online gambling sites are increasingly joining in to adopt this modern system.
According to a recent behavioral analysis study conducted by the University Of York Department Of Computer Science, cryptocurrency has yielded key research benefits to prevent problem gambling.
Researchers looked at transaction data for players using cryptocurrency to understand various aspects of gambling. The study featured an algorithm created to extract and interpret transaction data from the Ethereum blockchain. The paper explores 2,232,741 transactions from 24,234 unique addresses to three such applications operating atop the Ethereum cryptocurrency network over 583 days.
This algorithm seeks to identify risky behaviors with the potential for financial harm to players, such as unsustainable spending. Researchers hope that the advanced approach can lead to better consumer protection tools.
Enhanced data to identify and stop problem gambling is a crucial solution that online casinos supporting crypto can offer to the greater iGaming sector.
Online gambling Stands to Benefit from Crypto Integration
Researchers from the University Of York observed over 2.2 million transactions from 24,000 unique addresses on three apps running on the ETH network. They discovered that the most heavily involved blockchain players spend substantially more.
Bettors on decentralized gambling apps wagered an average of 1,000 ETH, significantly more than most players on traditional gambling platforms.
Indeed, the online gambling industry stands to gain a lot from crypto integration. The main benefit of gambling with this nascent asset class is the high level of anonymity. Players can use privacy coins such as Monero (XMR) to keep their bets, personal data, and gains/losses away from third parties.
Crypto-based gambling websites also enable bettors to circumvent stringent regulations that, in some cases, prohibit gambling in many countries. Even in situations where banks refuse to process transactions to and from gambling platforms, online casinos can still accept deposits and make payouts in BTC and other cryptocurrencies.
Furthermore, the very nature of blockchain tech guarantees that the betting process is transparent and fair. By simply entering the bet ID number and other details on the gaming site, users can know whether the game’s outcome was tampered with by the casino or other players.
As the recent gambling study revealed, blockchain data can even distinguish between real players and automated bots, which are deployed to inflate a gaming app’s perceived popularity artificially.
Cryptocurrency Use in Online Betting Is On the Rise
The advantages of playing at a crypto casino over placing bets at a fiat-based platform are having a massive impact on the gambling industry.
As we recently reported, a study by eSports betting specialists LOOT.BET revealed that crypto had gained increased use in the world of online betting.