Could cryptocurrencies become the next most popular payment method at online casinos? There’s a good chance of that happening thanks to the UK Gambling Commission’s upcoming credit card ban. In just a few months, using your credit card to gamble online will be banned entirely. It’s believed that this could result in more people using cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, as an alternative.
About The Ban
One of the UK Gambling Commission’s ongoing aims is to protect vulnerable people from the harmful effects of gambling. In other words, it wants to prevent people from experiencing things such as financial difficulties, emotional problems, and addiction. Some people are more likely to develop gambling problems than others, and it’s these people the commission had in mind when deciding to enact the credit card ban.
From 14 April 2024, those in Great Britain will be unable to use credit cards at online casinos, both for making deposits and withdrawals. The reason credit cards are being banned is that they allow you to spend money you don’t already have; you effectively borrow the money from the bank then pay it back at a later date, sometimes with interest.
Around 10.5 million people in the country gamble online, and of these, some 800,000 use their credit cards. Research specially carried out by the commission has found that of those who gamble online using credit cards, 22% are problem gamblers. By enforcing the ban, the commission hopes to reduce the number of people who get into debt and other problems through using credit cards to gamble online.
What the ban won’t affect is face-to-face is ticket sales for UK-based lotteries. You’ll still be able to visit your local newsagent and purchase tickets for the lottery with your credit card. The National Lottery already doesn’t allow for tickets to be purchased online with credit cards.
Gambling With Cryptocurrencies
When the credit card ban comes into effect, it’s not going to immediately stop everyone who regularly uses a credit card from gambling online. If people are keen to risk, they’ll find some other way to do so. It’s thought that some will switch to using cryptocurrencies instead. You can read casino reviews on websites, such as 777Casino, that indicate which casinos accept this new method.
These don’t let you use borrowed money in the same way that credit cards do. However, they do offer plenty of advantages for online gamblers. They’re completely anonymous, not connected to any government or financial institution, they provide enhanced security, they have fast transaction speeds and their fees are very low or non-existent.
Since Bitcoin, the very first cryptocurrency launched back in 2009, loads of others have been created, including Ethereum, Litecoin, Tether, and XRP. These currencies are becoming more widely used around the world as a means of making private, hassle-free online payments. The majority of online casinos accept cryptocurrencies alongside fiat currencies, and some only accept cryptocurrencies. If a casino doesn’t take this type of money, it could miss out on a lot of custom.
Cryptocurrency gambling is on the rise, and it’s expected to become even more commonplace soon. The credit card ban may well prevent some people from getting into gambling-related problems. However, it will undoubtedly encourage many to switch to cryptocurrencies, making them even more popular than what they already are.
Any further bans or restrictions enforced by organizations such as the UK Gambling Commission may encourage even more people to gamble online with cryptocurrencies. Whatever happens, it’s clear that cryptocurrencies are here to stay and could soon become the top payment method at online casinos.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have made a dent in the popular imaginary. Everyone knows that they have been treasured and that they continue to maintain the potential to be. But really, its adoption as accepted currency to pay in establishments and online businesses is almost anecdotal.
However, it may not last long. The architects of the different cryptocurrencies themselves have this in mind. They imagine a future where cryptos are the virtual money used in a decentralized Internet. Now, a study by London Imperial College seems to indicate that in a decade, cryptocurrencies will be much more common than they are now.
“Cryptocurrencies are overcoming barriers” concludes that this virtual money will be the usual form of payment within a decade. This certainty about the medium-term adoption of cryptocurrencies is based on the fact that it already meets one of the three criteria of traditional money: cryptos are a way of accumulating capital.
The other two criteria are the medium of exchange (which is already done but with great difficulty due to the few shops that accept it) and the indicator of value in the economic system. The study says that these two criteria will be achieved when cryptocurrencies go through improvements in the fields of regulation, design, and scalability.
It is this last field that is one of the biggest problems for the future of Bitcoin and derivatives. Scalability refers to the exponential growth of a cryptocurrency ecosystem. With enough time and growth, all the figures associated with such cryptocurrency become astronomical. If this problem is not solved, the network ends up being too large to be effective.
But the different cryptocurrency startups and designers dedicated to the blockchain are working on breaking down the scalability barrier.
The study argues that the new modes of payment that have appeared throughout history have not been accepted by all members of a society overnight, so the integration of cryptos into the financial system still has A way to go.
With its normalization and openness to the public, cryptocurrencies have been overcoming the doubts of the most skeptical people. They positioned themselves to be the money of the future.
Final Words
Bitcoin is heading for mass-market adoption as Millennials get on board. Bitcoin is in the last stage of the bear market, the accumulation phase, according to a report by the Adamant Capital digital asset fund.
The long-term risk-reward ratio for Bitcoin is currently the most favorable of any liquid investment in the world. Adamant capital considers that it will negotiate in a range of $ 3,000 to $ 6,500, “after which we anticipate the emergence of a new bull market.”
“There is a growing acceptance that cryptocurrencies will be the future of money, and the environment is now adequate for a sustained rise in prices. I think we could reasonably see the price of Bitcoin reaching $ 7,000 in the coming months”, the source concluded.
