Only six states in the US allow online casino activity. The rest of the states fall under strict restrictions, which completely prohibit any gambling activity. These rules and restrictions make it very difficult for players to move money to licensed online casinos. This applies not only to deposits but also to withdrawals. However, these rules lose their effect when it comes to blockchain casinos.
This type of online casino offers to bet using cryptocurrencies. They are not afraid of various restrictions and they can even market and advertise their services with impunity. Crypto gambling is offered by various gaming platforms that are located outside the US and almost all such sites do not check your geography.
According to Alex Costello, vice president of the American Gaming Association, it is difficult to regulate the market and find the culprits, because it is a decentralised system. AGA is lobbying for American casinos and various companies that deal with sports betting. Costello also said that the industry should be regulated because there are problems with money laundering and problems of responsible gaming.
In addition, there are no necessary mechanisms in place to prevent those users who have gambling problems and addictions from gambling. One of the exceptional features of cryptocurrency casinos is that they don’t even offer a feature that helps them overcome their addiction. Most licensed online casinos have special tools that can even help you limit access to your account. But some PayID casinos can’t even restrict access to their account.
Essentially, cryptocurrencies are on a hype cycle. Companies and various funds are speculating in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and other assets. According to recent surveys, it appears that one in five Americans has been involved in cryptocurrency in one way or another. Meaning they may have traded, exchanged or used cryptocurrency to pay. Crypto casinos are also at the peak of their popularity. Typically, these sites are mostly conventional deposit methods (Payment Cards, Bank Transfers, E-Wallets) along with BTC, LTC, ETH, BCH and other cryptocurrencies. For the most part, such casinos are located outside the US, making regulation impossible.
A recent study by blockchain research company Chainalysis showed that there are currently more than 70 online casino bitcoins online, which have raised an estimated $2.8 billion in the entire year. The same studies that were conducted a year earlier showed that this market attracted more than $10 billion, which is 60+% more than in 2020. As of now, there is not a single state where bitcoin gambling has been legalised. And if you take some time and search the internet for cryptocasinos, you’ll probably think it’s just another online service.
Popular video hosting sites like Twitch or Youtube has some pretty influential people in their circles. They usually encourage their subscribers and casual viewers to play a particular crypto casino along the way, telling them how to buy crypto and how to start playing. Moreover, along with this, you’ll get instructions on how to get to the site of the casino that blocks access to players from your region. More recently, very famous companies like Mercury News have been promoting rщankings of the best cryptocasinos. However, most of the sites they advertise prohibit players from the US from registering and playing.
Note that many of these sites do not care about following the rules at all. When registering on such gaming platforms, all you need to do is email. This allows a player from any country to register in seconds, send cryptocurrency to your account and start playing. As a rule, most cryptocasinos don’t check what region a person comes from. It is also not controlled that players use a VPN and anyone can play from anywhere in the world, even where it is forbidden.
The AGA has already raised questions about the regulation of this market with the US government, but so far this has had no effect.
Alex Costello also revealed that he had had discussions with federal and state law enforcement regarding cryptocasinos. As it turns out, the Interior Department and regulators are somewhat confused because the owners of such businesses are not registered in the United States or do not reside here at all. As a result, it has become difficult to prosecute.
The National Council on Problem Gambling warns addicted players that such casinos can become truly dangerous for them. Bitcoin gamble is essentially the layering of one risk on top of another. The games are not regulated and you mostly come across unscrupulous owners who don’t protect their players and try to take advantage of them.
There was one interesting interview on NBC News just recently where a gambler revealed that a cryptocasino forced him to start playing again immediately after he had decided to give up earlier. When this player realised the problem, he registered with a service that allows him to exclude himself from all online casinos and block his account from all gaming platforms. However, he saw advertisements everywhere for an already different cryptocasino product and the possibility to bypass the blocking. After that, he started quite officially buying cryptocurrency to play in the casino he saw. Not only could he not exclude or block himself here, from the gambler’s story, but also the gaming platforms offer no guarantee that you will play fairly.
In the future, such online casinos could become completely unpredictable, and huge amounts of illegal money would be laundered through them. And the player, who was interviewed, ended up spending tens of thousands of dollars in debt and told his family, that he’s a gambling addict. We can only hope that crypto gambling becomes legal and various regulators learn how to properly restrict such sites. The main concern of regulators should be deposits and withdrawals because it is often illegal money. Only after that should we look at the geography and legality of operations. Because it is also important to make sure that minors do not play, as this can be traumatic for them.