How blockchains and cryptocurrencies are reshaping the sports betting industry

by Arthur · October 21, 2022

Blockchains and cryptocurrencies are revolutionizing the world of online gambling by giving players a secure and anonymous way to bet with cryptocurrency on their favorite sports team or other events of interest. In fact, last year the gambling industry saw roughly $70 billion in revenue, with a large portion of that coming from sports betting, making it one of the most lucrative industries in the world today, Betonmobile reports.

The reason why blockchain technology has been so widely used in the online gaming industry is because of its ability to prevent fraud and provide increased security, which reduces risk and ensures that all games are handled fairly and efficiently.

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History lesson

The first known transaction involving Bitcoin was in 2010 when a user paid an additional 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas. Today it would be worth around $10 million. The price of bitcoin hit an all-time high in late 2017 before falling more than 50 percent to start 2018. Despite this big drop, bitcoin is still up about 1,600 percent for the year. And with such a rapid rise in value, it’s no wonder people are so fascinated by it. More people have invested in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin in the last couple of years – according to research from Cambridge University.

A large market with room to grow

Global revenue from sports betting has exploded in recent years. In 2022 alone, 141 billion dollars were sold worldwide. This number is expected to rise to $240 billion by 2023. The global casino market is even more staggering – a whopping $374 billion was wagered in 2017. You would think that such a large industry would be dominated by mainstream brands such as Ladbrokes or William Hill, but no. 92% of sports bets are placed with illegal bookmakers who operate completely off-line with no regulatory oversight whatsoever.

This trend is not unique to the world of sports betting – in fact, it is common across all sectors of gambling that have been transformed by cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology over the past decade or so. For example, Melbet app downloads skyrocketed as soon as they added bitcoin as a payment method.

In addition to lower fees and faster transactions, blockchains bring much-needed transparency to what is often an opaque industry. With no central authority overseeing transactions, users can rest assured that their bets will be honored exactly as they were placed. Due to security breaches in recent years at some of the biggest betting firms in Las Vegas and London, such an element of trust is essential for consumers if they are ever to trust traditional bookmakers again.

Unfortunately for many who want to gamble online without all of these drawbacks (and it’s an increasingly vocal one), sportsbooks that accept cryptocurrency almost always force players into a tough customer acquisition funnel to access their product.

Predictions for 2022 and beyond

Blockchain-based currencies like Bitcoin have been around for less than a decade, but are already disrupting many industries. The sports betting industry is no exception. Online gaming platforms like Unikrn have built their business model on top of blockchain technology, using it as a secure backend to process transactions. By 2022, we predict that blockchain-based currencies will be used as a viable payment option at every major online sportsbook in existence.

There will be fierce competition between these providers as they fight to attract players who want an easy way to play while maintaining complete anonymity and security with every transaction. As more people become aware of this new trend, cryptocurrency payments will start to become more common in other industries, such as food delivery or taxi services.

A complex approach

For a long time, sports betting has been a very lucrative industry. However, recent technological advances have challenged this status quo by bringing with it new ways to play your favorite team. For example, technologies such as Bitcoin and Blockchain have helped make it possible for people from all over the world to bet on sports without having to go through intermediaries such as bookmakers or casinos.

Due to these advances and other factors that we will explore in more detail below, there is no longer a single authoritative entity that controls the online gaming industry. Instead of there being one monopoly on this sector of society (as was once the case), there are now many different companies fighting for market share. Some of these entities include blockchain-based platforms such as Augur and Bitdegree, which allow users to create their markets. These decentralized platforms allow individuals to bet on whatever they want, making life easier for sports gamblers who do not have access to traditional channels. Also, blockchain-based platforms offer some exciting opportunities that could change how people view the concept of gambling altogether.

The challenge of security

In a recent interview with Coin Telegraph, John Shipley of Unikrn described how the industry is embracing this new technology. The introduction of Bitcoin to our platform has been a game changer for us,” he said. Using Bitcoin as a platform currency has given players an easy way to convert their bitcoins to fiat through our partnership with BitPay.

Since its inception in 2009, Bitcoin has grown into one of the most popular cryptocurrencies on the planet. It’s hard not to see why – Bitcoin is far cheaper than other payment options like Visa or MasterCard, and transactions only take minutes, rather than days or weeks. With all these advantages, it is no wonder that so many gambling sites have started to implement Bitcoin as a form of payment over traditional methods. A recent report by Global Betting and Gaming Consultants estimates that Bitcoin will be used by at least 20% of global sports bettors by 2023.

Inclusion

Sports betting is nothing new these days. It has been around for centuries. The practice dates back to ancient Greece with records of games at Olympic competitions. There was even a Roman emperor who allegedly used the power of the law to require sports fans to bet on his horse races. Despite its long history, however, it wasn’t until recently that an entire industry was born from it when online gaming became commonplace.

And now that cryptocurrency is becoming more popular every day, we can expect this industry to only continue to grow as time goes on.

Blockchain technology seems like something out of a sci-fi novel sometimes because of how revolutionary it is and the potential it has for many industries beyond just cryptocurrency or sports betting. It truly is a wonder for our generation, which makes it all the more exciting to see how this type of technology will continue to evolve over the coming years.