Crypto Gains Momentum in iGaming

Crypto payments are exploding in iGaming — it’s ultimately a match made in heaven. Think about it, online gambling now makes up over 40% of the overall market, according to the UK Gambling Commission, a number that is only increasing. When we combine this with the high-risk nature of gambling as an industry, withdrawing and depositing funds digitally has never been more of an issue. Crypto, with its inherent transparency, globality and speed as a payment medium, is an obvious solution. As a result, both players and platforms are tapping into the numerous benefits of crypto, a trend so vivid, it might as well be a revolution.

There’s so much to unpack here, and as a result, today we’ll be exploring the current state of the crypto market, the merchant-side and player-side benefits for integrating a crypto payments gateway, the coins and payments most popular in the iGaming industry, and lastly, a bit about the leading crypto payments processors that are making this all possible.

Digging Deeper into the Current State of Crypto

As many of our readers are aware, the market capitalization of the crypto industry last year certainly saw the vultures circling. In November 2022, notably one year after Bitcoin’s record high, the market hit a $770 billion low.

Notable events such as the Terra Luna collapse temporarily severed community faith in stablecoins, while the FTX debacle knocked the reputation of centralised exchanges. As such, it’s easy for one to make the conclusion that the flame of crypto is flickering.

Still, the number of crypto users is growing each second, making it an attractive market for businesses looking to capitalise. The average crypto user nowadays is smart and solvent. They are often being paid in stablecoins such as USDT and are integrating the blockchain into their daily lives in a legitimate way.

Data from Chainanalysis’ 2022 Global Cryptocurrency Report shows us that those who flocked to the crypto market during the 2021 bull run are still sticking around. Moreover, we’re seeing skyrocketing adoption in emerging markets such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Ukraine, and India — countries that took the top spots on the 2022 Crypto Adoption Index.

Moreover, our leading crypto gateway, CryptoProcessing didn’t register any decrease in cryptocurrency payments in the iGaming sector over the mentioned period. In fact, our volumes and number of transactions continue to rise, indicating the growing demand for digital assets among businesses.

Moreover, when we break down the annual volumes into quarters, we can see that there is a stable growth. Even though the surge slowed down after the bear capitulation in 2021, the overall crypto payments dynamics in iGaming looks highly optomistic.

Why Are Cryptocurrency Payments Gaining Popularity in iGaming?

Of course, with general adoption on the up, a question remains — what is inspiring the iGaming industry to race ahead of the crowd? As we explored briefly in the introduction, there are a number of factors that make crypto the ideal solution for the problems facing the iGaming industry today.

Globality of Crypto Payments

Firstly, onboarding a crypto payment gateway allows a merchant to accept payments worldwide, while providing a smooth and fast check-out experience for your customers. I-gaming is, in and of itself, a geographically unlimited industry.

Oftentimes, players are looking to place bets on games happening internationally. Take interest in UK cricket matches from players on the Indian subcontinent as an example, or Australian players looking to place bets on the American SuperBowl. By opening up your platform to a global audience, it naturally increases cross-border potential. For that very reason, according to Checkout.com’s state of crypto report, 77% of iGaming merchants who choose to accept crypto as a payment medium observe an increase in cross-border sales. Digital asset payments work 24/7 and are available in the majority of countries, opening new business possibilities for growth.

Lower Fees and Processing Costs

Moreover, crypto fees are lower compared to traditional fiat gateways, allowing iGaming businesses to save on processing costs and redirect the accumulated capital to other company facets. Whereas a merchant in the fiat world can expect to pay up to 3.5% on credit card transaction fees, crypto fees can be as low as 0.8%. As an added bonus, services such as Cryptoprocessing offer ways in which users can take advantage of even lower fees with a range of discount schemes and affiliate programs.

No Chargebacks

Next, since crypto is decentralised, there are no chargebacks. After all, all transactions on the blockchain are final by default. A lack of chargebacks means a lack of chargeback fraud, and controlling fraud is especially important when you’re dealing with online payments in the I-gaming industry. The absence of chargebacks have a knock-on effect on rolling reserves, meaning that businesses are able to put their capital to use. This goes lengths to indirectly improve company turnover.

Which Cryptocurrencies Are the Most Popular in iGaming?

Of course, ‘crypto’ isn’t just Bitcoin, much like ‘fiat’ isn’t just the US dollar. In fact, CoinGecko reports that there are approximately over 12k coins. So, as an interested iGaming party, how do you choose the right coins? We have analysed CryptoProcessing.com’s internal volumes and transactions processed for iGaming clients in 2022, and here is what we have found.

• In terms of transaction number, BTC payments comprise 75% of deposits and 41% of withdrawals processed by CryptoProcessing.com.
• Still, such altcoins as Ethereum, Litecoin, and Tether are also popular in iGaming.

• In terms of processed volumes, BTC payments comprise 47% of deposits and 32% of withdrawals.
• Tether, Ethereum, and Litecoin remain the most popular altcoins volume-wise.

As you can see, Bitcoin continues to lead the way, even though altcoins are gaining popularity as well.

Top Coins Among 2022 iGaming Businesses

We have also looked at if the top coins statistic differs with newer clients that were onboarded in 2022. It turns out that Tether (USDT) is, in fact, the number-one cryptocurrency for both deposits and withdrawals.

When we talk about the latter, USDT accounts for over 53% of withdrawals among 2022 iGaming clients. This isn’t that surprising, noting its position as the most popular stablecoin on the market. However, BTC still remains a close second, so don’t discount the importance of volatile coins either. DOGE, ETH, LTC and TRX are all trustworthy currencies that you can consider offering to your clients.

Moving onto deposits, we’re seeing a similar trend, where USDT also holds the majority with 31%. However, the inflow of Bitcoin is markedly higher than with withdrawals.

Nevertheless, the conclusion can be drawn that you only need to offer a handful of currencies to reap the benefits aforementioned. As an added bonus, CryptoProcessing.com offers instant fiat conversion, allowing iGaming clients to wave goodbye to volatility risks.

Which Payment Method Is the Most Popular in iGaming?

Although CryptoProcessing.com offers a variety of payment methods, channels remain the top choice for iGaming businesses.

Setting up channels can be quite convenient for customers, as they are able to top up their balances with any amount of crypto at any time. We’ll then instantly convert crypto payments into their fiat equivalent and credit their balances. Channels mean that the user won’t have to worry about paying extortionate fees on the blockchain, and payments will be instantaneous.

Why Choose a Crypto Processor?

Of course, if you’re looking to safely navigate the difficulties of integrating a crypto processing engine, reap the benefits of improved revenue and cross-border potential, and if you’re looking to set up channels as a payment method, you’ll need to partner up with a reputable crypto payments provider.

That’s where we come in, at CryptoProcessing.com. With over 9 years of experience in the crypto industry, we’re firmly at the top of the list when it comes to the competition.

• We work with over 800 satisfied customers across various industries.
• We processed over €19B+ worth of crypto and 34M transactions without a singe instance of client fund loss.
• We support 20 top crypto coins and over 40 local fiat currencies, offering instant crypto-fiat conversion with no volatility risks.
• We’re fully AML/KYB compliant, independently audited with multiple implemented risk scoring systems in place.

If you’d like to learn more, book a meeting with one of our specialists today. We’d love to have a chat over a coffee!