Regulators Are Concerned About How Crypto Casinos Expose Users to Harm

While most states are yet to approve online casino gambling, the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency has allowed crypto casinos to flourish. Here is how this market’s intricacies affect gambling, according to NBC News’ Kevin Collier.

Crypto Casinos Are the Pick of Many Bettors

As of now, only six states have regulated online casino industries. However, many bettors have found a new way to avoid regulations – cryptocurrencies. More and more online casinos nowadays offer cryptocurrency betting. The majority are intuitive, easy to sign up to, and have almost no requirements, making them perfect picks for punters who do not wish to be regulated. 

Alex Costello, the vice president of government relations for the American Gaming Association (AGA), elaborated that the regulated industry must be careful with gambling fraud and problem gaming – things that crypto casinos are much less diligent about. However, the decentralized nature of such casinos makes them much harder to be regulated, Costello added.

People who are considered problem gamblers have been relishing in the use of crypto casinos, because of the superficial regulations. Many allow players to register only using their emails. While some crypto casinos offer self-exclusion tools, gamblers can simply make more accounts and hop right back in.

An anonymous gambling addict spoke with NBC News and shared that he was cured of his addictive tendencies before discovering crypto betting. Once he started playing with cryptocurrencies, he found out that there was nothing to prevent him from spending compulsively.

Crypto Casinos Easily Avoid Regulations

Unlike their traditional competitors, crypto casinos easily avoid regulations and operate without a license. Furthermore, the youth is increasingly interested in the crypto sector, which is why there are countless tutorials on using crypto trading and crypto betting sites. Internet celebrities would often broadcast their experiences online and teach others how to play as well. Journals are also jumping on the trend by publishing articles about the best crypto casinos – despite cryptocurrency betting being prohibited in every state.

While most of the websites prohibit US citizens from playing, few of them actually do background checks on their customers. VPN software complicates things further as it helps punters to avoid having their online activity followed and provides them with ways to play as if they were in other countries. This makes rules seem more like suggestions and allows players to surreptitiously avoid the regulations they like.

However, online gambling doesn’t seem to have ties with a greater crime network as of now, according to John Holden, an assistant professor in gambling regulation at Oklahoma State University. Because of this, the government has been reluctant to tackle the problem head-on and waste its precious resources. Costello added that the AGA tried to appeal to the government but its concerns were dismissed.

Cryptocurrency betting is likely here to stay. While it has certain benefits, it hides some major dangers as well. It is interesting to see how the problems will be tackled as the industry matures.