The ultimate guide to Ethereum gambling
Ethereum gambling has been around since 2017 when FunFair first used Ethereum’s smart contract methodology as the basis for a series of online casino games.
Rather than separate Ethereum gambling platforms popping up, existing crypto casinos began to incorporate ETH (the Ethereum token) into their systems as its superiority over bitcoin in terms of transaction speed and cost allowed it to gain in popularity.
Almost all casinos now treat Ethereum gambling as a staple alongside Bitcoin.
Ethereum remains the dominant smart contract platform, and as such any cryptocurrency casino starting out today will almost certainly have ETH among its list of accepted coins.
There are also a small number of decentralized casinos that use Ethereum, but they are not as enjoyable or secure as mainstream Ethereum casinos.
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum was launched in 2015 and was the first blockchain platform to incorporate smart contracts.
These are simply self-executing actions that are automatically carried out when certain conditions are met.
A simple example of this is the placing of a trade on a decentralized Ethereum-powered exchange – you can tell the exchange that when a coin hits a certain price you want to sell it and the smart contract will carry it out.
The advantage of this system is that it doesn’t need a third party to facilitate the transaction – the whole thing is done remotely and registered on the Ethereum blockchain.
It’s easy to see why such a system would be useful in the world of Ethereum gambling, with bets executed and wins paid out instantly in a provably fair manner.
Smart contracts have the potential to revolutionize a raft of industries, simplifying tasks and reducing the chance of error, and with the Ethereum network being completely decentralized there is much less chance of the network being compromised in any way.
Benefits of Ethereum Gambling
A large part of Ethereum’s popularity is down to the pseudonymous nature of the transactions.
When gambling with with Ethereum, all you share is an address beginning 0x that doesn’t in itself link to an individual, ensuring a huge amount of privacy over your actions.
Ethereum tokens are considered to be assets rather than a currency which means it’s not illegal to gamble with it in locations where gambling with fiat currencies is prohibited.
This has allowed dozens of platforms and operators to open up shop for players all over the world, hugely increasing user choice and improving the experience.
With Ethereum being decentralized there’s no officious third party looking over your shoulder watching what you’re choosing to spend your money on, offering players a vastly superior level of privacy than with fiat casinos.
Some Ethereum gambling sites have 0 confirmation times on ETH deposits, which means the moment the Ethereum blockchain informs the casino that a payment is coming it credits it instantly.
This is different to other less reliable cryptocurrencies, where the casino would rather wait for the blockchain to actually deliver the coins before it credits the player’s account.
Ethereum gambling can also save you money. Wins can be converted to cash without a bank being involved, meaning no transaction fees and, again, no prying eyes.
Cryptocurrency casinos also almost always have bigger welcome bonuses than fiat casinos too, with multiple amounts of ETH often available to players to win from the outset.
This is another example of the greater freedom that crypto casinos enjoy over fiat-based ones.
Drawbacks to Ethereum Gambling
Ethereum transactions are fairly quick for a completely decentralized cryptocurrency, although the actual transaction time will depend on how many confirmations your chosen casino requires.
While some casinos do indeed offer 0 confirmation deposits, those that don’t offer this service won’t credit your account until the ETH arrives with them.
An Ethereum-accepting casino that requires 30 confirmations, for example, will take around 10 minutes to confirm your deposit, and perhaps longer depending on how busy the blockchain is.
Where Ethereum falls down however is with its transaction costs.
The popularity of the Ethereum blockchain has not been matched by its development, with users needing to typically pay in the high double digits and sometimes triple digits in dollar terms to deposit their ETH tokens, no matter what the value of the transaction.
Because of these considerations, we recommend sending larger amounts over fewer transactions and sending tokens at a time when the bulk of users are not using the blockchain (i.e. outside U.S. daytime hours).
Ethereum is moving towards a new protocol which will increase transaction speeds and reduce costs drastically, but there is no fixed date for this yet.
What are Ethereum slots?
In many ways Ethereum slots are like regular online slots, except stakes and wins are denominated in ETH.
The games and playability are just as good and the odds are the same, but Ethereum games will have higher limits than fiat games and players also have the ability to place microbets, sometimes as low as $0.01 or the equivalent, although with Ethereum’s transaction cost issues this might not be financially viable, especially on fully decentralized exchanges.
Players can also relax knowing that they can, at any time, transfer their ETH back into their local currency and withdraw very easily.
What are Ethereum table games?
As with Ethereum slots, there are a large number of similarities between Ethereum table games and regular casino table games.
All the favorites are there – blackjack, baccarat, poker – and with the benefits of betting with ETH, including pseudonymous play, bigger limits, and great bonuses, players will really feel part of the action.
The best Ethereum casinos have top quality live action table games, with real croupiers keeping the gameplay moving smoothly.
Where can I buy Ethereum
Buying Ethereum has never been easier.
There are a number of quality online exchanges that allow you to buy ETH with a credit or debit card, and once it’s in your wallet you can send it to your Ethereum casino of choice.
However, there are one or two things you need to be careful of before you buy.
We can’t advise one cryptocurrency exchange over the other, but make sure you research what the best Ethereum exchanges are before you buy, or at least research any you have heard about.
Make sure, too, that the exchange you’re buying from allows you to withdraw the ETH once you’ve bought it – some don’t, which is no good if you want to gamble with it.
Be aware, too, that fees will be taken off at source when you buy, and make sure you know what they are before you press the ‘buy’ button.
It’s often a fixed fee rather than a percentage, so bear that in mind.
Also, some Ethereum casinos allow you to buy ETH from them, but the fees there are often higher, so make sure you do your due diligence there too.
Best Ethereum Gambling wallets
Once you have your ETH you will want to store it in a wallet.
Leaving it on an exchange is not advisable for security reasons, and some exchanges do not facilitate the sending of ETH to online casinos.
There are plenty of wallets for Ethereum gambling out there but they vary in quality and security, so, again, make sure you do your research before you choose one.
There are different types of wallet open to you, each with a different balance of convenience and security. Generally speaking, the higher security the lower the convenience.
This guide breaks down the different types of wallets and their benefits and drawbacks, but some good examples to check out are Exodus, Metamask, Trezor, and Trust Wallet.
The key thing to remember about Ethereum is that you are the bank – there is no customer service to call if you send it to the wrong address and no refunds if it gets stolen.
For this reason you should take the storage of your Ethereum very seriously.
Ethereum for Gambling Conclusion
As we have explored, there are many reasons why ETH is a great cryptocurrency for gambling, and has been for many years.
The smart contract design is perfect for the nature of Ethereum gambling, and if the developers can find a way to bring transaction fees down to the point where microtransactions are viable again it could see a real resurgence, especially at decentralized Ethereum casinos.
For those who like the full gambling experience with more privacy than is found in fiat-based online casinos, Ethereum gambling is certainly a great option out there, so long as you can stomach the fees to get it there in the first place.