Online casinos are now legal and fully licensed in Ontario, two years after the government permitted single-event betting. Ontario began licensing the sector in 2022. So far, it has licensed over 40 online casinos.
Ontario’s online gambling space has been a big hit from the start. More than one million Canadians have opened online casino accounts since April 2022. That doesn’t include Canadians who gamble at offshore casinos using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Using crypto for casino payments is a growing trend throughout Canada. But why crypto? Isn’t Bitcoin volatile?
A Wide Range of Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin might be the most popular cryptocurrency in the world. But it is not the only one. New digital currencies come out daily. Some, like Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Ripple and Binance coin are well known.
Crypto casinos in Canada offer both Bitcoin and the top alternative currencies. This allows people who can’t afford BTC to use Solana, Ripple and cheaper digital currencies for payments.
A good example is Metamask casino sites, which support Ethereum and all ERC-20 tokens built on the Ethereum blockchain. Metamask also supports Binance and Polygon networks, meaning it can hold hundreds of coins.
Beyond Ethereum and Binance, crypto casinos in Canada also support Solana, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, USDT and Ripple. Some of them also support meme coins like Shiba, Doge and Bonk.
Word to the wise: most cryptocurrencies have no use cases. Due to this, they tend to lose all their value after some time. To be safe, invest in major coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Generous Bonuses and Promotions
In the casino space, it’s common to receive a reward after you complete your first deposit. Most bonuses match your deposit amount. If you deposit $20, you receive a $20 bonus.
Bitcoin and altcoins offer a way to receive much bigger rewards. Casinos can give you up to 1BTC, which is worth roughly $51,000 at press time. If you’re a higher roller who appreciates bonuses, you can benefit more by using crypto for payments.
You can receive a bonus as long as you use an accepted cryptocurrency. However, casino offers have terms and conditions: wager requirements, withdrawal limits, validity time, and game weighting.
Claim bonuses only if you like the terms and conditions. Pay extra attention to wager requirements. They determine whether you need to spend real cash at a casino before you can withdraw your bonus profits.
Investment Value
Another reason cryptocurrencies are gaining traction in the casino space is that they have the potential to gain value. Take Bitcoin as an example. It was worth cents in 2010. Now it is worth more than $51,000.
Casino players who love to invest view crypto as the ideal payment method. That’s because it can help you make money without necessarily playing slots and poker.
You just need to buy the right cryptocurrency. Now, it is up to you to decide which coin to buy. As already mentioned, choose coins with strong teams behind them, growing communities and real use cases.
Alternatively, buy cryptocurrencies pegged to the US dollar—USDC, USDT and FUSD to mention a few. Also known as stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to the USD have a stable price. Bitcoin could drop by 10% and one USDT would maintain its value.
Fast Payments
There’s a growing demand for online casinos with fast payments in Canada. People want sites that support instant deposits and withdrawals. However, this works only if a casino has fast payment methods.
Cryptocurrencies offer faster transactions than the majority of payment options out there. Bitcoin, for instance, processes a transaction within 10 minutes. You might consider this slow if you already use PayPal, Apple Pay or Visa.
However, none of these traditional financial services can help you cash out money faster than Bitcoin. Gambling sites take a couple of hours to process crypto payout. However, they take a day or longer for other payment options.
Beyond speed, crypto also has the advantage of low fees. Last year, someone sent $1 billion worth of Bitcoin and paid just $1 in fees. By comparison, banks have a minimum charge of $10 or $20. This can be inconvenient to people who deposit small amounts at online casinos.
Evolving Game Options
Although many Bitcoin news headlines focus on its volatile price, it has an underlying technology changing the world. This system is called the blockchain. It’s decentralized, secure, fast and can help developers create trust-free casino games.
In fact, some crypto casinos in Canada offer blockchain-based slots. These games are not just fun to play. They’re also provably fair. You can check a game’s RNG system to verify that you won or lost fairly.
Provably fair slots are a new phenomenon that could change the entire casino industry for the better. Here’s why. Casino players love to play fair slots. In the past, they couldn’t prove whether a game was fair. Now they can.
Many online casinos in Canada offer a blend of Blockchain and conventional casino games. Popular slots tend to have better graphics, higher payouts and bonus features.
On the other hand, live casino games allow you to interact with your fellow casino players through video cameras. You can socialize, compete and have fun together even though you’re far away from other players.
Security and Privacy
Bitcoin is generally more private than other financial services. This makes it an excellent payment method for Canadians to play at offshore casinos. When paying with crypto, you don’t need to show your ID or reveal your address.
You enter the recipient’s crypto address and transfer your money. This helps keep your identity secure, at least from hackers and snoopy family members. When it comes to security, crypto is highly secure.
Crypto is secured by its blockchain, which is decentralized and encrypted. Decentralization protects the system from a brute-force attack. No one can succeed in taking over Bitcoin unless they spend so many resources that the effort would be unprofitable.
As mentioned, crypto is also encrypted. Every crypto address is a combination of characters that are hard to hack. The only way you can lose your crypto is by sharing your private addresses. Or, if you stored your funds in an unsafe crypto wallet.