Young people are usually quite savvy in their use of technology to get what they want. Don’t have a Netflix account? Use your friend’s password to binge on those shows. Can’t access certain content in your country? Then use a VPN to get what you want. Most of that is fairly well-known, and deemed mostly harmless. After all, Netflix knows we aren’t all the legitimate account holders.
And within this generation, of mostly young adults, there is a kind of sub-economy based on cryptocurrency. People are making money, lending money, and even technically working off-grid: no banks, no regulation, and no oversight. Again, perhaps it’s harmless – but only up to a certain point.
But when it comes to other activities, notably gambling, it’s arguable that there is not enough scrutiny of what is going. Over the last few years, a host of cryptocurrency-based gambling sites have popped up on the internet, and they are becoming more and more popular. And a lack of regulation – or any kind of oversight – means that they are dangerous.
Real online casinos play by the rules
Now, the first thing to say is that playing at legitimate online casinos for real money comes with certain protections. Licensed casinos in Canada, NJ, Nevada, the UK, and around the world must play by certain rules. These range from financial rules (making sure your deposits are held separately and they have enough money to pay out should you win) to player protection rules (offering responsible gambling tools, for example). Moreover, all games at legitimate sites are constantly monitored and tested for fairness.
At crypto casinos, no such protections exist. Some of the casinos do have a license, but it usually comes from somewhere like Curaçao. With all due respect to the Dutch-held Caribbean Island resort, it’s hardly got a reputation as a strong enforcer of gambling rules and regulations. Basically, anything goes on these sites. And that includes allowing players to spend a whole lot of money without any oversight.
We’ll refrain from naming some of the sites, but if you want to see them in action, simply have a look on Twitch and YouTube. There, you will find so-called casino streamers showcasing the games on these sites. The amounts some of these streamers are playing for is, frankly, insane. You can find videos of streamers making $100K bets on games. With relatively large audiences (many of whom could be underage), the glorification of gambling seems totally irresponsible. Twitch and YouTube have acted to some extent, removing sign-up links on some of the videos. But it’s arguably not enough.
Questions asked about source of funds
So, how can these streamers afford to make these huge bets? Well, many are believed to be sponsored by the casinos. They can be funded in cryptocurrency, which is then exchanged into dollars for playing the games. Conspiracy theories abound, too, including some that the games on stream have been rigged to make them look more generous than they are in reality.
And here’s another issue: If you suddenly started playing at a (legitimate) online casino for thousands, if not millions, of dollars, the operators are obliged to question where that money came from. Legitimate sites implement KYC policies to stop money laundering from organized crime. Such measures are not in place at most of these crypto sites – it’s the wild west.
But in the end, this all comes down to a lack of regulation. If you walk into Caesars Palace Las Vegas or the Casino de Montreal, you can be pretty sure you’ll walk out with your money should you win – despite what you have seen in the movies. If you play at a regulated online casino site, the same applies. At these sites, there are no guarantees. After all, who are you going to complain to if there is a problem? Because these sorts of casinos are mostly illegal in most countries, including Canada, the US, and the UK, you can’t bring a case to the authorities.
For fairness, we should stress that some of these operators seem to have positive intentions, and some are at least striving for legitimacy. But because of their lack of oversight, they can, more or less, act with impunity. Playing at any casino is a gamble – that’s the nature of it – but until cryptocurrency has some more oversight, players should certainly opt for trusted, legitimate casinos.