How Crypto Is Helping Improve The Online Poker Scene

Crypto assets can be used for a lot of things; investment, savings, spending, and so on. But one of its more unique uses has been in the online gambling space. As more people are turning to the internet rather than land-based casinos, crypto is developing a bigger presence.

Now, it is common for online casinos to accept Bitcoin alongside or instead of fiat currency, and this includes poker. Given how robust the online poker scene has become, this has significant implications. Specifically, crypto is benefiting the online poker scene in the following ways:

• Preserving Privacy

These days, many of us are concerned about our privacy and how our data is being used. When you sign up for an online poker site, you’re usually required to give up your privacy to some degree. Between submitting your government ID and giving your bank details, this can be an issue for some.

But crypto is helping to address this by letting customers play without signing up. As Alexander Reed writes, many consumers are looking into how to buy bitcoin without verification and the options are endless. Typically, crypto casinos will let users play by simply connecting their wallets, with no sign-up required. This goes a long way toward preserving privacy for users.

• Enabling Consumer Control

When you use centralized payment methods, you’re essentially beholden to their rules and their restrictions. Some of these payment methods have limits on how much and/or how often people can spend on poker sites. Sometimes, payment to poker sites can trigger account freezes and that is a hassle to resolve. With crypto, however, consumers have complete control over how they spend their funds. As crypto wallets are decentralized, no one can dictate how much they spend, how frequently they spend, or even where. For many consumers, this is a major perk of using crypto to play poker online.

• Increasing Profits

For a majority of players, online poker is not just for fun but also to make money. In this case, cryptocurrency represents a way to maximize their efforts. If a player wagers with fiat and wins, the value of their winnings is unlikely to change. If they wager with crypto, however, there is a chance that the value will go up. Look at Bitcoin which has increased in value significantly since the start of the year. If a poker player won 1 Bitcoin at the beginning of 2024, it would have been worth around $42,000. In December 2024, the same token will be worth over $100,000. Needless to say, poker with crypto has a massive profit advantage.

• Faster and Cheaper Transactions

After playing poker, one of the common challenges is getting funds withdrawn faster as fiat payment methods can take hours or even days to settle. On top of this, some fiat payment methods take a significant percentage in fees and this can be inconvenient for players with smaller winnings. Crypto addresses this issue by settling transactions very quickly. Tokens like XRP are especially known for settling transactions within seconds and charging fractions of pennies in fees. So, for poker players concerned about fees and transaction speeds, crypto might be a good option.

• Innovation and Access

Because cryptos are decentralized, everyone can theoretically have access to them and spend them as they like. This means that playing poker online with crypto will be much more accessible than fiat currency. In turn, the online poker space is made more accessible. It also benefits from the influx of crypto users into the poker space. Many consumers have active crypto wallets and are looking for opportunities to spend their tokens. By embracing these assets, poker sites can tap into a new demographic and make more profit. The players also get all the perks associated with playing poker online.

Conclusion

Poker’s popularity has endured over the years and now, crypto finds itself in the mix. As we’ve explained in this article, the asset class has many benefits for the poker scene, for both the players and the casino operators. With lower fees, higher profits, more privacy, and greater control, these benefits will likely see crypto used in the poker scene for years to come.