Cryptocurrency casinos already have a prominent presence in the current international igaming landscape. Even though this industry has moved at a lightning pace since the early 2010s, it can be easyThere are occasions when we here at ReadyBetGo want to bring you interesting facts about the gambling industry  When something catches our eye, we will publish it for your enjoyment. 
  to underestimate just how impactful the introduction of blockchain and cryptocurrency has been, serving as a perfect counterbalance that keeps the more traditional industry on its toes.  

Betting, placing wagers, and specific casino games like roulette have been part of the cultural landscape in both Western and Eastern cultures for over 300 years. Some historians would say that it goes even further back than that.  

However, online casinos make up only a small chapter in this timeline, having really gained traction over the last 20/25 years, and cryptocurrency casinos even less so.  

So, while they are one of the most impressive new areas of the market and decentralization seems like the concept that is going to propel the whole industry to greener pastures, today, we’re going to examine just how this timeline has shaped, and how this could shape up over the next decade. 

Y2K & Beyond 

The first decade of the 21st century will likely prove to be one of the most influential decades in the history of casino gaming. During the early part of this decade, tens of millions of people were moving online, discovering what the internet had to offer and tapping into the limitless market unfolding before their very eyes. It was an array of e-commerce sites, bookshops, blogs, and social media sites like MySpace – if you remember as far back as I do. 

At the same time, many of the biggest names in the casino gaming market were also scrambling to develop a digital presence. Those who play casino online games watched a rapidly shifting landscape unfold between the early 2000s and the early 2010s. 

As they exploded in popularity throughout the 2000s, the number of people playing casino games online increased exponentially, paving the way for digital payment solutions to gain a foothold in the market. By the later stages of the decade, an entirely digital form of payment, Bitcoin, emerged in 2009 with little to no fanfare.  

The BTC Journey 

Aside from a few ardent cryptographers and the analogy with prophetic sci-fi films like The Matrix, it did not set the world on fire overnight. In what is an ironic twist, The Matrix has now become a film franchise that was run dry by the Hollywood machine, but the influence of the first film, an idea of operating outside of a traditional system, is still so ingrained in the idea of Bitcoin. 

Some innovative ideas, particularly in finance and gaming, are often overlooked, and much of this is tied to mass adoption and popularity with a global audience. If an idea is undeniable in its ingenuity, it will inevitably gain traction. 

This is what began to happen throughout the 2010s with Bitcoin casinos; they became the de facto digital currency for an international market that needed a global solution, with casinos being on the front lines of this change. 

As you can see at the link below, the whole market moved online, whether you were looking for tips to improve your poker game, to engage with communities, or to stay up to date with the latest news. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as a whole were the only payment systems that offered an antidote to the clunky, cumbersome forms of traditional payment that moved online. 

Gaining Legitimacy In The Wider Market

Traditional media have often looked down on digital innovations, and they have done so at their own peril. In the early 2000s, traditional media like newspapers and radio scoffed at digital marketing until they were enveloped by it, and digital marketing had a profound impact on companies that relied on legacy media consumption. 

The traditional casino gaming market was not as dismissive, but there were plenty, particularly in areas where conventional casinos were dominant, who did not deem the rise of a global digital market as an existential threat to their market share. Adapting or moving out of the way was, ultimately, the message. But it took much more than convenience to bring people to online casino gaming en masse. 

Random Number Generators, often shortened to RNG tech, are tested globally, designed to be arbitrary, and are a staple of the online casino gaming market. They’re one of the key reasons it has been able to cement its legitimacy across the market. 

Bitcoin and the underlying blockchain also have ingrained non-negotiables. Gamers can send money directly to the casino of their choice; they do not have to instruct their bank, worry about fees that are implemented by their bank, or cross-border delays that can happen when you are playing with an overseas provider. 

The blockchain ensures that all transactions are logged and immutable. It is a highly secure and transparent form of payment that does not rely on a bank to oversee payment security. Once casinos started to understand the immense benefits of this and consumers followed suit, everything fell into place. 

2020s & Beyond 

We’ve witnessed a generational shift in the behavior and attitudes of online casino gamers. While some of the behemoths of the traditional industry were able to come together and achieve huge success in the market, the wheel continued to spin, and we saw decentralized platforms, particularly in North America, reshape the industry as we know it.  

Instead of casino gaming platforms, or other more recognizable forms of betting, crypto and blockchain now sit at the bedrock of a prediction market where people can wager on all sorts of outcomes, regardless of the event, or where they are in the world.  

As these markets continue to soar in popularity and replace many of the old guards, legitimacy often comes through mass use. No longer are people questioning the presence of crypto in gambling; they are finding ways to leverage it to their advantage. 

As this shift has occurred, legitimacy in the wider industry is simply a byproduct and provides a great springboard for crypto casinos' success for years to come.