There seems to be further growth in the use of iGaming using cryptocurrencies as a payment method. New figures from Softswiss have shown another steady increase in the first six months of 2022.
The total bets showed a 46.4 percent rise compared to figures for the first half of last year. It’s an even larger amount compared to those recorded for the same period two years ago, with the rise being a massive 247 per cent.
Softswiss says that we are entering a “new stage” for going online to gamble. Their COO is Vitali Matsukevich and speaking about the new set of statistics, he commented that “we have been seeing stable growth for several years, which contributes to the further development of crypto gambling.”
He added that “a crypto community is growing among players. Operators that meet the needs of this community gain a competitive advantage and become market leaders.”
It is Bitcoin that is still the most popular cryptocurrency used for iGaming. The use of this accounted for 71.2 percent in H1 2022. In second place was Ethereum with 14.7 percent and then Litecoin with 6.15 percent.
The figures did show a slight fall in the number of crypto bets that were made in the second quarter of 2022. Despite this, Softswiss say that cryptocurrencies continue to be “penetrating deeper” into the iGaming industry.
The coming years will be important for cryptocurrencies and the iGaming industry. A lot will depend on how markets are being regulated all over the world and also the diversification of cryptocurrencies.
Regulation of the iGaming industry is becoming stricter in some countries. That’s particularly been the case in Europe with Spain, the Netherlands and Germany introducing stricter regulation.
The same is also happening in the UK with the Gambling Commission introducing new rules and issuing fines. The UK Government White Paper on gambling reform is due to be published shortly, though may again be delayed due to the sad passing of The Queen.
The Softswiss COO said that the stricter regulation will “have an impact on the development speed of this business area.” However, he believes that “the huge potential of crypto projects and, accordingly, interest from leading industry representatives will play a decisive role.”
This, he believes, will lead to further growth taking place. More use of novelties such as NFT and tokens will also play their part.
