How blockchain is opening the global online casino industry

According to Statista, the online gambling industry is expected to surpass $50 billion in 2018, as the industry continues its incredible growth path. Mobile gaming is driving a new generation of online casino gamers and brands now have a truly global audience to market to.

There is one persistent issue that keeps stunting the industry’s growth, though: legitimacy.

Gambling is heavily regulated – and quite rightly so – but its reputation is consistently damaged by a lack of transparency, fake sites and online scams. For online gamers, knowing which sites they can trust outside of the industry leaders can be difficult. However, blockchain technology is offering a smart solution for online gambling’s most persistent problem.

Blockchain bringing trust to online casinos

While most of the media is obsessed with the notion of a Bitcoin bubble, the underlying technology that makes cryptocurrency is not being talked about nearly as much as it should be. The origins of Bitcoin come from a philosophy of decentralisation where the general public, not governments, major banks and financial institutions have control over transaction records and data.

The result is a system where figures cannot be altered by any single individual.

Except blockchain is far bigger than Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. It also makes smart contracts possible, which can’t be altered by either party. It makes products traceable throughout the manufacturing and retail process so that selling fake goods is almost impossible and it promises to help rid elections of voting fraud and corruption.

It is also a technology that can take the unwanted elements of risk away from online gambling.

Online casinos and blockchain

For online games, smart contracts are already becoming a big deal. Unlike regular contracts, which simply act as an agreement between two parties, smart contracts are open agreements with terms that are visible to all parties involved. More importantly, all money transfers go to the digital contract itself, based on its terms only – meaning an online casino cannot simply take money from users or back out of a contract and leave with their money.

Any changes to smart contracts also need to be agreed by all parties involved, meaning an online casino firm cannot turn around and say, “we’ve made some changes to our company policies, click here to accept” and then hit you with an unexpected bill.

Then, of course, you have the cryptocurrency element as well, which brings transactional transparency to online gambling. Combine these two blockchain breakthroughs and it becomes significantly more difficult for rogue brands to pose as legitimate online casinos and gambling sites.

How to earn trust from online gamers

Blockchain is opening room for a lot of innovation at the top of the online gambling industry but how to brands outside of the industry leaders earn trust? Well, there are no shortcuts or hacks – and don’t believe anyone who tells that there is – because you can’t win trust; you have to earn it.

Here are some key tips for online casinos in 2018:

• Positive reviews: Do everything you can to build a positive reputation on review sites.
• Affiliate marketing: Create an affiliate programme for industry sites, trusted figures and bloggers to recommend your platform.
• Design and UX: Make great design and user experiences central to your online casino to quickly build trust and keep users coming back for more.
• Web content: Focus on the feeling and experience users are going to get when using your platform.
• Quality translation: Demand the highest quality of casino translation to connect with every target audience.
• Transparency: Be 100% transparent with people so they know they can trust you.
• Customer service: Make yourself known as a brand that deals with customer concerns and keeps people happy.

Don’t wait for blockchain or anything else to clean up online gambling’s reputation. Set the example yourself and use your brand image as a trustworthy platform to help set you apart from the competition who are not making enough effort to prove they are a reputable place to spend money.

Few industries can say they are experiencing the same kind of sustained growth as online gambling – so go out there and grab your share of the market.