As the progress of cryptocurrencies continues to grow, so too do the opportunities for speculation and investment. This development has led to a new category of gambling on the blockchain.
Cryptocurrency gambling is a big hit on most online casinos, with online casinos of this nature popping up with increasing frequency as more cryptocurrencies make it to the blockchain every year. But what about regulations? What laws do countries around the world have in place for their citizens? Unfortunately, the answer is not very clear yet.
A Brief Look At The Present State Of Online Gambling
In the same direction that the cryptocurrency trading industry is headed, the online gambling industry is one of the biggest in the world, with a market value of $53 billion. The industry has been growing rapidly over the past few years, but most countries have strict laws prohibiting their citizens from participating in this kind of activity.
The U.S., for example, has taken a step toward regulating and even legalizing online gambling in the past decade. However, it is still illegal at the federal level, and most states have not passed legislation allowing online gambling to occur within their borders.
Fully Regulating A Decentralized Economy Is A Dream
The decentralized nature of the blockchain means it is impossible to regulate this new industry. This reality is in contrast to traditional industries, where governments have a great deal of control over their citizens and markets.
Other than the self-regulatory aspect of online crypto gambling, which you’ll find at top Ethereum casino sites like CasinosCrypto, there are still very few government regulations impacting these platforms currently.
The main reason why this is so is that blockchain technology is complicated to regulate. Its decentralized nature means no central points can be regulated or monitored like traditional central banks can monitor their economies.
How Crypto Gambling Sites Avoid Getting Shut Down
One of the biggest challenges for crypto gambling sites is to avoid getting shut down by local governments. And one of the ways they generally manage this is because they use entirely different methods from traditional online casinos. The most crucial difference is that they don’t rely on intermediaries or centralized organizations for their operations.
And when you also consider that there are over 10000 cryptocurrencies to regulate and that many crypto gambling sites have moved overseas to countries such as Malta or Gibraltar, it becomes much clearer why the industry is still majorly under regulated. That means there is no way for regulators to track and shut them down if they decide to do so.
Possible Solutions To The Regulation Problem
The truth is that there are no clear solutions to the regulation problem. The only thing we know for sure is that it will be months before any regulations are passed and enforced.
To deal with this issue, I have compiled a short list of possible solutions:
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Regulation by Country
Each country could create regulations that apply only to its citizens or residents. This process would allow them to better monitor and control the industry within their borders. But on the other hand, it would likely create an unfair advantage for smaller countries that might not be able to afford such regulations themselves.
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Regulation by Industry
This solution would require cooperation between governments, regulators, and operators of online gaming platforms (e.g., casino software providers). It would also be necessary for these entities to develop standardized processes for reporting suspicious gambling activity to act when needed.
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Regulation by technology
Another potential solution is to regulate technology. For example, a country could pass laws restricting certain technologies, such as Bitcoin. However, this would be difficult and potentially make things worse for those trying to use crypto gambling sites.
Conclusion
In short, the crypto gambling industry is decentralized and continues to increase daily.
Unfortunately, this new reality makes it incredibly hard to police in any way, shape, or form. As of now, no international authorities have made giant strides towards tangible progress in this arena.
Also, we have yet to see if certain regions will specifically ban or restrict crypto gambling while allowing traditional online gambling to continue.
