Since the start of 2020, the rise of digital money at the expense of fiat currencies shows its true potential in the online gaming world. Desi online players are some of the major contributors to the trend, despite the Union’s difficult and even confusing regulatory environment.
Major Game Aggregator Reports Significant Shifts in Market Shares
The recently published SoftSwiss Game Aggregator corporate report for Q1 2021 reveals some important trends in the betting and gaming sectors, with particular attention given to payment choices. Crypto currencies’ share of global gambling turnover has more than quadrupled in the past year to 26 per cent.
Crypto payments took up a mere 6 per cent of total monthly gambling volumes at the end of Q1 a year earlier. The overall share of fiat currencies (government-backed “paper” money) dropped down from 94 per cent to 74 per cent across the segment.
The global rise in popularity of digital currencies is mainly due to the Asian market’s contribution and the influx of crypto currency casinos there. Japan is the leader in traffic growth, with India and Indonesia also displaying large positive trends.
Bitcoin (BTC) remains the most popular digital coin still commanding 83 per cent of the market, but Ethereum (ETH) doubles its share to a record 10 per cent on a global level. Crucially, by the end of Q1 2021, Ethereum becomes the most used crypto currency in India.
Payment Methods Always Key for Online Gaming
Financial aspects have always been among the major topics addressed by online casino affiliates sites such as 7Jackpots, as explained by the site’s CEO Mattias Bergehed in his talk at SEOCon Indonesia. Players often choose a gaming operator based on payment conditions such as data safety, and simplicity of payment and withdrawal procedures.
Payment security and policy transparency remain crucial: Users ask if given currencies, e.g. rupees or crypto, are accepted by the betting site or app; or whether the player’s money gets converted into a different currency somewhere along the process.
Major Indian Online Casinos Work Well with Crypto Currencies
Gaming merchants are following closely such rising trends. In fact, around 80 per cent of highly reputable casinos offering online blackjack to Indians accept digital money. Crypto transaction options are equal to old-fashioned payment methods like PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay, Skrill and credit or debit cards. In that way, offshore gaming platforms like PureWin.com offer complete liberty for deposits and withdrawals to new and existing customers.
Rise of Crypto Transactions in India Contradicted by Lasting Regulatory Confusion
Crypto wallet apps like CoinSwitch, CoinDCX or WazirX work with different net-banking transfer methods such as IMPS (Immediate Payments System), NEFT (National Electronic Fund Transfer) and RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlements). The hugely popular UPI (Unified Payments Interface), however, remains disabled on some apps, even though it may be listed as available.
According to Defi (Decentralized Finance) industry sources, banks are reluctant to get involved in crypto transactions because of the lack of consistent regulation in the segment. ICICI Bank, for example, is one of the financial institutions that currently distance themselves from trading with non-fiat currencies, despite the apps’ strict adherence to KYC (Know Your Customer) rules and procedures.
The National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) that oversees all retail payment systems in Bharat refused to impose a blanket ban on trading with crypto currencies, asking banks to set up their own guidelines instead. The move followed a Supreme Court ruling of March 2020 against an RBI circular from 2018 banning banks to trade with crypto currencies.
Despite similar regulatory hurdles, active desi users of crypto currencies went up to 15 million out of a 200 million-strong global user base. India’s own daily crypto trade volumes reach as much as $ 35 – 50 crore, with the nation’s digital currency assets exceeding $ 150 crore.
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