From Cash to Blockchain: Why Poker and Blackjack Are Embracing Digital Assets
If you are anything like me, you’ll be partial to both blackjack and poker. Despite the pull of the card-based classics, it’s never a bad idea to freshen it up every now and again to keep things interesting.
From a gaming perspective, we are spoiled for choice in that respect. We’ve seen a mountain of fresh ideas hit the market over the last decade, whether it is VR gaming, AI, mobile gaming, or themed poker and blackjack designs. Some have stuck better than others.
One of the innovations that hit the market in the mid 2010s and has since caught on is cryptocurrency. It’s gone from strength to strength when it first hit the market, and while it has been buoyed up by a broader adoption which has seen the world of traditional finance embrace it and grant it much wider visibility, it would not have found the success it has had in the casino gaming market if it weren’t offering a genuine alternative.
Today, our focus lies on poker and blackjack, two stalwarts of the casino industry and sectors that have seen deep integration with blockchain payment systems over the last decade or so.
Online Blackjack - Moving With The Times
In the early days of online casinos, it was other games besides blackjack that were leading the way. While the technology was groundbreaking, in the late 90s, computers were expensive, and the internet was too, and it was much slower than it is today. The market wasn’t there for online blackjack, not like it was by the latter stages of the noughties and beyond.
When it comes to playing blackjack online, platforms have integrated this technology in many ways. One of the key reasons why so many players have switched to crypto and blockchain is that, instead of having to register with a site and go through extensive checks, there are potential hidden costs from their bank, and cross-border transaction fees, which can also cause further loss.
The transparency of the blockchain also means that any transactions are logged, cannot be amended, and are viewable publicly in case there are any issues, which helps to boost transparency and trust with the crypto provider, and incurs less of an issue when you’re trying to highlight a withdrawal or deposit that has taken place.
Poker’s Move Towards Digital
With poker, it followed a different route than blackjack. Yes, each game is a card-based classic, but unlike blackjack, poker has a level of psychological strategy, bluffing, and reading your opponent that simply doesn’t exist in any other casino game. Ultimately, this meant there were more detractors who thought the idea of online poker simply didn’t have enough room to clear the proverbial runway.
If you strip away too much of a game, the argument is that the game itself has gone, or the essence of it, anyway. However, poker has arguably become more popular online than in a conventional setting.
There are many areas that adopt a poker-strategic approach, whether it’s female CEOs looking to learn from the art of poker strategy or sports managers who incorporate bluffing and psychological edge as integral parts of their approach.
We’ve seen casino companies embrace the rise of online poker in many forms, whether they are offering free walkthroughs and strategy ideas, or interactive quizzes that provide a free, entertaining resource for players to bolster their knowledge, as you can see in the link below.
Given the industry's embrace of online poker, it seemed inevitable that the market would also adopt blockchain. In the same way, blackjack players opt for crypto because of its transparency, security, and emphasis on digital-only play; it ticks all these boxes for poker, too.
Could Crypto Dominate Casino Gaming?
This is part of a much bigger question, and it hinges significantly on whether the market is ready to adopt cryptocurrency payment options and blockchain technology on an industrial scale. We’ve seen traditional finance open up the door and allow cryptocurrency and blockchain ideas to permeate their industry.
On a broader scale, we’ve seen prominent countries warm to the idea of using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services, following the path set by the poker and blackjack markets over the last decade.
Some have argued that the embrace of digital assets has been because of necessity rather than choice. It has exploded into traditional finance. Bitcoin is widely considered one of the best investments of the 21st century so far, and with millions of people actively investing in it, it was inevitable that it would bleed into the broader world of casino gaming.
If we look at the underlying factors, then it seems highly likely that blockchain will continue to be a pioneering force in the casino gaming market, and while nobody is quite sure what shape it will take, it will continue to appeal to a mass audience, particularly those entering the market under the age of 35.