Altcoin Betting: Are More Bettors Using Different Coins?

The popularity of online crypto casinos appears to be very much on the rise, and it seems that we’re not just talking about Bitcoin here. A look at the online casino world seems to suggest that there are more and more people betting with altcoins, which could have interesting repercussions in terms of which coins sink and which swim as we look towards a future where not all cryptocurrencies will be considered equal.

First things first: Bitcoin is definitely still in the ascendant. For crypto bettors looking to explore this new world, a majority are using Bitcoin mobile casino sites ahead of others. More than 70% of crypto bettors are using the preferred coin for their online bets. However, that’s in comparison with more than 80% of such bettors just a year ago, so there is a lot for crypto followers to look into as we try to figure out which coins are picking up the pace.

Is crypto betting taking over?

It would be hasty – and entirely wrong – to say that crypto was in a position to overhaul fiat currencies as the preferred payment method of online bettors. The current numbers, according to a study by Softswiss, show that 64% of people use fiat currencies in their betting. That’s still nearly a 2 to 1 majority. But the number of people predominantly using crypto has risen in a year, from 24% in 2021 to 34.9% in 2022. That’s a significant movement in just a year, but the change would need to remain as rapid for the next two years to see fiat lose its place, and that’s not how statistics tend to go.

Why are more people betting with crypto?

The study didn’t ask that, so we’re left with a certain amount of speculation when it comes to reasons for the change. However, we can look at trends in betting (and specifically crypto betting), and extrapolate from there. And the first thing to say is that over recent years, there have been more crypto casinos, there has been more attention given to them, and the industry itself has become more accepting of them. Crypto casinos are now sponsoring sports teams across the world, and that’s certainly lent credibility to crypto betting that hadn’t been there before.

It’s also got to be remarked upon that the number of people using crypto for betting has gone up by 29% since 2020, which suggests that as people were spending more time inside during the pandemic, a lot of them developed an interest in crypto coins, in betting, or both. This would mesh with trends we have seen elsewhere.

Which altcoins are attracting bettors?

While Bitcoin’s market share is still hefty – nearly three-quarters of all crypto bets in 2021 were placed using it – the 10.2% it has lost in comparison must have gone somewhere. So where exactly have they gone?

The biggest gainer, according to the Softswiss study, seems to have been ETH, which saw its share go from 10% to 13.45%, growing by more than a third. Tether, which wasn’t on the market the previous year, also swallowed up a chunk of the business, now sitting at 2.79%. Litecoin also gained close to 3%, while Dogecoin was up by a percentage point.

These changes may be down to a number of reasons. Firstly, more casinos are accepting altcoins than used to be the case, with the new casinos tending to accept them as standard, while longer-standing online casinos have diversified their range. Secondly, and this is underpinned by the strong performance of Ethereum, a lot of the altcoins offer faster and cheaper transfers than Bitcoin. This is a benefit that will be of interest to a lot of crypto bettors.

A larger pie, more evenly sliced

While Bitcoin backers may express concern at the loss of market share, the change also needs to be seen in light of the fact that crypto betting grew more rapidly than anyone could have expected between Q1 of 2021 and the same quarter in 2022. The total amount taken in cryptocurrencies leaped by 119%, which means it more than doubled. So while Bitcoin fell back against its crypto challengers, it still surged in terms of raw numbers, which will be positive news for backers