How do we rate an Ethereum Casino?
Our team here at HotCryptoCasinos have a lot of experience when it comes to online gambling. We’re seasoned veterans and were quick to discover cryptocurrencies and the different casinos accepting them as a means of deposit. We have all learned that, whether through events in the past or simply marketing, to never trust the words of a casino but rather their actions. Sadly, it has become common practice for a casino to pay review sites to get a better ranking. In other words, a lot of the stuff you see out there are simply undisclosed paid advertisements. This is something we would never taint our name with, which is why we anonymously sign up, deposit and play at each site we review. We try to mimic the experience of our readers in order to get a fair and reflective ranking.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the stuff we analyze when we first enter a new casino.
Licensing, Fair odds and security on Ethereum Casinos
Crypto casinos are a new phenomena to the gambling scene, especially casinos accepting other currencies than bitcoin, like Ethereum casinos. Being based on blockchain technology, these casinos are known to be way safer and secure than a regular casino. As much as this is true, it doesn’t mean there are no bad actors out there trying to scam you of your cryptocurrencies. In fact, the crypto scene is filled with different types of elaborate scams.
In order for an online casino of any kind to be trustworthy, it needs to have a license distributed by a legitimate gambling authority. This is one of the first things we look for when we enter a new casino. By having a license from a gambling authority, you have to keep in line with their requirements and rules. Without a license, it’s hard to find someone to hold accountable. Therefore you should always confirm the license on a gambling site before you make a deposit. In our analysis, we make sure that the individual license is valid with the authority who issued it.
The bottom line for the security analysis is that all personal or account details are encrypted with at least SSL 128-bit encryption, which is the industry standard. There should also be additional security measures in the cashier, such as two factor authentication.
Bonuses and Promotions
One important thing for us and many of our readers is the bonuses and promotions available at the casino. There is no question a lot of players like taking advantage of bonuses when they play at an online casino. That’s why many operators use them as marketing, in order to get people to try out their site. Ethereum casinos, and crypto casinos in general, are being held to a higher standard when it comes to bonuses and promotions than a regular casino. When we review a casino, the bonuses and promotions offered is a major part of the overall ranking. In some cases, we are able to give our readers access to exclusive offers, negotiated by ourselves with the casino in question.
Accepted Payment options & withdrawals
Another big part of our analysis is the cashier. We like to see many different options for deposits and withdrawals available, and especially cryptocurrency options. A big majority of the Ethereum casinos we review actually have multiple crypto options open for deposit, which is perfect for people meddling in multiple coins. The most common ones are of course Bitcoin or Ethereum, but other coins such as Litecoin or Cardano are growing more and more popular. In our eyes, the more the merrier!
Briefly about Ethereum
While the enormous growth and adoption of cryptocurrency continues, coins other than Bitcoin are gaining more traction. Ethereum was created in 2015, and is the world’s 2nd largest cryptocurrency. Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum has no cap on the amount of tokens that can be created. This is being countered by Ethereum actually being deflationary in periods, depending on network activity.
Ethereum is providing a scaling solution to Bitcoin and is the home to many unique applications based on the blockchain. The main thing that seperates Ethereum from Bitcoin is the fact that Ethereum supports the creation and utilization of smart contracts. Smart contracts are pre-coded contracts that execute X when Y is achieved, eliminating the need for trust between parties. This allows for whole new industries to be created within the blockchain. One of those industries is of course the gambling market.
Many casinos were quick to accept cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, and many more operators are starting to get involved with digital currencies. On this page you will find everything you need to know about Ethereum casinos and how the coin works. Let’s get started!
Payments on online Ethereum Casinos
As with most other cryptocurrencies, Ethereum is completely anonymous and safe to use, which for many is a great advantage. In addition, there are no fees except the transaction gas price, or limits for deposits and withdrawals.
Deposits
Deposits with Ethereum are made in a flash. Many cryptocurrencies are designed with smooth transactions in mind, and this also applies to casino payments. When you choose Ethereum as the payment method, an address is generated to which you send your ETH. Your deposit is immediate and it is thus possible to play immediately after.
The transfer is carried out via your own crypto wallet and is completely secure. The most important thing is that the address you fill in matches the one generated by the casino. It is recommended to copy the address straight off and paste it into your wallet app or similar application.
Withdrawals
Casinos that offer Ethereum as a payment method should in connection with it also offer immediate withdrawals. If they can’t do that, it’s a bit of a warning flag.
Any winnings are made at the same place as the deposits. You can request a withdrawal to your account and fill in the amount you want to withdraw, provided it is available. Have you used smart contracts on e.g. a betting site, everything will happen automatically as soon as the conditions are met.
As with all cryptocurrencies, there are no unexpected fees to consider except the original transaction cost on the network. In Ethereum specifically, this can vary. The transaction fee on a blockchain is called “gas”. A gas fee is the price to successfully processs a transaction or execute a contract on the Ethereum blockchain platform. The gas fee is usually priced in small fractions of eth called gwei, or nanoeth. These are used to allocate the resources needed from the network in order to execute the actions requested. It might sound a bit complicated at first, but it is an automatic process and the current gas price will show before you make the transaction. Depending on network activity, the gas price may go up or down.
Ethereum Casinos – Bonuses
As Ethereum has been gaining recognition from all around the world, more and more crypto gambling sites are starting to accept the currency for deposits. As many of you know, the crypto gambling scene offers very generous bonuses, cashback programs and loyalty systems. Of course, playing with Ethereum does not block access to these rewards. When playing on Ethereum Casinos you can expect to have instant access to a generous cashback system, matching deposit bonuses and tons of free spins. Generally, the cashback is set to a generous 10-15% of your wagers or losses, which makes a huge deal if you’re playing on a regular basis.
Before you agree to the use of any crypto bonus you should want to take a look at the site’s bonus terms and rules. This should always be done as there might be terms you don’t like, such as a max cashout or blocked games. We would recommend always reading the terms and conditions to the bonuses you use, especially when playing on smaller sites. Let’s take a look at the different types of bonuses available to you when you play on an online Ethereum casino.
Matching Deposit Bonus
A matching deposit bonus is one of the most common offers that online casinos give their players. It is a match percentage bonus, meaning you get a bonus reflective of your deposit. An example would be getting offered a 100% match bonus up to $1000. This means that you can get an additional 100% on your deposit, up to $1000.
No-Deposit Bonus
What is a no-deposit bitcoin casino bonus? Just like the name of the offer hints, a no-deposit bonus is where you can claim a bonus without the need of having to make a deposit. This type of bonus is usually used in order to try out a new casino, as it is often small in size and limited by a max cashout. All you need to do in order to claim a no-deposit bonus is to create an account and try out the casino!
Free Spins
Free Spins is another common bonus offer in online casinos. Usually, the player receives free spins as a part of a welcome bonus or as a loyalty gift from the casino.
The spins come in a set amount which you can use on a slot machine within the casino. Most of the time, you have to wager your winnings to be able to withdraw. However, some offer wager-free free spins, also known as cash spins. Often the spins come designated to a certain game, and in other cases the casino have chosen a list of games you can use them on.
Wager-free bonuses
The majority of offers from a casino have wagering requirements put in place. This means that you need to wager your bonus a certain amount of times before being able to withdraw your winnings. With a wager-free bonus, you do not have to worry about meeting a wagering requirement to be able to withdraw. Bonuses without wagering requirements or deposit requirements such as the no-deposit bonus are the most sought after offers on the market. They can be pretty hard to find.
Reload Bonuses
Reload bonuses are basically a lesser matching bonus. You get offered this as a means to make another deposit, aka reloading your balance. They work in the same way as a matching deposit bonus, but with a lower matching percentage.
Step by step: Get started at an Ethereum casino
Despite what many think, it is very easy to get started with crypto and making your first deposit to a ethereum casino.
Step 1 – Acquire crypto
The first thing you need to do is find an exchange where you can buy your digital currency. There are tons of trustworthy exchanges available, but there are also tons of peer to peer solutions based on your preference. Make sure the exchange has the coin you are trying to buy.
Step 2 – Transfer to your private wallet
When you have successfully purchased some coins, it’s time to transfer them to your private wallet. Get your public address and make a withdrawal to it. The funds should appear after a short while from the transaction being sent.
Step 2.5: Scout for an Ethereum casino bonus
If you want a bonus on your Ether deposit, you can use our list to find the best available offers. There are tons of different types of bonuses, so make sure you choose one to your liking. Oh, and make sure you read the bonus terms and conditions!
Step 3: Make a deposit!
Once you have your coins stored safely in your wallet you are ready to make a deposit. After you have chosen your casino, simply head to the deposit tab and send any amount to the address provided. For a recommendation of the best crypto casinos you can find our list further up on this page.
Loyalty Programmes on Ethereum Casinos
One of our favourite things when it comes to Ethereum casinos, or crypto casinos in general, is their generous loyalty programs. It is common for a new crypto casino to give all their players 10-20% cashback on their losses or wagers. However, the cashback function is not the only benefit after being loyal to a certain crypto casino. There are tons of sites that have interactive systems that work by rewarding the player with XP or progress,
For you high rollers out there, tons of generous VIP-programs are waiting for you. You don’t need to be a highroller to take part in most of these, but the rewards get a lot better the more you’ve wagered. The VIP-programs tend to offer larger bonuses, exclusive promotions, random gifts or invites to exclusive events. You don’t want to underestimate a loyalty program from an Ethereum casino, as they tend to be very generous if you’re a loyal customer.
The Pros and Cons of Gambling with Ethereum
There are many things that make gambling with cryptocurrencies superior to the regular fiat currencies we mainly use today. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Ethereum does not aim to only be a currency that facilitates payments. It is a platform for their revolutionary smart contract technology, which has opened up a whole world of possibilities for all sorts of industries. The smart contract functionality has become popular with betting, as it ensures fairness and a trustless environment.
With a more detailed explanation, smart contracts make it possible to set out conditions defining an if(X) / then(Y) relationship, which is digitally enforced through the code in the contracts. This means that if a trigger event X takes place, then the contract automatically executes Y based on the rules set in the contract.
Thanks to smart contracts, the role of intermediaries in the market ceases to exist. An example of an intermediary would be the casino operators or payment processors. Without third parties involved in transactions, the operational costs will drop which makes it sustainable to have a lower house edge.
Pros
- Security
Thanks to being based on blockchain technology, transactions in Ethereum casinos have unmatched security. The smart contracts and code behind the ethereum transactions are not on the individual casino’s servers, but rather on the decentralized Ethereum network.
With all transactions being immutably recorded on the blockchain’s distributed ledger, there is no possibility of tampering or misinformation.
- Anonymity
A large portion of all available crypto casinos, including Ethereum casinos, do not always require users to go through an identity verification. Since the only information shared is your wallet address in which you deposit and withdraw to, you can remain anonymous while playing at an online ethereum casino.
- Speed and efficiency
Unlike payments made through fiat gateways, payments made using Ethereum takes minutes if not seconds to go through. This speeds up the deposit and withdrawal processes which enhances the overall betting experience.
Cons
- Limited Support
If you were to run into a problem with your funds or wallet, there is limited support to be had. In the end, how cryptocurrency operates is pretty black and white. If you lose access to your wallet or send funds to the wrong address, you are responsible and pretty much nothing can be done.
There are also a lot more online casinos supporting fiat currencies than cryptocurrencies. This might seem obvious at first, but we think it is only a matter of time before crypto / ethereum casinos become the new norm.
- Complicated
For those that have never handled a cryptocurrency before, it might seem a bit confusing at first. Furthermore, Ethereum is on the more complicated side of crypto if you were to compare it to Bitcoin, thanks to its increased functionality with smart contracts.
- Inherent Volatility
Something that’s well-known with cryptocurrencies is their inherent volatility in price. While this can be a big advantage if the price of said crypto increases, it will also work in the opposite way. Some Ethereum casinos credit their players with a fiat currency after deposit, while others let you play directly in ether.
Ethereum Wallet
There are tons of wallets you can choose in order to store your crypto assets in a safe way. When you store your coins on an exchange, they are not entirely yours but the exchange’s assets. Exchanges are also targeted by hackers on a regular basis, and we’ve seen many exchanges losing their customers’ funds. When first creating a wallet you will be given a seed phrase. This is the only and most important step in the creation of your wallet. A seed phrase is a combination of keywords that in the correct order will unlock your wallet and give access to all funds inside. Therefore, it is very important you store this seed phrase in a secure manner, either on a piece of paper or have it memorized. Let’s go over some of the wallets available for Ethereum:
Metamask
Metamask is the world’s most common and widespread wallet for store of funds and interactions with different web3 networks. You can store any cryptocurrency in a metamask wallet, except Bitcoin. However, users can instead store wrapped bitcoin. WBTC is the same as BTC but available on other blockchain networks as well. Wrapped Bitcoin is in other words, completely identical to Bitcoin.
Ledger
A ledger is a physical hardware wallet for your crypto assets. It is often referred to as cold storage. This is by far the most secure way to store your crypto. You can buy your ETH directly via ledger, and then send to and from the casino through their web interface. The downside is that you can’t store a large chunk of the lesser known tokens out there, so if you’d like to explore web3 and the ethereum dapps, you need to get a wallet like metamask.
Slots and Games
If you wish to play Slots or other casino games with your Ethereum you can rest easy. Playing casino games with Ethereum is just as simple as playing with Bitcoin. There is a huge selection of games and popular game providers. You can find multiple innovative house games that are based on a Provably Fair system, ensuring you of fairness during each game, or games directly from a provider you know.
One thing that is really unique to cryptocurrency casinos is the house games from the sites themselves. Using the provably fair system lets the house create their own creative games without the players needing to worry about the legitimacy of the game. With each game session there is a hash provided, which is used to look up the code leading to the randomly generated output.
Live Casino on online Ethereum Casinos
Looking for a Live Casino to play on with your Ethereum? No problem!
There are very well equipped Live Casinos to be played on with Ethereum. As a matter of fact it’s most likely the very same Live Casino that you are used to. Two of the main Live Casino studios offered for players with Ethereum are operated by Evolution Games and Pragmatic Play. These are the two largest live game providers in the world. In these studios you can expect to find whatever it is you are looking for. They have all sorts of table games, hosted by a real dealer on a real table with real cards. There is also a chat for the players to interact with the dealers via, making the experience come very close to that genuine casino feeling.
Smart Contract Betting
There are currently two different forms of gambling when playing with Ether. The first and most common one is the ability to make a deposit into an online casino, using Ether as a deposit and withdrawal method. This works in the same way we’re all used to, whether it be gambling with fiat or other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. This type of Ethereum gambling is the easiest to understand and the most popular amongst players. It is what we’ve mainly focused on in this article.
The second approach to gambling on Ethereum Casinos is the use of smart contracts to place bets. There are a number of different Ethereum casinos that operate solely on the Ethereum blockchain. Instead of depositing funds to your account at the casino, you send Ether directly to a smart contract. From this point forward, the contract will either await results based on real-life events, or generate randomness (based on what you’re playing) and automatically pay out wins.
Advantages to Smart Contract Betting
There are many advantages to this form of betting:
Payouts are immediate, you are guaranteed to get your winnings instantly
The smart contracts are made open source and cannot be interfered with
The casino does not hold your funds at any moment, since the process is automatic with the smart contract involved. This means no risk of sending your funds to someone else, e.g. a casino operator.
Provably Fair House Games on Ethereum Casinos
Many Ethereum casinos host their own in-house casino games for their players. Given that they are based on a provably fair system, the casino can get really creative and innovative with their games. A provably fair system works by having random decisions generated by smart code. After each round, the player is given a hash which can be used to inspect the code and results leading to the outcome. This ensures fairness, and the randomness can be seen in the code.
Some popular house games are Blackjack, Roulette, Plinko, Card games, Dices, and so much more! The only limit is the fantasy of the creators and designers at the casino, which opens up a whole new world of gambling outside the traditional games you see everytime you visit a regular online casino.
Disadvantages to Smart Contract Betting on Ethereum Casinos
Except being a bit complicated to understand at first, there aren’t really any major disadvantages to this form of betting. It provides, by far, the most secure form of betting as long as the smart contract involved is audited. A smart contract can also be programmed to take all the funds deposited, which is why all contracts should be open source.
The only major downside to smart contract betting is that you have to wait until the network confirms all the bets and payouts. Since the network is usually very fast, it will only take about 15 seconds to get a transaction confirmed. If the value is high, it might need additional blocks to confirm which would take a bit longer. In some cases, the network might be congested. This would also mean that everyone would have to wait a bit longer.
This is however something that is temporary as the technology is still new. There are multiple startup protocols that are developing offchain payment channels in order to accept bets without the confirmation from the network. As a result, smart contract betting might be the future of gambling within the mainstream audience, given it’s major security boost. Smart contract betting is a great alternative for those not wanting to place their trust in an online casino with their funds.
Ethereum Casinos – Summary
Ethereum casinos are growing more popular by the day. When playing on an online Ethereum casino, you get the exact same games and benefits as you would from a traditional fiat casino. Some would argue that the benefits and rewards you get from gambling with crypto is much higher than the mainstream casinos with fiat. For some of the best bonuses in crypto, take a look at our list of Ethereum Casinos. We’ve also written independent reviews of many of the casinos, ranked by our experienced in-house gamblers.
There are two major paths you can take when it comes to gambling with your Ether. Either the traditional online casinos offering slot machines, live casino and all other common games you can find online. These work exactly like fiat casinos, except that you can remain anonymous in many cases. The other way to gamble with Ether is through Smart contract betting. These are open source pre-programmed contracts. Smart contracts allows for much higher safety as the funds never touch an intermediary like the casino. Instead, the funds are routed directly to the contract, which also pays out to the winners automatically.