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Thanks to online gaming, it has become possible to include virtual currencies within games, including casino games. How do virtual currencies work within the iGaming framework and what does the future hold for virtual currencies in the iGaming world?
Virtual Currencies in Video Games
Virtual currencies have long played a role in video games, with World of Warcraft being a good example. Many popular video games have since adopted virtual currencies, with the Madden franchise being a good example. Within the Madden football game, it is possible to build a team of players using virtual currency. The coins hold no value outside of the game but you can buy points which can be used to buy packs in the game.
The packs contain tokens of players and other game items but the content of the packs is unknown until opened. Some onlookers believe that the concept of buying points and using the points to buy packs means Madden is a form of iGaming.
There is a gambling element within the game as players are risking their money in the hope the points will buy packs that include the best players. Some individuals have even sold their Madden accounts for large sums of money online, meaning the virtual currency in the game does hold some indirect real world value.
Virtual Currency and iGaming
As playing video games is not currently classed as iGaming, we must look elsewhere to find the role of virtual currencies in the official iGaming world. That takes us to sweepstake casinos and this is the best example of the rise of virtual currencies in iGaming. When joining a sweepstakes casino, you are awarded gold coins and some sweeps coins for free.
The gold coins can be used to play casino games but they hold no real world value. Any gold coins you win from playing casino games can be held in your account and used whenever you want to play. Sweeps coins are different to gold coins because they can be exchanged for real cash prizes. Any sweeps coins won while playing games at sweepstake casinos can be redeemed for a cash prize, which means sweeps coins do have a real world value. However, sweeps coins cannot be purchased at sweepstake casinos, they are awarded to players as a bonus or when buying gold coins.
The Popularity of Virtual Currencies in iGaming
Virtual currencies are on the rise in iGaming because they are widely acceptable across the United States. Real money online casino gaming is restricted in most of the US, meaning there are millions of people who have no access to legal real money casino gaming.
The introduction of real money sweeps casino apps have changed the landscape of online casino gambling dramatically in the United States. By using virtual currency, sweepstake casinos are legal in most states because they do not use real money to play games. Gold coins can be purchased for real money but only the coins themselves can be used to play the games at sweepstake casinos. Due to the fact it is also possible to win real money when playing sweepstake casino games using sweeps coins, the casinos are becoming hugely popular across the US.
By using virtual currency, sweepstake casinos have created a model whereby it is possible for almost everyone in the US to have access to online casino games and have the chance to win real money.
The Challenges Ahead
There is no debating the swift rise of virtual currencies in investing and in iGaming, largely thanks to the introduction of sweepstake casinos. However, there has already been some talk about how legislative bodies are going to assess the model of sweepstake casinos and their virtual currencies.
Real money online casinos are not happy that sweepstake casinos are allowed to operate in regions where they are banned from offering their own services. Could we see real money online casinos begin to provide virtual currencies of their own? If every dollar deposited was equal to one unit of virtual currency to play casino games, it could work. This would have a huge impact on the value of virtual currency in the iGaming sector and it will be fascinating to follow developments in this field.