When you think about NFTs, images of Bored Apes or CryptoPunks may come to mind, but there’s much more to non-fungible tokens than that. As a matter of fact, NFTs are proving their worth as items with exchange values within various ecosystems, including the world of iGaming. Today, more and more online casinos and sportsbooks are incorporating NFTs via betting, bonuses, NFT gambling, and other systems. If you’re interested in following the present and future transformation of the casino industry, you’ll want to keep up to speed with NFTs, so here’s a closer look.
NFTs Defined
The original NFT obsession was based on the incredible prices that people were trading NFTs for when they first came out. As it turns out, those Bored Apes and CryptoPunks were somewhat overvalued — but that doesn’t detract from the basic utility of NFTs.
The way NFTs work is that they are unique digital assets. Every NFT is one of a kind. As a result, they can serve as digital certificates for ownership of any kind of item, from concert tickets to virtual property in the Metaverse or characters in games where you can play to earn. This amazing versatility explains why you can already find NFT casinos online.
Games, NFTs, and Casinos
From the perspective of casino games, the most obvious use of NFTs is in gambling. An NFT casino will simply allow gamers to make NFT deposits instead of fiat or cryptocurrency. The advantage here is flexibility and mobility — you can seamlessly transfer NFTs anywhere in the world. Another advantage is that NFTs consist of code, which means they can be programmed. This allows them to contain gaming information that casinos can use to offer games that are more transparent and proven to be fair.
Where to get NFTs from? Apart from winning them as casino prizes, you can easily buy them from a crypto platform or even make your own NFTs.
Secure, Responsible Gaming
That’s because NFTs are particularly well suited to serve as access passes to online casinos. In fact, some NFT casinos in the metaverse already require gamers to get a special wearable NFT, almost like a virtual badge, to take part in gambling activities. You’re welcome to explore the casino without it, of course, but you can’t play any games.
When it comes to responsible gambling, NFT passes are a natural way for online casinos to help problem gamblers self-exclude and filter out minors. This has the bonus effect of increasing the level of security and accountability in the industry overall — to the benefit of all concerned.
Loyalty Perks
Another application for NFTs in the online casino context would be as a virtual loyalty card providing perks, such as opportunities to play for jackpots and bonuses exclusive to members. As for loyalty programs, NFTs are a great way for casinos to track just how loyal their players are, not to mention being great rewards in themselves. For example, a casino could mint an NFT for every level in its loyalty program. The higher the player’s level, the more NFTs they receive. Each level would have unique rewards, including exclusive content, allowing players to participate in competitions, or credit discounts. Clearly, the only limit to potential NFT casino applications is the imagination of the casinos that use them.
NFT Gambling Games
At the end of the day, recreational gambling is all about fun, particularly casino games. One way that casinos can enhance players’ gaming experience is to offer play-to-earn (P2E) games. Also known as “play and earn” or “web3” games, P2E games such as The Sandbox, Alien Worlds, Gods Unchained, Spinterlands, and Axie Infinity all reward players for their in-game activity and digital skills. These rewards typically take the form of cryptocurrency or NFTs. This approach is expected to revolutionize iGaming worldwide as Web 3.0 casinos begin to develop NTF-powered gambling games.
So how would it work? The answer would be to bake NFTs into the gaming engine of a specific game. Many online slot machines already have achievement systems that allow players to track their achievements and unlock rewards, typically in the form of loyalty tokens that can be used to trigger free spins. The popular vampire-themed Immortal Romance slot, for example, allows you to progress through Bronze, Silver, and Gold status levels. The use case for NFTs as rewards here is obvious.
Of course, NFT rewards needn’t be confined to online slots. All forms of recreational gambling are suitable, from classic table games such as blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and craps, to innovative variety games. As a result, all player types stand to benefit from the NFT trend.
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