Centralized vs Decentralized Gambling
Centralization and decentralization in the world of gambling are two very common words that are well known to gambling enthusiasts. Gambling has emerged as a source of entertainment and fun, and at the same time, gambling has also been targeted with criticisms and negative perspectives. Those who are against gambling have accused it as a means of exploitation that can create a lot of trouble in one’s social and financial well being.
The traditional online gambling often referred to as centralized gambling is the most criticized form of gambling, as it is said that the fate of the gamblers mostly depends on the gambling operators and the casinos that house the gambling. In the case of centralized gambling, everything starting from deposits, withdrawals and fund distributions solely depend on the gambling operators and as such, the players are dependent on the gambling operators for receiving their winnings.
On the other hand, decentralized gambling, as the name suggests, depends on cryptocurrency transactions. There is no centralized authority backing the gambling transactions and therefore, there is no autocracy. This form of gambling is gradually taking over the centralized form of gambling due to the manifold benefits that it offers to the gamblers.
Now, let’s find out the difference between the two forms of gambling, centralized and decentralized in simple ways.
Central Authority
In the case of centralized gambling, gambling operators are the boss. All the transactions are processed by the operators, which often attach fraud and match-fixing. Moreover, they are often time-consuming. This does not happen with cryptocurrency gambling or decentralized gambling. There is no central authority or third-party intermediaries, so the players have the full liberty on their transactions and the transactions being transparent and open to all; there are no chances of fraud. All deposits, withdrawals and fund distributions, are recorded on the DLT (distributed ledger technology) of the blockchain and processed by smart contracts that can be audited by anyone at their convenient time.
Verification Details Required
In the case of centralized online casinos, before participating in gambling, the players need to open an account on the website in which he wants to play by feeding in all the necessary personal details, like name, address, etc. Also, sometimes, the licensing compliances need the players to produce their photo ID proofs and copy of debit or credit cards. These compliances are not necessary in case of decentralized gambling as the players gamble through their unique wallet address and not through their identities.
This has greatly helped players in maintaining anonymity, thereby eliminating any kind of geographical bottlenecks. For instance, if players cannot use any casino-related content because their respective governments don’t allow them to, they can easily use an anonymous browser to do so.
Legitimacy
The absence of any tangible way to audit the historical gaming data questions the legitimacy and fairness of centralized casinos. Players must trust the legitimacy of the operators as they have no other choice because all the databases are kept behind closed doors. On the other hand, in the case of decentralized gambling, transparency is the key factor that appeals to the players. The innovation of the immutable blockchain technology has made it possible to maintain a public ledger that is open to all. The open-source protocol allows the players to verify that each independent gaming outcome is generated randomly through the cryptographic algorithm.
Transaction Fees
In centralized gambling, the institutions charge very high fees to the players who just want to participate in gambling. On the other hand, in decentralized gambling, because of the absence of any central institution, the fees charged are comparatively low and instead, more focus is given on encouraging microtransactions.
House Edge
In centralized gambling, the house takes the high edge, which means the higher the edge, the lesser are the possibilities of the players to win. Therefore, these issues attach match-fixing and fraud to a great extent. However, in decentralized gambling, the players can participate in the casino by just holding the token. The house edge can also be reduced to the minimal. Also, instead of betting against the house, the players can bet against each other.
Withdrawals
If a player decides to withdraw his winning amounts from the centralized fiat casinos, he must wait for a series of formalities to be completed on behalf of the operators and must wait for a considerable amount of time. Each withdrawal request from the players is sent to the payment departments and they are checked and rechecked to avoid any malpractices and suspicious betting. Sometimes, the players may be asked for additional documents in support of his personal details, and even the banks take longer to process the payments.
On the contrary, in decentralized gambling, the players do not have to face delays in getting their winning funds, as there are predefined smart contracts applications that release funds immediately as the favorable conditions are triggered. This relieves the players of the need to send their payment requests to the centralized department, as the smart contract fully automates the payments as and when the winnings happen.
Conclusion
From the above points, decentralized gambling solves serious issues that are plaguing the traditional online casinos. Securities, fewer regulation formalities, and lower fees are the essential positive attributes that make decentralized gambling more appealing to the players. However, as it is said that nothing is perfect in this world and everything has its own fair share of drawbacks, there are certain drawbacks of decentralized gambling too. The absence of any stringent regulatory measures sometimes works in favor of criminals. Due to the anonymous nature of decentralized gambling, it has somewhat become the preferred financial plan for fraudsters.
