A new analysis by SOFTSWISS, an international supplier to the iGaming industry, says bets using cryptocurrencies accounted for 30 percent of all online bets in the first quarter this year. In that period, the volume of online bets using cryptocurrencies increased by 19 percent in year-on-year terms, stated the company.
The analysis was based on data collected from more than 700 online gaming brands that use SOFTSWISS solutions, namely its Game Aggregator and Casino Platform products.
The firm said in a press release that the total volume of online bets in the first quarter – including fiat currency – jumped by almost 45 percent in year-on-year terms. It went up by slightly more than 2 percent sequentially.
The company did not provide figures for total volume of online bets, nor for online bets using cryptocurrencies; it only supplied year-on-year and sequential variations.
The most used cryptocurrencies in online betting during the first three months of 2023 were Bitcoin, with a share of 76.5 percent, followed by Ethereum (8.4 percent), and Litecoin (5.1 percent), SOFTSWISS said.
The press release quoted the firm’s co-chief executive, Andrey Starovoitov, as saying that cryptocurrencies were again rising in value, after declines in 2022. “For that reason, we are observing both growth in the iGaming market in general, and also an increase in the sum of bets made” using cryptocurrencies, he noted.
Mr Starovoitov added that an “absence of strong volatility in the crypto market” and “competent” player retention by online gaming brands could contribute to “more significant growth” in the segment for the remainder of 2023.
According to the analysis by SOFTSWISS, 64 percent of the gross gaming revenue generated via online bets using cryptocurrencies was linked to bets placed through mobile devices.
