Over the last few years, people have been hearing about the term “blockchain technology.” They tend to know it has something to do with the world of cryptocurrencies. What they don’t tend to know is that blockchain technology is also being used to build the digital infrastructure upon which business transactions are being recorded.
What is Blockchain Technology?
IBM is a renowned member of the world’s robust digital technology industry. As such, one would trust that IBM is a good source of information related to anything digital. On the IBM website, Blockchain is defined as follows:
“Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger that facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network.”
In layperson’s terms, Blockchain is a sequential registry of data, in most cases, transactions. The registry is decentralized and controlled by a majority vote among the people who have a working vested interest in the Blockchain. As transactions are created, they must be approved by a majority vote. Once approved, transactions are sequentially linked together in a “chain of information.” The chain cannot be broken.
The reason for Blockchain’s popularity is the anonymity it affords participants. Everything on the Blockchain is identified only as a transaction number that is shared solely between the parties associated with a particular transaction. There is no part of the data link that identifies said transaction participants.
As the discussion about the concept of Blockchain casinos begins, the way transactions are recorded and the anonymity feature will be very relevant.
The Concept of Blockchain Casinos
This discussion will not focus on the use of cryptocurrencies as a viable banking option for online casinos. Yes, those banking transactions are run through an appropriate Blockchain be it the Bitcoin or Ethereum Blockchain such as those used by Casino Extreme. However, the concept of crypto for the online casino industry is a discussion for another day. The focus here will be on using Blockchain technology as the primary digital infrastructure for casinos.
With a conventional computer system, a casino loads its software, games included. As players wager on online casino games, the transactions are recorded in the casino’s transaction database. Of course, this process is compltely fine as it should be. However, there is the potential for issues.
It’s possible player A made a bet, won the bet, and both transactions were recorded in the casino’s database. The issue at hand is conventional databases can be manipulated by programmers.
It wouldn’t be that difficult for an online casino manager to ask a programmer to remove the winning transaction or perhaps adjust it to being a losing transaction. The player will notice the problem and likely dispute it. However, they will be a the mercy of an online casino operator that might not be honest. Without proof of the winning transaction, all would be lost with no way to appeal it.
The entire concept of a Blockchain casino was built around this very issue. To understand how Blockchain technology would protect the casino player, one only needs to understand how Blockchain casino transactions are memorialized. It works as follows:
As player A plays a hand of blackjack, every part of that transaction is recorded sequentially on the casino’s Blockchain. That transaction includes the placing of the bet, the result of the hand, and the recording of the win (if applicable) in the player’s account. Now, here is where the concept behind the Blockchain casino becomes relevant.
Every part of that transaction is automatically approved and linked to the Blockchain. Also, every component of the transaction gets a unique and sequential transaction (reference) number. The Blockchain cannot be manipulated at all by anyone. The transactions will always be there, and the casino player will always have access to all of their transaction numbers. If a dispute arises, the answer lies in the proof. A casino owner would have to go completely rogue to deny what had taken place.
What This Means for the Future of Online Casinos
The popularity of the online casino industry throughout the world is driven by true casino gamblers. These are the folks who have embraced the opportunity to play casino games for real cash from the comforts of home.
While the online casino gambling community has been growing at double-digit percentages (year-over-year) for the last decade, one can’t help but think there is still plenty of room for more growth. It’s quite possible that future growth will be driven by what Blockchain technology brings to the table.
The only thing that seems to stop more people from becoming online casino players is trust issues. They simply don’t trust online casino operators to behave properly. As people learn more about the security and safety afforded by the use of a Blockchain, they are probably going to be more likely to give online casino gambling a try under one condition. It would have to be with online casinos that use a Blockchain infrastructure.
