What is crypto gambling?
Crypto gambling refers to online gambling that uses cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and more, instead of traditional fiat currencies like the US dollar. In simple terms, it allows you to deposit, wager on familiar casino games like slots and table games, and withdraw funds through your digital wallet rather than a bank card or e-wallet.
All the fundamentals are similar to the online gambling you know and love: choose a game, set your stake, and play. The primary difference is the funding. In a crypto casino, deposits and withdrawals are handled through blockchain payment networks, such as Ethereum, Solana, or Polygon. There are no card details and no logins from e-wallets like PayPal or Neteller required - just connect your wallet, fund your games, and play.
At crypto gambling sites like MetaWin, you’ll find everything you’d expect to find at traditional casino sites, like Slots, Live Dealer games, Sports Betting, Table Games, and Keno. However, you’ll also see some things you won’t find anywhere else, like CCTV betting, in-house exclusive games, and bespoke Crash titles.
We also offer games that feature cutting-edge technology that takes the trust element out of play; with on-chain prize distribution via smart contracts and, in some cases, provably fair outcome verification. This means you can verify the results for yourself - transparency is the watchword here.
To sum up, traditional sites require you to give an email, card details, and verify your identity before you play. Crypto sites like MetaWin are simple to sign up to – just connect your own Web3 wallet or create a MetaWin custodial wallet, and you’re ready to play. We only verify your identity if you’re withdrawing a large prize. Your activity is tied to your wallet address rather than your name, although transactions remain publicly visible on-chain.
How does crypto gambling work?
At MetaWin, we’re all about keeping it simple and pseudonymous, making sure that all the most popular tokens are available, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, Tether, and USDC. Whether you bring your own Web3 wallet or use MetaWin’s built-in custodial wallet, getting started is quick. We also have an on-ramp using MoonPay that allows you to buy crypto directly prior to your first deposit with us.
Step 1: Setting up a crypto wallet
The first step to gambling with crypto is setting up a crypto wallet, which gives you the ability to store your tokens. This is much like a normal wallet, but virtual – it contains all your assets, and connecting it to a platform means you can use tokens in exchange for services and goods, like stakes on crypto slot games or sports bets.
If you want full control over your funds, you can use a non-custodial wallet like MetaMask or Phantom. Download the wallet as an app or browser extension, create a wallet, and store your recovery phrase securely offline, where you’ll be able to find it if you need it. With a non-custodial wallet, you hold your own private keys, which means only you can access your funds. This wallet isn’t just where your money is; it’s also your login.
Alternatively, if you’d rather skip managing your own keys, MetaWin also offers a built-in custodial wallet. With a custodial wallet, MetaWin securely holds your funds on your behalf – just create an account and you’re ready to deposit. This is the easiest option for beginners who are new to crypto and don’t want to worry about recovery phrases or wallet setup.
Once you’re up and running, add some funds to your wallet. If you have crypto held elsewhere, you can transfer it from another wallet or exchange, or you can use MoonPay here at MetaWin to buy crypto directly.
Step 2: Making a deposit
To deposit using a Web3 wallet, choose the wallet connect option. At MetaWin, your Web3 wallet (like MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Phantom, or any of 300+ wallets through WalletConnect) acts as your account login. Connect your preferred wallet, approve the connection, and select the token you want to use. After that, enter the deposit amount and confirm the transaction inside your wallet.
If you’re using MetaWin’s custodial wallet, the process is even simpler – just deposit directly from your account dashboard without needing to connect an external wallet.
One of the main things you’ll need to understand, especially with Ethereum, Polygon, and Solana payments, is gas fees. Gas is the network transaction cost paid on-chain, and it varies depending on the congestion on the network or the network itself. For example, Ethereum gas fees can be a few dollars during busy periods, while Solana transactions typically cost fractions of a cent. These are not platform fees, but they are fees you’ll need to pay to deposit.
Step 3: Playing and withdrawing
After your deposit is processed, which should be almost instantly, you can start to play like at any other casino. Here at MetaWin, you’ll find slots, live dealer titles, and crypto gambling games like Crash and Aviator games. We also have a range of games you won’t find anywhere else, with some titles offering provably fair verification. This means you can check that the game outcomes were generated fairly using cryptography, rather than RNGs that you’ll need to trust were verified fairly.
If you’re a winner, you’ll be able to withdraw simply and without fuss. MetaWin operates a wallet-in, wallet-out system, meaning your deposits and withdrawals go to and from the same connected wallet – there’s no need to enter a separate wallet address. Whether you’re using a Web3 wallet or MetaWin’s custodial wallet, the withdrawal process is seamless. This simplicity is why many players are choosing to gamble with crypto over fiat currencies.
Types of crypto casino games
Crypto gambling games have something for everybody: beginners and experienced players alike. At MetaWin, that means thousands of slots, live dealer games with HD streams, and a growing set of in-house Originals from our studio, Gladiator Studios.
- Slots: The most popular titles, like with any online gambling operator, are slots games. MetaWin has over 4,000 titles with a range of themes, styles, and features. Slots are reel-based games where you spin and hope to land a winning combination of symbols. There is no difference between these titles on crypto casinos and traditional operators, except for how you fund your spins.
- Crash: In crash games, a multiplier signified by an icon, like a plane or a bird, rises from 1x upward, and you choose when to cash out before the icon “crashes”, with the multiplier increasing as the icon moves up. The longer you wait, the more the potential return, but the higher the risk.
- Plinko: In Plinko, a ball drops through pegs and lands in a payout slot at the bottom, with different risk settings affecting the odds and prize structure. It’s a staple at crypto casinos like MetaWin.
- Live Dealer: Live dealer games are table games but played with real human dealers in real time, often with a chat where you can contact your other players. These include blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and game shows. These offer a more social experience than non-live table games.
- Table Games: Table games are classics at casinos, and include blackjack, roulette, poker variants, and baccarat, all with digital interfaces instead of live broadcast versions. If you’re a little shy and want to practice or play at a slower pace, these might be perfect for you compared to the live stream.
- Originals: We also offer more than 25 in-house Originals, with selected titles being provably fair, which can be independently checked through cryptographic verification rather than taken on trusting the RNG alone.
Which cryptocurrencies can you gamble with?
If you’re part of the crypto community, you’ll already know this, but cryptocurrencies are more than just Bitcoin. At most sites, you will usually see BTC and ETH alongside major stablecoins, but many sites now support several other major blockchain ecosystems and token types. Here at MetaWin, we support more than 25 currencies. It is primarily built on Ethereum, but has bridges to Solana and Polygon.
For many players, Bitcoin gambling might be really familiar – it’s widely accepted and easy to move between exchanges and wallets. That said, the popularity comes with drawbacks, mainly that network congestion can make mining fees pretty large at times.
Ethereum is another widely accepted choice, and Ethereum gambling is a breeze at MetaWin, as the whole system is built on the Ethereum chain. Solana is similarly easy to use, as it operates on a bridge to Ethereum within MetaWin, and Polygon offers another bridged option, offering lower fees inside the Ethereum system.
If you’re newer to using cryptocurrencies, stablecoins such as Tether and USDC are a good place to start, as they’re more tangible to non-crypto users than their competitors. These coins are pegged to the US dollar, so you can understand what you’re gambling with without the sharp price swings at BTC, ETH, or SOL. For beginners, this can make budgeting easier and help separate your winnings from the volatility of the crypto market.
Many crypto casinos, including MetaWin, support meme coins and a wider range of some of the more niche altcoins. MetaWin accepts tokens like DOGE, SHIB, PEPE, BONK, and WIF alongside the most established systems. This gives players flexibility, but it makes your bankroll management even more important as you’ll have to deal with coins that can change value quickly.
Whichever cryptocurrency you choose, you’ll need a wallet to manage it. For Ethereum-based tokens, MetaMask is a popular non-custodial choice. Phantom is a go-to option for Solana users. MetaWin also supports Coinbase Wallet and more than 300 wallets through WalletConnect. And if you’d prefer not to manage an external wallet at all, MetaWin’s custodial wallet is the simplest option – no downloads, no seed phrases, just sign up and play.
What is provably fair gambling?
Provably fair gambling is a system that puts the emphasis on verifying your results, not trusting the RNG. Instead of asking you to simply trust a faceless random number generator, a provably fair game gives you the tools to confirm that the outcome wasn’t changed after you place your bet. We use cryptographic hashes, server seeds, client seeds, and nonces to generate your results on our provably fair range.
The server seed is a secret value generated by the platform before the round starts. The client seed is a value linked to the player’s side, either set by a separate system or adjustable by the user. The nonce is a value that changes with each game round, so the same seeds do not produce the same result repeatedly.
Before your game begins, you’ll see a hash of the server seed. A hash proves the original value existed, but it doesn’t yet reveal it. After the round, the original server seed can be revealed, and the player can compare it against the earlier hash and recalculate the outcome.
Compared to traditional online gambling, where players usually rely on the operator’s internal system and outside audits, with provably fair games, the verification can happen at the player level. That adds an extra element of transparency compared to traditional games.
Crypto gambling vs traditional online gambling
At the surface level, crypto gambling and traditional gambling look similar: both let you deposit funds, choose from slot or table games, and withdraw your winnings. The biggest differences are how you create your account, make payments, and how much transparency the platform offers. MetaWin is wallet-first and pseudonymous, meaning you don’t have to complete lengthy verification processes to begin. Connect your own Web3 wallet for full self-custody, or use MetaWin’s custodial wallet if you want the simplicity of a traditional sign-up without managing your own keys.
Crypto platforms often feel faster thanks to these improvements. Wallet-in, wallet-out systems remove a lot of the friction that comes with dealing with third parties. However, you’re at the mercy of the crypto market, and some assets can have volatile prices that go up as well as down. You’ll also need to account for gas fees, which are the network transaction fees that allow you to make payments. During network congestion, these can affect the value of your deposit.
Is crypto gambling legal?
The legality of crypto gambling depends on your location and jurisdiction. In the crypto gambling market in the USA, rules vary by state, and in the UK, operators are in the UK Gambling Commission’s remit. Across the EU, online gambling is still regulated country-by-country rather than being a single unified market.
MetaWin holds Curacao and Anjouan gambling licenses, allowing us to operate in multiple countries. Before playing, always check local laws, however, when using any crypto casino.
How to stay safe when gambling with crypto
There are several factors you’ll need to consider to stay safe when playing at the best crypto casinos, like MetaWin. Firstly, only gamble with funds that you can afford to lose. Set a bankroll before you deposit, use licensed platforms only, check whether selected games are provably fair, and factor in volatility plus gas fees when managing your budget.
