Crypto Casinos Are Reinventing Loyalty Rewards—and Traditional iGaming Can’t Keep Up

Traditional online casino loyalty points are not cutting it anymore with the same point systems and rewards. Constant playing needs new ways to be rewarded, and crypto casinos are changing the game. Many crypto casinos are changing loyalty programs from simple bonuses into blockchain-based financial and engagement tools.

Before, loyalty programs were a basic, yet powerful way for casinos to hold on to their customers by offering typical in-game rewards in exchange for their repetitive playing. The online casino community is moving forward, and so should the rewards for playing.

Now, cryptocurrency and blockchain have entered the scene and caused a force of increased transparency and security in the loyalty rewards economy for online casinos—here is how.

How Traditional iGaming Loyalty Programs Work

Understanding how traditional online casinos operate is crucial to understanding what crypto casinos are bringing to the table. Previously, traditional casinos typically kept their players by incentivizing them with in-game reward points and tiers gauge the amount they were wagering.

Rewards players could redeem were VIP bonuses and in-game factors such as free spins, but that process was too blurred and not clear to users. Many of the programs lacked the transparency and steps required to gain traction in loyalty.

These programs use fiat payments and often require high wagering requirements, which also confuses players since it is not just posted on the casino as a heads-up. Due to the traditional casinos using fiat payment, this not only requires high wagers but also results in typically slower reward deliveries and withdrawals—this is where crypto casinos pick up the slack.

Crypto Casino Loyalty Programs Explained

There are many changes coming into the online casino world, and this is due to the rise of crypto casinos. Crypto casinos can offer factors such as tokenized rewards, instant cashback, smart contracts, clear terms with lower wagering, and more. This section is going to be an overview of all that crypto casinos offer, along with the blockchain technology that works to aid the change of online casinos.

Older casinos have used tokens to basically reward players for returning, and could be used to claim other rewards, such as free spins and other bonuses. Since the evolution that crypto casinos have brought to the scene, these tokens now use on-chain technology and have a real, measurable value that allows players to earn not only stake rewards but governance rights and profit-sharing systems.

Typically, when you stop playing and leave, casino rewards and points would expire or just not be used. This causes them to be wasted. Now, players are rewarded by gaining native tokens by performing various actions such as depositing, referrals, community events, and in some cases, just holding the tokens in the wallet.

Players are given tokens and can use them to bet, trade for other cryptocurrencies, or even hold them in their wallets to increase their overall value. Some programs even offer a system much like interest in a savings account, where a player can stake their tokens for a certain amount of time in exchange for a guaranteed profit.

Transparency, Cashback, and NFTs

Many of the new programs offer a status-tiered system based on their token holding rather than how much and how often they gamble. This brings the tokens even more measurable value and changes the loyalty program significantly.

The main factor of transparency comes from all the transactions being recorded on the blockchain. This allows players to verify and track their activity and reward loyalty.

Another popular feature of crypto casinos is the cashback rewards. These rewards allow players to gain a certain percentage of their losses and attract players who want to keep their risk low and the excitement of the gaming experience high.

Other casinos offer NFT-based rewards that include players earning digital collectibles within the casino ecosystem that can be traded or sold, making this reward, again, a real value rather than just another free spin.

Conclusion

What This Shift Means for the Future of iGaming

While all of this, in theory, sounds like a dream for players, there are risks to factor in and unknowns to explore. With crypto casinos using native tokens as a reward comes the risk of volatility swings within the token and the changing value of them. It is nice to have value to your rewards, but the value change can be a turn-off. This can be what traditional online casinos try to avoid—what else is there to consider?

Well, there is also the long-term risk of the rewards being over-generous and creating an unknown viability rate for the casinos, and causing more issues in the long run, but also more regulatory needs for these casinos as well.

The main question to consider in all of this is whether traditional online casinos will adapt to the new standard being set by crypto casinos, or will they be forced to do so due to the outstanding, evolving system being brought into the scene of online gambling?