The popularity of online gambling has surged in recent months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Players can no longer access land-based casinos in certain countries and the risk of doing so becomes less appealing by the day in some parts of the world.
This has allowed the online gambling industry to flourish as players opt for the virtual experience and flock to the vast selection of online casinos on the web to satisfy their gambling needs.
And with this major growth, comes innovation, and the age of crypto gambling is here. Players are discovering the many benefits of gambling with cryptocurrencies and crypto casinos have experienced a massive boom in recent years due to the popularity of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
But this form of gambling has been available exclusively online for the most part, until now. Las Vegas is welcoming a new and innovative addition to the Strip. The Resorts World Las Vegas will be the first casino on the Las Vegas Strip to accept payment in cryptocurrencies when it opens on the 24th of June this year.
Resorts World is a casino and hospitality franchise owned by the Genting Group and consists of various casino resorts across the world, specifically in South-East Asia and the Americas.
The Resorts World Las Vegas casino has partnered with the popular crypto exchange Gemini to “explore future opportunities which would allow patrons to use their Gemini crypto wallet to enhance the integrated resort experience.” according to the press release on May 6, 2021.
This partnership with Gemini, which is a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian owned by the billionaire Winklevoss twins, will see the casino’s patrons using a Gemini wallet when purchasing items at the resort.
We’ve seen major crypto exchange partnerships recently such as the one between Coinbase and PayPal, but this union between an exchange and a single casino property is quite surprising, but also very exciting, as this could pave the way for a bright future in land-based crypto gambling.
The Resorts World Las Vegas casino under construction
“As the first ground-up resort development on the Strip in more than a decade, Resorts World Las Vegas is committed to integrating innovative technology conveniences across the resort to enhance the overall guest journey”… “By partnering with Gemini, a leader in cryptocurrency exchange, we are taking another step toward providing progressive guest experience solutions for today’s Las Vegas traveler.” according to the President of Resorts World Las Vegas, Scott Sibella.
Gaming regulators in the area have strict rules on crypto transactions and have not yet approved the use of cryptocurrency when gambling at the resort, which is unfortunate. However, this could certainly change in future should cryptos become a common form of currency.
According to David G. Schwartz, a gaming historian at the University of Nevada, if this unique approach from Resorts World Las Vegas becomes popular among its patrons, other casinos on the Strip might implement this strategy as well.
“I think before you have all the resorts doing it, it will be a way for them to differentiate,”… “I think they are seeing if people want to do it.” said Schwartz.
Over the past year casinos on the Strip have been forced to reduce their capacity, or in some cases shut down entirely. But since many staff members have received COVID-19 vaccines, some properties have been given the go-ahead to open at full capacity once again.
Resorts World Las Vegas is preparing to open its doors on the 24th of June this year and is said to have cost over $4 billion to build. It will be very interesting to see how this Chinese-themed casino and hotel fairs with its unique crypto payment method.
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