SOFTSWISS sums up Bitcoin impact on iGaming industry in Q1 2024

SOFTSWISS continues to monitor the changing landscape of cryptocurrency gambling with Bitcoin remaining by far the most preferred cryptocurrency among players. The company used data from brands it powers and offers crypto services for, with a total of 220 partners carrying out crypto transactions in Q1 2024, which was 12% higher than Q4 2023, Casino Guru News learned in an email press release.

The company also noted that the Total Bet Sum, including both crypto and FIAT transactions, increased by 5.8% in Q1 2024 compared to Q4 2023. The growth was more substantial, at 47.2% when comparing Q1 2024 to Q1 2023.

SOFTSWISS took a harder look at the betting volumes and noticed that FIAT betting continues to lead the way compared to crypto bets. Growth in FIAT betting has been more pronounced than its cryptocurrency counterpart. To put things in perspective, the metric referred to as Fiat Bet Sum in Q1 2024 increased by 6.9% compared to Q4 2023.

The same period also saw a 2.4% increase in the metric SOFTSWISS has dubbed Crypto Bet Sum. In terms of what the Total Bet Sum per bet type was, Q1 2024 saw:

• 24.4% crypto
• 75.6% fiat

This was lower for crypto and higher from FIAT compared to Q1 2023 when cryptocurrencies accounted for a slightly higher margin of the total:

• 29.7% crypto
• 70.3% fiat

So, what’s the current state of crypto, asks SOFTSWISS? For one, 93% of all transactions are facilitated by in-game conversion tools. This means that when players arrive, they usually use FIAT currencies to deposit and play, but only get their money converted into crypto when they play a specific game. These trends were analyzed by SOFTSWSIS Chief Operating Officer Vitali Matsukevich who had this to add:

"The lack of a substantial increase in the number of crypto bets during Q1’24 can be partly attributed to the significant rise of the Bitcoin exchange rate during this period, leading players to be more cautious with their crypto bets. This trend mirrors the situation in the first quarter of the previous year when the Bitcoin exchange rate surged following a decline at the end of 2022."

SOFTSWISS continued to monitor the data as it was able to find more interesting trends, including the fact that the average crypto bet had grown to €1.71 in Q1 2024 compared to €1.66 in Q4 2023. In the meantime, the average FIAT bet remains €0.91, the company noted. Yet, an interesting trend emerges where the average crypto bet is double that of its FIAT counterpart, meaning that players may be more willing to take on additional risk if they already use cryptocurrencies to gamble.

What then of the most popular cryptocurrencies? Five pronounced tokens made up the bulk of all crypto gambling, to name

• Bitcoin – 58.4%
• ETH – 17.2%
• LTC – 12.3%
• DOGE – 5%
• USDT – 3.8%

Another 3.3% went to various other crypto tokens that did not merit further exploration in the report. Overall, one noticeable trend is that Bitcoin saw b in Q1 2024 compared to Q4 2023.

"As the Bitcoin rate is expected to strengthen after the Bitcoin Halving, the average crypto bet and projected gains may see a notable impact. During such promising times, it is crucial to have reliable and experienced partners to navigate the path to success," Matsukevich noted on a positive note.

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