As technology advances, cryptocurrencies become more and more popular. According to the recent SOFTSWISS research, in 2023 the number of people who use crypto to place their bets increased by more than 20%.

Changes in the iGaming landscape

Current predictions say that by 2030 the iGaming market will double, and the estimated compound annual growth rate would be 11.7%. When it comes to revenue, it is estimated that it will reach 140 billion euros.

SOFTSWISS, one of the leaders in the field of crypto iGaming software development, researched the crypto market and gathered data from more than 600 brands. According to the research, the iGaming market is thriving on a global level – Total Bet Sum recorded annual growth of 38.2%, while Total Bet Count increased by 51.2%.

However, the average bet decreased, and one of the main reasons is an expansion of iGaming across smaller markets, so the decrease is more significant in markets such as Latin America and Africa. On top of that, increased internet availability across the globe, as well as incorporating modern technologies, affected the final result. Another important factor is the growing popularity of iGaming among players under 30, who have limited budgets.

As the research, which began in 2022, has proven, fiat bets are still more popular, and their number is growing faster than crypto bets. Crypto Bet Sum increased by 8.2% in Q4 of 2023, and Fiat Bet Sum recorded an increase of 16.4% annually. Crypto bets were 27.5% of Total Bets Sum in 2023, which is a decrease of 3.9 p.p.

Comparing 2023 to 2022, the Crypto Bet Sum increased by 21.1%, while the Crypto Bet Count increased by 50.5%.

Vitali Matsukevich, Chief Operating Officer at SOFTSWISS, commented: “The advantages of employing digital currencies, such as swift transactions and anonymity, are key drivers for many players. Given these dynamics, the market demands expanding iGaming projects’ opportunities for crypto players. The in-game currency conversion, for example, allows operators to engage players with cryptocurrency assets in games initially designed for fiat transactions. The projects that embrace such possibilities continue gaining more advantageous market positions.”

Most popular cryptocurrencies

In 2023, the average fiat bet was around 0.82 euros, and the crypto bet has been fluctuating between 1.59 and 1.88 euros, but it was more stable than it was in 2022.

The most popular cryptocurrencies in 2023 were Bitcoin (73.3%), Ethereum (9.9%), Litecoin (6.6%), Tether (4.6%), and Dogecoin (3.1%).

Bitcoin is still the most popular cryptocurrency, but compared to the third quarter of 2023, it decreased by 5.7 p.p. On the other hand, Ethereum grew by 4.7 p.p. and Litecoin increased by 2.2 p.p.

Matsukevich commented on this: “The digital currencies market is rapidly expanding, with estimates showing over 50% growth in capitalization in 2023. Despite the risks caused by the high volatility of crypto and its dependence on various factors, using it can bring extra profits for operators. The iGaming industry is promising for investments due to growth in both fiat and crypto markets, but success depends on trustworthy and experienced partners.”

Source: “Time to Invest in Crypto? SOFTSWISS 2023 iGaming Market Overview”. Softswiss. February 28, 2024.

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Gambling streamers have become very popular in recent years – but why is that, and what have popular platforms Twitch and Kick done to increase their popularity?

Twitch’s popularity

Tom Waterhouse from Waterhouse VC decided to research this topic and compare two of the most popular streamers. Twitch was launched in 2011, but its biggest growth was recorded after Amazon bought the platform for $970 million in 2014. At the time, there were very few streamers in the whole US market.

There awaited various thrilling features, including many tutorials and chat rooms hosted by famous gamers from all over the world. The money comes from both ads and premium subscriptions, as well as a few merchandise sales, and the platform and the streamer used to split the subscription revenue 50/50 until June when it changed to 70/30 for the streamer.

Among other things, Twitch offers Bits – it’s an internal currency that users can give to steamers as a sign of support, and that revenue is also split. However, according to the source, the streamers believe they’re underpaid. In 2021, some information about the network was leaked, and according to that, only 0.01% of streamers were paid more than the minimum wage. This is the main reason for the different split percentages, along with increased competition from the new platforms.

Kick – a serious threat

Another major platform is Kick, which is relatively new, with the launch in January 2023. However, it rapidly became popular among streamers and viewers. Streamers love it because of the 95/5 split, along with keeping all the tips to themselves.

Kick also allows gambling. After the 2022 scandal, when Twitch borrowed money from creators to pretend to fund gambling expenses, Twitch decided to ban most of the popular gambling streaming, starting in October last year.

Back then, the company claimed: “We’ll be making a policy update on 18 October to prohibit streaming of gambling sites that include slots, roulette, or dice games that aren’t licensed either in the US or other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection.”

On Kick, however, gambling content is beyond popular, which has drawn streamers to the platform. Since fans keep finding new ways to gamble, the ban didn’t help – many of them simply transferred to Kick, which likely won’t ban gambling content from the platform since its popularity keeps growing.

In January, the platform had 9.000 active channels, and in April, that number increased to 67,000. Also, there were 12.8 million viewing hours in January, and that number increased to 51.8 million until April. It is still only 2.8% of Twitch’s hours, but the company keeps growing, and gambling streaming helps a lot.

Will Twitch be replaced by Kick? It’s early to say for sure, but the games have just begun.

Source: “Waterhouse VC: Twitching into gear”. iGaming Business. August 22, 2023

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