It seems as if we’re witnessing a new anonymous casino launching on a bi-weekly basis. Believe it or not, there are currently more than 45 anonymous crypto casinos and 25 decentralized sites reviewed and there’s little doubt that this number is constantly growing.
Once again, Crypto Lists have the biggest list of both anonymous friendly and fully decentralized casinos – and we’ll also compare it with the normal centralized versions. But which one might suit your needs?
You might have come across the terms mentioned above such as “anonymous” and “decentralized” in the past. These are important concepts to understand and not as similar as they may appear at first glance, even if they sometimes can be both at the same time.
So – what are there differences between traditional, licensed real money casino sites, the decentralized online casinos and their anonymous counterparts? How do these stack up to traditional fiat payment systems, or even their ‘standard’ crypto casino cousins too.
What advantages are each able to offer? Crypto Lists will take a look at these questions and to make things a bit simpler, we’ll begin by briefly recapping the main features of a typical crypto casino before moving on to discuss modern alternatives like anonymous no-KYC casinos.
In The Beginning…
Ever since online casinos became widely available to the public in the middle 1990s, they always attempted to provide their customers with secure and convenient payment options. At the time, these primarily involved electronic methods such as bank wire transfers and credit cards. Even the notion of an e-wallet wouldn’t really gain hold until the early 2000s thanks to platforms such as PayPal (known as “Confinity” at the time) and Alipay (quite popular throughout Asia).
Whether referring to credit or debit cards, bank transfers or e-wallets, these point-of-sale (POS) systems provided online casino players with a quick and convenient way to access their favorite games with a single click. The migration of these very same platforms into the smartphone community thanks to dedicated apps further streamlined the entire process. However, four major problems still existed:
KYC means Know Your Customer and involve checking your ID, address, and use statistics to compare you.
• KYC is required if you win and want to take out your winnings on centralized crypto casinos IF you use USD, EUR or other fiat currencies. This can take time to complete and give some trouble for some customers – but the main problem is that you don’t get what you won instantly.
• Credit cards, bank transfers and e-wallets would often charge hefty commissions when performing a transaction.
• Identity theft and the loss of personal data were becoming (and still are) rampant.
• It’s certainly not anonymous and both your partner, governments and local authorities can see that you play on casinos (even if you like to hide it).
How could online casinos bridge the gap between efficient payment solutions and customer confidence? Although antivirus software and SSL encryption certainly played important roles, we would have to wait until the introduction of cryptocurrencies to witness a host of impressive changes. This leads us directly into the next section and the most common type of online casino sites today. Yes, you guessed it – the so called “real money casinos” – where you deposit with any type of fiat currency such as USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, JPY or BRL to name a few – or the centralized site (that we have in the same group). In order to understand the other – anonymous crypto casinos and decentralized ones – it’s best to start with the most traditional sites.
Real Money & Centralized Crypto Casinos
These represent the vast majority of new sites reviewed on Crypto Lists. Both centralized and real money casinos are the ones that have plenty of geographical restrictions, sometimes the payment methods are limited per jurisdiction, and they have licenses from places like Curacao, Malta (even harder) or the two hardest ones – United States and United Kingdom. 
That doesn’t mean some of the anonymous sites never have licenses, but it is admittedly a slightly grey area and what one deems anonymous can depend on the criteria provided. In addition, there are still plenty of fiat-only sites around too and it’s not a sector that’s going away anytime soon. Licensing bodies such as the MGA in Malta and the UKGC in the United Kingdom are still hesitant to work with crypto casinos although there’s hope that the upcoming MiCA regulation will aid here.
Luckily, there are great centralized Curacao licensed casinos such as the highly trusted Bitstarz that soon celebrate 10 years and the excellent House of Spins with a huge range of games accept either fiat such as EUR, CAD and USD or crypto such as BTC, ETH or LTC.
Centralized crypto casinos are the most traditional gaming platforms and they also happen to be some of the most criticized – yet also the most common ones. The main issue here is that the fate of players is ultimately in the hands of the casino operator and the currency that govern a country or jurisdiction. This is also because the casino in question is in direct control of the different types of payment options. In other words, they’re essentially free to charge fees and commissions in order to increase their profit margins and they have a different kind of reporting obligation compared to the anonymous casino sites. Keep in mind that these often occur in addition to those levied by third-party banks, credit cards and e-wallets. Tips: However, if you use crypto on a centralized site – it’s not as strict regulation at the moment.
That’s one of the reasons we like wallet-to-wallet casinos because even though they too can occasionally charge fees upon withdrawal it tends to be less frequent and the fees (transfer costs) tend to be way lower.
Main pros: Even if centralized and so called real money casinos are regulated and if you ever face issues from a site, then you can complain about it.
Main cons: Expect to complete KYC if you win. They are likely to report winnings to your local tax authorities.
Best site: Our favourite is without a doubt Bitstarz (see review), that’s been around for a decade and keeps improving. They were one of the first online casinos to accept crypto deposits and they are licensed in Curacao. You get up to 5 Bitcoin in welcome bonus plus 180 free spins as a new customer.
If you love regulation, safety, a huge game library, a long and excellent track record and amazing bonuses – then this site is for you. Try Bitstarz here!
Behind the Mask: Anonymous Casinos
If you like, imagine an anonymous casino as ‘one up’ on the traditional crypto casino. Even calling a Bitcoin or crypto casino ‘traditional’ feels strange, but that’s how fast the space if moving. What defines this newer type of operator? Well, a few aspects come to mind. The most relevant involves the KYC verification requirements touched upon in the previous section.
KYC (Know Your Client) verification is a common procedure that many centralized casinos will require, while true anonymous casinos never ask for this. Centralized players will be asked to provide a host of details when performing a transaction in order to confirm their identity.
We’re not only referring to relatively common requests such as answering an SMS message. KYC can actually represent a much more complicated process. Some of the documentation that may be requested includes:
• Proof of income.
• Proof of address.
• Proof of identity.
• Face verification.
• Proof of mobile number.
• Might collect and/or compare statistic about you.
Sounds simple, right? In some cases, not so much. There are several problems that you might encounter during a KYC procedure. One common scenario involves a bottleneck in customer service that might result in lengthy waiting times before speaking with a representative.
How To Avoid Annoying Casino KYC requirements?
As you’ll normally be asked to scan photos of specific documents, real hiccups could arise if you happen to own an older smartphone with an outdated camera (a common complaint). There can also be times when “false positives” (instances when a document is rejected for various reasons even if it happens to be valid) occur. Multiple false positives might prevent you from performing any type of transaction for a specific period of time (similar to being blocked from accessing a website due to making mistakes during the automated captcha process).
To be clear, Crypto Lists isn’t knocking KYC verification. This procedure is actually an extremely valuable tool in terms of preventing identity theft and money laundering. The problem is that it can often degrade into a time-consuming and downright clumsy process. That’s why many casino players love all the anonymous crypto casinos without any KYC requirements. If you rather get started instantly and want to take out your winnings just as quick – without any identity documents needed – then anonymous sites such as the highly appraised LTC Casino is a great option that’s been around for more than four years. Another good option is 1X Bit that in addition to slots and instant games also offer sports betting. Finally, we can also suggest Bitspins IO Casino with over 5000 games including Lightning Roulette from Evolution and also a wide range of crash games.
A Liberating New Path
Anonymous casinos have foregone these stumbling blocks, as players won’t be asked to jump through KYC hoops when registering for an account or performing a financial transaction. These casinos are truly anonymous in every sense of the word, as new users sometimes won’t even be asked for their names.
• Fee-free deposits and withdrawals (in the vast majority of cases).
• Flexible crypto payment options.
• No KYC is required, ever.
• Nearly instantaneous transactions with no lengthy waiting times.
• Anonymous casinos aren’t normally attached to excessive regional restrictions.
• The vast majority of anonymous casinos allow players to use a VPN service.
We can see that anonymous casinos share some features in common with decentralised operators. The main difference involves the simple (and enviable) fact that you’ll never have to divulge your personal identity.
Tips: The anonymous casino site that’s most highly recommended is the everpresent – in our toplists – LTC Casino (review). As well as being a very good, highly professional casino with a plethora of crypto deposit options it’s also dedicated to genuine anonymity for players. They will never ask for any type of KYC, not even your phone number. All that you have to give out is your email address and a password – which makes it super quick to register.
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Decentralized Casinos: The Next Step Forward?
We can think of a decentralized casino as a slightly evolved form of an anonymous casino (anonymous 2.0, for instance). What defines this newer type of operator? Well, a few aspects come to mind.
To be clear, some articles discussing the casino sector mention decentralization as a way to limit the house edge. While this is true, we’ll be instead focusing to the role of blockchain for the sake of clarity. In order to understand the advantages of a decentralized casino, we’ll once again need to refer back to centralized casinos.
Decentralized casinos do away with the concerns mentioned above thanks to the use the blockchain technology that underpins the whole crypto currency trend. As the name suggests, there’s no central point of control or a single governing body. The autocracy that’s enjoyed by centralized casinos is been taken out of the equation.
Decentralized casinos instead depend on the role of smart contracts found within the blockchain. Not only does this essentially take the casino “out of the loop” when collecting winnings, but the automated nature of the blockchain normally ensures that both deposits and withdrawals will be completed much faster; sometimes in a matter of minutes.
When we recall that traditional (centralized) casinos might – in the worst case scenario – require days before a transaction clears, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to appreciate the benefits.
A Tale of Transparency
Let’s also point out that decentralized casinos are associated with another massive advantage. This comes in the form of transparency. Players who register with a traditional casino will be forced to rely upon the legitimacy of the operator in question. All databases remain locked behind closed (digital) doors and it can be tough to know which casino will provide the most user-friendly payment options.
On the other hand, decentralized casinos store all of their ledgers within the blockchain and this information can’t be erased once it has been entered. Without getting overly technical, this essentially means that registered players will not be hit with sudden fees or otherwise unexplained transactional delays.
Due to running on the blockchain you’re also presented with genuinely provably fair games that can’t be tampered with from the inside or out.
The other good news is that there are plenty of quality decentralized casinos to examine in greater detail. You can examine features such as the types of cryptocurrencies they accept, their welcome bonuses (or usually lack thereof), the variety of games, and customer support solutions. Thankfully, we’ve done the legwork so that you don’t have to. Check out these casino reviews to get a better idea of what’s in store:
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You can also read our in-depth reviews of each before heading over to the official website; a great way to make an informed decision.
Key Similarities
- On both casinos the KYC will be either minimal in the worst case but usually entirely absent.
- Both have crypto coins as the central payment method – often eschewing fiat completely.
- Finding out the owners and operators of both these kinds of sites can be difficult, but not always impossible!
- Transactions are often very fast, with no middlemen (payment processors) and funds moving between wallets.
Anonymous Casinos v Decentralized Casinos: Key Differences
- On decentralized casinos you can often sign up using crypto wallets such as MetaMask.
- Anonymous casinos will sometimes have some form of license, whereas decentralized casinos don’t.
- Sometimes you’ll find anonymous sites with welcome bonuses, decentralized casinos tend to have revenue sharing instead.
- Decentralized casinos will have their own tokens, but anonymous casinos won’t.
- Decentralized have lots of provably fair in-house titles, but anonymous sites tend to use known developers.
- Anonymous casinos don’t run on the blockchain whereas decentralized sites do in whole or in part.
- You can find loads of games on anonymous casinos, but decentralized sites tend to have significantly less.
Putting it All Together
It’s now clear to see that decentralized casinos and anonymous casinos are similar in some ways and quite different in others. Both offer a host of benefits and thankfully, more brands are coming to light on a nearly daily basis. This is why it’s always a good idea to check back with Crypto Lists to remain ahead of the curve.
