Our Path to 100 Reviews

Here’s a look at how our journey unfolded over the last twelve months. Towards the end of 2022, the leadership team at CryptoChipy decided to shift gears.

But not just anywhere. Instead, we focused on the online gambling industry, a field where we have over 30 years of combined experience, including some big wins related to new casino launches. In the past, our previous projects focused on all types of online casinos, but this time we narrowed our focus to only crypto-friendly sites that accept digital currencies for deposits and withdrawals.

Starting in January, our team dived into reviewing casinos, categorizing game developers, and checking out any new crypto casino projects that piqued our interest. Over the course of the last 11 months, we’ve encountered the good, the bad, and the downright ugly when it comes to crypto casinos. Some of these sites were so bad, we added them to our warning list to make sure readers know what to avoid.

Want to hear from one of our co-founders? Markus Jalmerot had this to say: “Today marks a huge milestone for CryptoChipy. When we made the decision to pivot our focus toward an industry where both my co-founder and I have extensive experience, we expected it to take longer to reach this point. Hats off to the team for getting us here so quickly.”

And here’s a word from our head of content, Tom: “The work put in by everyone at CryptoChipy – from writers to designers to marketers – has been phenomenal. We’re all pulling in the same direction, and our focus on new BTC casino brands has led us to be one of the first to highlight the latest platforms. Keep following us to stay ahead of the game.”

Now, let’s take a look at some conclusions we’ve drawn on our path to 100 reviews.

The Rise of Crypto-Centric Casinos

Looking at the casinos we’ve reviewed, there’s been a noticeable shift in the past 12 months. More than half of the new online casinos now accept crypto, something that wasn’t as common just 1-2 years ago. According to Jalmerot, this change has been substantial.

However, there are still some casinos, particularly those licensed in Malta or the UK, that stick to traditional fiat currencies. These platforms are a bit more cautious about embracing cryptocurrency, but with upcoming regulations like MICA in 2024, this might soon change. As always, the crypto industry is evolving fast, and many Bitcoin casinos still need fine-tuning.

One thing is for sure though: those fiat-only casinos don’t make it onto our ‘New Crypto Casinos’ toplist. We reserve that spot for the casinos that have fully embraced crypto, making it easy for readers who are specifically looking for that experience to find what they want.

Leading Software Providers in New Crypto Casinos

One trend we’ve seen is that the top crypto casinos often feature leading software developers like Evolution and Spribe. Evolution, a Scandinavian company, is a giant in the live casino space, creating immersive experiences that blur the lines between land-based and online casinos. Meanwhile, Spribe focuses on instant-play games, with their flagship title being the popular Aviator game. Another developer that’s gaining traction is EvoPlay, known for their fun instant football games like Penalty Shootout and Longball for those who prefer a more casual gaming experience.

Curacao: The Hub of Crypto Gambling

Based on our reviews, Curacao has firmly established itself as the primary licensing jurisdiction for crypto casinos. This small Caribbean island nation has become a favorite for cryptocurrency gaming platforms, mainly because of its flexible regulatory environment.

In contrast to jurisdictions like Malta and the UK, which are more focused on fiat currencies and have stricter regulations, Curacao offers a more lenient framework that works well for the crypto casinos we cover on CryptoChipy.

Traditional Jurisdictions Struggle to Keep Up

As we’ve noted, the vast majority of the casinos we’ve reviewed over the last year are licensed in Curacao by one of the main master license holders. This has created a unique challenge for more traditional licensing bodies, such as Malta, the UK, and Costa Rica. While these jurisdictions are open to crypto casinos, they haven’t been able to match the flexibility and innovation seen in Curacao.

That said, Costa Rica is still an emerging market in the crypto space, and while they’re open to working with crypto casinos, they don’t have the same reputation that Curacao has built. For players unsure about the legitimacy of Curacao licenses, CryptoChipy has created a guide to help with verification.

The Wide Range of Quality and Trustworthiness

Throughout the year, we’ve encountered some standout crypto casinos that we trust completely. Not only do we trust them, but so does the wider iGaming community. Some of our favorites include Crypto Games IO (review) and Bitspins IO (review). These casinos have a strong track record for fair play and reliable payouts, making them a safe bet for players.

On the flip side, we’ve also come across a few casinos that raised red flags, like Inmerion, where both we and players had less-than-ideal experiences. It’s not always sunshine and rainbows in the crypto world, but we take the good with the bad.

A Lot of New Casinos Shut Down Fast

As we mentioned in our warning list, there’s a disturbing trend of crypto casinos closing down after just a few months. Many new sites don’t last more than six to twelve months. For instance, Bit Spin Casino (review) shut down this November, along with other once-promising platforms like Casino Fans and Apolo Bet.

Other closed casinos include:

• CoinGames
• Bit4Win
• Coinzino

If you happen to land on a closed casino, don’t worry – we’ll always recommend a more suitable platform in the top section of the review.

Fake Licenses Are Alarmingly Common

This might sound like clickbait, but we’ve definitely encountered our fair share of casinos with fake licenses. While it’s one thing to operate without a license, it’s entirely different when casinos fabricate licenses using fake certificates or altered URLs. A casino we like, but which has faked its license, is Turbospins (review). In cases like this, we don’t immediately tell players to avoid the site unless we find other signs of wrongdoing. However, we do point out the dishonest license claims when we come across them.

You can read more about how we verify licenses in our dedicated guide.

BTC and ETH Lead, But Where’s Solana?

If you’re searching for BTC casinos, you won’t have a hard time finding a number of great options. The same goes for ETH casinos. But when it comes to Solana (SOL) casinos, the options are surprisingly limited. Despite Solana’s growing popularity among crypto enthusiasts, there are very few Solana-based casinos compared to their Bitcoin and Ethereum counterparts. This is a notable gap in the crypto casino market.