In January 2023, SOFTSWISS, the leading technology provider for iGaming, was recognised as ‘Crypto Company of the Year’ by the prestigious International Gaming Awards. As a pioneer in crypto gaming, every quarter, the company analyses the crypto gaming market and shares valuable industry insights. This time, among key indicators, the expert team unveils what the average crypto player portrait looks like.
The Q1 crypto results are based on the data from over 700 brands powered by the SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator and the SOFTSWISS Casino Platform.
Q1 2023: the Big Picture
In Q1 2023 the Total Bets indicator increased by 44.66% compared to the same quarter the previous year and by 2.24% compared to the preceding quarter. This data demonstrates a steady growth trend in the iGaming market.
In absolute terms, the sum of wagers in crypto also shows positive growth over the course of the last year. In the first quarter of 2023, the share of bets in digital coins accounted for 30%. Q4 of 2022 showed 9% volume growth in Total Bets in crypto compared to the first quarter of the same year. Q1 of 2023, on the other hand, showed a more significant volume growth – 19%.
Andrey Starovoitov, Co-CEO at SOFTSWISS comments: “Despite the global events of 2022, which have undoubtedly caused most digital coins to fall in value, we are now seeing them rise in value again. For that reason, we are observing both growth in the iGaming market in general and also an increase in the sum of bets made by crypto players. We expect digital coins to remain in stable use by players in 2023 and could see more significant growth with a combination of two factors: competent retention of players and the absence of strong volatility in the crypto market.”
Most Used Digital Coins
Compared to Q4 2022, the top 3 most used digital coins remain the same: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC). However, their shares have changed – Bitcoin is up by 1.9 p.p. at the expense of smaller digital currencies, while Ethereum remained the same.
Looking at the development of digital coins over a longer period, the changes in the shares of digital coins are more substantial. From Q1 2022, BTC increased by 3.72 p.p., whereas ETH lost 5.01 p.p. The fall in the share of the third leading digital coin, LTC, occurred by 1.36 p.p.
The final shares for Q1 2023 are as follows:
- BTC – 76.5%
- ETH – 8.4%
- LTC – 5.1%
Tether (USDT) took a share of 5.1% for the first time, in turn, Dogecoin (DOGE) rates fell by 1 p.p. compared to the previous quarter, taking a 2.5% share at the end of Q1 2023.
Among other currencies that showed an increase in the share of Total Bets – Ripple (XRP), Tron (TRX) and Cardano (ADA).
The Crypto Player Portrait
Diving deeper into the industry insights, SOFTSWISS has defined the average crypto player portrait. Based on the Q1 data and available data from player profiles, 65% of the crypto audience is male and 35% female.
The percentage of age groups of the crypto players who have indicated their age on their online casino profile is as follows:
Thus, the core audience of digital coins in iGaming is in the 31-50 age range. It makes up 70% of the audience that uses crypto.
Moreover, more than half of crypto GGR per Q1 was formed by bets made on mobile devices: 64% of mobile users vs. 32% of desktop ones.
This data may become crucial when choosing a strategy for growing an existing iGaming brand or launching a new one. As SOFTSWISS experts note, interest in starting crypto projects is high, even when crypto demonstrates quick changes and might be unpredictable. Nevertheless, Q1 statistics indicate that 2023 is shaping up to be a year of positive development for projects related to digital coins.
Max Trafimovich, Chief Commercial Officer at SOFTSWISS, summarises: "Over the last few years we have seen a steady increase in demand for crypto-ready solutions, be it for launching a casino or a sports betting venture. It's undeniable that some crypto iGaming operators have drawn much attention and accolades on a global level. Besides crypto, such operators also happen to be at the forefront of various other innovations, those going beyond the payments aspect. SOFTSWISS will remain the ultimate partner on this frontier with new crypto-oriented technologies, top-level service, and security."
