Resorts World Las Vegas (RWLV) is coming to the Las Vegas Strip soon, and it plans on making a huge impact. The resort is going to be the first one built on the Las Vegas Strip from the ground up in over ten years and, costing around $4.3 billion, is a massive investment at a time that the Vegas casino scene is just coming back to life. However, what might be even bigger news is that the property, which the Genting Group is developing, plans on accepting cryptocurrency. This is reportedly the first time a Las Vegas casino resort will allow digital currencies and is going to be made possible through a partnership the casino has with crypto exchange Gemini.
Crypto as form of payment in online casinos has been the norm for several years already, but its access to land-based casinos has been almost nil. RWLV announced yesterday that, through its partnership with Gemini, it expects to offer its gamblers and visitors the ability to use crypto, through a Gemini wallet, to “enhance the integrated resort experience.” Details regarding how the resort will facilitate crypto will be made public in the next couple of weeks.
Perhaps one of the reasons there hasn’t been more widespread adoption of crypto as a form of payment is fluctuations in the values of the top currencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and others. However, there has been significantly more interest in crypto as an alternative payment option to fiat, as evidenced by the recent announcements by Visa, PayPal, eBay, and others that they are embracing or considering embracing digital currency payments. These moves denote a shift in cryptocurrency acceptance and how it can be an integral part of a larger financial ecosystem.
RWLV’s announcement is significant, as it is another step forward for crypto and its place in gaming. The resort, which will sometime in June, is possibly about to become a pioneer in the merger of land-based gaming and crypto. However, as significant as the news is, it must be approached with a certain amount of trepidation. Crypto exchanges are becoming more scrutinized in the US, and there is no precedent for using digital currency at land-based casinos. Wyoming allows crypto in its sports gambling market, but the state has always been more crypto-friendly than others. It’s possible that, before RWLV can launch its new currency option, Nevada gaming or federal regulators could get involved.
