For lack of a better word, the online gambling market in 2024 is huge. Over 120 countries in the world regulate online gambling or allow online casinos to function on their market with an offshore license. And the total value of the iGaming industry was around 85 billion euros in 2023. So, it’s safe to say that the iGaming industry is huge and incredibly diverse, not to mention competitive.
In 32 countries, online casinos can only operate under a license the local gambling authorities issued. Here, the question of playing in a local currency is implied. But there are close to 100 countries with insufficient or even non-existent gambling regulations where the market is dominated by offshore operators. These casinos usually support major international currencies – US dollars, euros, Canadian or Australian dollars. However, they could be better at supporting regional currencies. A player in Argentina, Kosovo, or South Africa will have to exchange currency (sometimes at unfavourable rates) back and forth to play and to spend their winnings if they play at one of them. There are, in turn, casinos that make the extra effort to be able to accept deposits and pay winnings in a variety of regional currencies. The question is, are they a good choice? And should you be looking for casinos in your local currency at all?
Source: freepik.com
Contents
The Advantages of Playing in a Local Currency
Using your local currency when paying online, no matter if it’s for shopping or online casinos, comes with a few advantages:
- You don’t have to worry about exchange rates
- You won’t have to pay international transfer fees
- It’s simpler for you to manage your finances
- It’s easier for you to track your spending and winnings
- You’ll be able to understand the real cost and benefit of bonuses more easily
- You’ll be able to calculate stakes more easily in your local currency.
Offshore or Not?
Playing at an online casino based in your country is usually recommended. But things are not always black and white.
Take the South African market, for example. Here, online betting is a regulated business. However, the legislation regarding online casinos needs to be revised. A new legislative framework for regulating online casinos is in the works, but it has yet to be pushed through the parliament.
This leads to an interesting situation. On the one hand, licensed betting operators offer players some casino games, but their game variety is limited. On the other hand, online casinos, like ZAR Casino, can’t obtain a license because of the lack of a legal framework. These operate as offshore casinos under international licenses, but they act as local operators: they have bonuses and special offers tailored to the South African players’ tastes. It accepts deposits and makes payments in South African Rands.
The problem is, once again, game variety. ZAR Casino has a game library of around 130 titles only. A few similar casinos are available in South Africa, all with a very limited game library. But since they are among the few online casinos that support transactions in rands, they are popular among South African players.
Source: freepik.com
Payment Methods
The casinos above stand out from the crowd of offshore casinos not only because they support local currencies but also because they support local payment methods.
Most offshore casinos stick to just a handful of payment methods available everywhere: credit and debit cards, e-wallets like Skrill and Neteller, and a few others. When it comes to local payment methods, they need to catch up.
This is where casinos with local currencies come in. They support various payment methods used in their target country to serve their customers best. To stick with the above examples, South African online casinos support a variety of prepaid payment solutions like Capitec, Kazang, and various vouchers. These are very popular in South Africa, so the casinos that support them are the obvious choice for local players.
Pros and Cons
While casinos that support local currencies and payment methods offer undeniable conveniences, they often come with a trade-off.
Pros
- Ease of transactions
- Financial clarity
- Familiarity with the currency
- Lower costs for transfers and no exchange rates
- Familiar payment methods
Cons
- A limited number of online casinos
- A limited range of games
- Sometimes, the gaming outlets lack all the checks and balances
Source: freepik.com
What should you choose?
There is no universally applicable tip we can give you on this matter. A lot depends on which jurisdiction you’re in and what the legal framework and the market are like in your location. But there are a few cases that we can cover.
If your country has its licensing scheme
If your country has its licensing scheme, it’s safest to choose local casinos. These operate under government oversight and must comply with local customer protection laws, which means extra safety.
If your country doesn’t regulate online gambling – but it doesn’t ban it either
If your country doesn’t issue its own licenses and it tacitly accepts international ones, things get a bit more complicated.
On the one hand, you’ll have access to many offshore casinos, from major international groups to small, independent ones. On the other hand, it’s unlikely that you’ll find many that support your local payment methods and currency.
In this case, consider the reliability of the casino itself, the range of games available, and other factors. The currency and payment methods supported should be secondary.
Source: freepik.com
A casino that supports your local currency? It’s nice to have, but it shouldn’t be the main factor that makes you choose. If you play from a country with a robust regulatory framework, you’ll have access to plenty of those. If not, the supported currency alone and the payment methods supported are not the main factors anyway. It’s more important to play at a reliable online casino with a good track record than the convenience of not having to handle exchange rates. It’s the entertainment that counts – and playing responsibly, of course.
