Cryptocurrencies are here to stay and, as time goes by, names such as Bitcoin, Litecoin or Ripple become more familiar to us. The entertainment industry is no stranger to this global phenomenon and that is why it is gradually taking advantage of its potential. There are even plans to implement strategies to increase its use in this medium, which will possibly end up becoming something very common and not as “eccentric” for many people as it is today.
For example AMC Entertainment, the world’s largest movie theater chain, was the first of its kind to make news when it announced that it would start accepting Bitcoins to buy movie tickets; statistics show that they are definitely stocking up on cryptocurrencies.
The theater has also made inroads into this world; London Theater Direct, one of the UK’s leading theater ticketing agencies, became the first company of its kind to accept Bitcoin payments. The company’s director, Francis Hellyer, explained that by accepting advanced payment methods such as those that process Bitcoin, it makes transactions more economical, secure and friendly to consumers’ mobile devices”.
Museums likewise join these initiatives, one of the first to do so has been the Great Lakes Science Center, an educational museum located in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2018 it began accepting cryptocurrencies. Kristen Ellenbogen, its president and CEO noted that this strategy is a small part of the push to get such an ecosystem to grow in that area.”
England’s Avon Valley Adventure & Wildlife Park in Bristol relatively recently began accepting Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, USDcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Dai for absolutely everything from tickets to concerts. The park owner commented that it is exciting to be able to give people the opportunity to buy tickets with cryptocurrencies. “We always try to look to the future and I honestly believe this is going to be a massive disruptor for financial systems.”
Likewise, the gaming industry and cryptocurrencies easily complement each other as the technology offers a standalone digital wallet. Similarly, online businesses, virtual casinos and betting shops tend to consider accepting cryptocurrencies to expand their payment method options.
And if we go back in history, it is probably not surprising that one of the first places to adopt cryptocurrencies as a payment method was Las Vegas. Several casinos and restaurants began accepting Bitcoin in January 2014.
This practice today has spread all over the world, where technology has been the main responsible for the great advancement and development of online gambling platforms.
The main advantage comes in the speed of financial transactions. While, with traditional payment methods, a deposit or a payment in an online casino can take days, with blockchain technology such transaction takes just a few seconds and is even much safer, since it does not depend on data between two banks, but on multiple servers that make such transaction untraceable.
Another advantage is that the online casino needs to pay a lot of intermediaries, such as, for example, the maintenance of accounts in a bank. With cryptocurrencies they don’t need this bank anymore, so the chances of player’s winning or receiving bonuses are likely to be much higher.
At the best New Zealand casinos, the United Kingdom and many other countries on the European continent, the absence of fees for payments that cross borders and that cryptocurrency transactions offer improved stability, faster processing speeds and covert payments to participants is used as a promotion.
On the other hand, buying concert tickets directly with cryptocurrencies is not exactly straightforward. However, there are some alternatives that make this possible. For example, several services can be found that make this possible by purchasing Ticketmaster gift cards using different types of cryptocurrencies. Such cards can be used to obtain tickets to any event. This is because Ticketmaster is one of the most popular websites for booking concert tickets around the world.