Innovation in casino games was largely stagnant for years. Sure, new virtual slot games would be released regularly with different designs and graphics, but the playing mechanisms were very much the same. Then, a few years ago a new game arrived on the market with an entirely different playing style that left everybody asking, “What is Crash?”

Well, Crash has become one of the most popular online casino games over the past few years, with more players demanding it and more betting technology providers offering it in their product suite. Crash’s sudden arrival as a major game has left some wondering where this game came from, and how it is played. We prepared this article to help answer some of these questions.

Crash was originally created in mid-2014 as a casino game for the Bitcoin community. The game quickly became a cult-hit in the Bitcoin community, generating substantial betting volume that rivalled the dice-based games that had dominated the cryptocurrency gambling market. Part of what made Crash so successful is that it offered a social component, where bettors are playing the same game as each other. Another social element within Crash games is that they are also typically accompanied by a chat box so that users can interact with each other. Crash was also one of the first non-dice related Provably Fair games in the iGaming sector. Another reason Crash became popular is because Crash traditionally carries a small house edge relative to other casino games, providing bettors with better chances of winning.

Crash is a relatively easy game to understand and play. The simplicity of the game makes it a great game to offer bettors that don’t have familiarity with the way that different online casino games work.

Crash is a time-based game, with each game being called a round. Bettors place a wager in their desired amount and currency at the start of every round. After the round begins, a multiplier starting at 1.00x begins to steadily rise, with the multiplier representing the payout for the bets placed at the start of the round. For example, if someone places a $1 bet and chooses to cash out when the multiplier hits 1.5x, the bet would return $1.50 to the player. Bettors are able to cash out anytime during a round, with the goal being to cash out before the multiplier Crashes. The higher the multiplier goes before a bettor cashes out, the higher of a return they get on the bet they placed.

However, waiting too long before the multiplier “crashes” comes with a risk. The longer a player waits, the more of a risk they run that the multiplier will crash and they lose their bet. Once the multiplier Crashes, any bettors who have not cashed out will lose the entire amount of their wager. After the multiplier Crashes, there is a short waiting period, along with a countdown, before the next round begins. The wait period is adjustable according to an operator’s preference.

The popularity of Crash games is the main reason that operators should offer Crash. Bettors are looking for more socially engaging games and experiences from iGaming operators, as has become evident from other iGaming verticals such as the boom in live-casino games. Crash provides a game that brings a sense of a community due to the shared gameplay experience. Bettors also enjoy Crash because they are able to cash out at any point before the multiplier “Crashes,” providing a sense of control that is not typical in other casino games. Due to the popularity of the game, it’s reasonable to assume that bettors actively seek out operators who provide it. If your online casino platform doesn’t offer Crash, the time to incorporate it was yesterday.

Most of the operators that were first to offer Crash developed in-house solutions, and offered the game as a stand alone product. Recently, more online casino software providers have started offering B2B solutions for Crash, though it is still a relatively niche offering due to its newness to the market.

Lion Gaming offers a white label Crash product that is mobile friendly, and allows for on-chain wagering which can be toggled on or off depending on player preference. Our offering is also Provably Fair, enabling bettors to independently verify the fairness of their wagers through the following manner:

• Every round of the game has a HASH that will be used to verify the result
• The MD5 is the result of the HASH conversion
• MD5 value is for the user to confirm the result (i.e. multiplier crash) does not change during the game
• Bettor validates the MD5 by converting the HASH value to MD5

Contact [email protected] today to add Crash to your iGaming platform.