No Gas Fees at Crypto Casinos: Is It Possible?

Most online casinos, including those that support cryptocurrencies, don't charge transaction fees. However, when making transactions with crypto, some hidden costs still exist. These are network costs that players must pay for their transactions to be completed on blockchains. Another term for them is gas fees. Although one of the biggest advantages of playing at crypto casinos is that transaction fees are low, could they be entirely eliminated?

Crypto Gamba has explored the possibility of crypto transactions without fees, so stay with us to learn whether moving digital assets on gambling platforms without extra costs can become a reality.

What Is Gas Fee?

To understand the term ‘gas fee', we must first understand what gas is. In the world of cryptocurrencies, gas is a unit of measurement that represents the amount of computational work required for a transaction to be executed on the blockchain.

You can think of gas like fuel for a car. Like it enables the vehicle to move, gas powers actions on a blockchain, whether that be sending cryptocurrency, trading assets, or using decentralised apps (dApps).

Whenever you make a transaction or initiate a smart contract on a blockchain, computers around the world, which make it happen, must use energy and resources. Gas measures how much work is needed, determining the fees users must pay based on the complexity of the actions. These fees incentivise miners or validators to run a network, prevent its congestion, and maintain its security.

Gas fees are particularly associated with the Ethereum blockchain. Other networks charge transaction fees as well, although they don't use the same term. In this article, we will use ‘gas fee' as a general term.

What Are Gasless Transactions?

In a nutshell, gasless transactions are blockchain transactions that don't require fees to be executed. Knowing why they are charged in the first place, one may wonder how such transactions are even possible. Well, gasless fees are possible thanks to third parties, also known as relayers, who cover transaction costs.

Another term for a gasless transaction is a meta transaction. To be completed, such a transaction requires a user to approve a transaction with their private key off-chain, which doesn't incur gas costs. Then, a relayer broadcasts the transaction to the blockchain, covering the fee.

To help you understand how these transactions are carried out, let's see how it's done on the Ethereum network.

Transactions Without Gas Fees on Ethereum: Step-by-Step

Currently, several blockchains support gasless transactions. One of them is Ethereum, which utilises EIP-2771, a standard that enables gasless transactions through a trusted middleman (relayer). This intermediary is also known as the Trusted Forwarder.

This standard enables users to interact with smart contracts on Ethereum and compatible blockchains without paying gas fees themselves. Instead, transaction costs are paid by the Trusted Forwarder on behalf of the users.

For instance, you want to use a certain dApp, but you don't have ETH to cover the gas fees. This standard allows a trusted intermediary to complete the action on your behalf. The whole process goes like this:

1. The Trusted Forwarder takes the user's signed request off-chain.
2. They pay the gas fee and send the request to the blockchain on the user's behalf.
3. The smart contract is informed that the action is performed by the user, although the Trusted Forwarder has broadcasted the request to the blockchain.

The last step is crucial, as EIP-2771 verifies that the user has signed the request, not the relayer. The best part: only whitelisted forwarders are recognised by smart contracts, so you don't have to worry about safety.

Are Gasless Transactions Possible at Crypto Casinos?

You may have more questions, such as who the relayers are and why they would do that. In most cases, relayers are businesses that batch transactions to reduce costs and help dApps grow by facilitating user onboarding. Of course, they don't do it for free. In some cases, they gain profit from the platform or dApp they support.

Now, we come to crypto casinos. Web3-based casinos are decentralised apps that operate on blockchains, charging transaction fees. As such, they may struggle to attract new users who are unfamiliar with native gas tokens or crypto wallets. By partnering with relayers or forwarders, crypto casinos can have an easier onboarding process for new customers. Apart from Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, and Arbitrum are the networks that allow gasless or meta transactions.

Closing Thoughts

The concept of gasless or meta transactions seems quite attractive in the crypto gambling space. It could undoubtedly help new users who may not be familiar with crypto start using Web3 casinos. Although none of the casinos we recommend currently offer this option, we firmly believe that sponsored transactions are the next big thing in crypto casinos.

Until this happens, consider using popular altcoins, which support lower transaction fees and faster transaction times. Always check how much each transaction will set you back and play responsibly.