How to combine money and game safely? What are the risks and limitations? And what to consider before trying playing games for cash?
Make Money by Playing Games? A Complete Guide to Understand the Pros and Cons
Do you want to make money by playing games? There’s a growing enthusiasm around the idea of earning money while gaming. While this may seem like an exciting opportunity, the reality is often more complicated than it appears. Many mobile apps and websites offer this possibility, making users even more eager to try. But are they really worth it? In this article, we will explore the pros and cons of making money by playing games, and provide key considerations before you attempt to earn money through gaming.
How does earnings in games work?
We call them “play-to-earn games”, and just by that, it gives you a good idea of what it is about. Making money by playing games was once a dream for gamers, but it has now become a tangible reality. [b]The online gaming ecosystem presents several ways to monetization. You can become a professional gamer, a content creator, a streamer, but also a simple gamer who plays games for cash. And this is what we will talk about in this article.
Play-to-earn games are a legitimate business model that can offer you real money or cryptocurrencies thanks to the blockchain technology. You can play games online from websites or mobile apps. And sometimes, you don’t even need an initial investment to be eligible. The process is quite simple: every time you play, you can earn small amounts of money. Most of the time, you have to play casual games, complete in-game objectives, or fill in simple daily tasks. That can be completing surveys, watching videos, downloading a specific app, writing a review, and more. Then, players can earn virtual currency; it can be real money or cryptocurrencies, and in this case, it is possible to convert it to real money.
Make money by playing games: risks and limitations
We can understand that it is always really attractive when you know that you can actually earn some money just by playing games online. It is a fun and easy way to get small amounts of money and build an extra income in your spare time. What a dream! But sorry to say that, play-to-earn games are not a get-rich-quick scheme where you can obtain high rates of return for small investments. This is a bit more complicated than that, and these games actually have some major drawbacks.
- Time-consuming: You may spend more time and energy than you think and put your productivity, job, or even health on hold. Don’t forget the reality!
- Uncertainty: It is not guaranteed that you will receive some money. The majority of players don’t earn anything but still play and hope it will happen one day. This is actually a long, non-winning stretch with poor rewards. Some of them can even have some limits on how much you can earn per day or per month.
- Security risks: There is no guarantee of security in these games. They can be scams or frauds. They could actually make you believe you will be paid and take your personal data and bank details instead.
- Stress and competition: This is mostly the case if you play against other players or in competitions. You can see the ranking of all players, but you can also discover the backside of money-earning games with some cheating practices.
- Legal and regulatory issues: Depending on where you are, this kind of game can be regulated and restricted. On one hand, this is real security and allows you to play with no major risks. But on the other hand, this activity can be illegal and prohibited. So you will need to verify your identity and age before starting to play games for cash.
Payment methods and payout options
When looking to make money by playing games, understanding the available payment methods becomes crucial. Yes, traditional options such as credit cards and bank transfers are still available. But prepaid solutions are becoming really popular lately, due to their security and anonymity features. But also because once you don’t have any more funds available, you can’t use it. Here are the most popular currently:
- paysafecard has been a leading-prepaid option for a while now. It allows gamers to purchase vouchers online or at local retailers. And just with a small ticket and its unique 16-digit PIN, they can pay online without sharing any bank details or personal data.
- Neosurf also offers a convenient prepaid alternative, but this time, you can also use it for transactions. You can actually use it to make a deposit, but also to withdraw your earnings. Neosurf also has the advantages of keeping your transactions safe and 100% anonymous. You don’t need your bank details to make it work. So you can play without worrying about whether your family will discover it or not.
- Transcash can be easily considered as the perfect online gamers’ prepaid card, and for a good reason! You can use either Transcash codes or a Transcash card, but in any case, both are compatible with earning-money games. They are safe, secure, and allow you to play online without putting yourself at risk.
Play-to-earn games also work with blockchain technology. In this case, many gaming platforms now incorporate cryptocurrency options, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. But also some modern e-wallets like PayPal, Skrill, and Neteller. All of these payment method options provide quick withdrawal times and reinforced security features.
Key considerations before trying to earn games
You would like to try to make money by playing games? Then, here are some key considerations before you even try to.
- Set a budget: Some play-to-earn games require a small deposit to start playing. Decide how much money you want to spend and how much you are willing to lose per day, per week, or even per month. Please do not borrow money from others to play a bit more.
- Set a schedule: As explained above, this kind of game can take so much time without realizing it. Then, decide how much time you are willing to spend per day, per week, or per month. And obviously, do not put your responsibilities, your job, or your hobbies for them.
- Do your research: Always check reviews, ratings, feedback, privacy policies, terms and conditions, etc., before even downloading games. You want to make sure that the play-to-earn game you choose is safe, reliable, and reputable. Avoid any game that has a lot of negative reviews, but also the ones that look too good to be true.
- Don’t expect to get rich: This is not the goal of this kind of game, and it won’t be! Please, always play for fun and enjoy it as a form of entertainment. Not as a primary income source.
- Watch out for additional costs: Some games may require in-game purchases to enhance your experience or unlock features. These purchases can sometimes be essential to accessing premium content and opportunities. If you need to make purchases, always use a prepaid card to protect your personal information and bank details.
Written by
Joel Stein