Why this one dropdown matters
Three of the four costs on this route scale with the amount. The network fee does not — it is charged for the act of moving, and it varies between networks by an order of magnitude. Choosing well takes two minutes and saves the same amount on every transfer thereafter.
| Amount | Cheap chain, share | Expensive chain, share |
|---|---|---|
| ₦5,000 | 9.6% | 80.0% |
| ₦25,000 | 1.9% | 16.0% |
| ₦100,000 | 0.5% | 4.0% |
| ₦500,000 | 0.1% | 0.8% |
Same fee in every row. On the top row the expensive chain consumes most of the transfer; on the bottom row the choice is nearly irrelevant.
The order to decide in
- Read the casino's accepted list firstBefore buying any coin. The cheapest network in the world is worthless if the destination does not credit it.
- Read the fee the cashier showsIt is displayed in coin before confirmation, and it is the real figure rather than an estimate from an article.
- Match the address format to the chainAddresses look similar across networks and are not interchangeable. This is the step where the expensive mistake happens.
- Send a small amount first if uncertainIt pays the flat fee twice, which on a cheap chain is roughly ₦960 for the certainty. On an expensive one it is not worth it — read the list again instead.
Why the default is so often the expensive one
It is not a trick. The chains that cost the most to use are generally the oldest and most widely supported, so they are the safe default for an interface that has to work for everyone — and safe, here, means "most likely to be accepted at the other end", not "cheapest". The result is the same either way: the option pre-selected for you is frequently several hundred naira worse than one two rows below it.
| Older, busier chain | Lighter chain | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | dollars | cents |
| Acceptance at casinos | near universal | very good, not universal |
| Confirmation | slower when busy | quick |
| Usually the default | yes | no |
Which is why the accepted list comes first: a lighter chain is only a saving if the destination credits it, and that is a two-line check in the cashier.
One coin, several addresses
The same stablecoin has a different address on each network, and the addresses look similar enough to be pasted into the wrong field without anything appearing wrong. Nothing in the sending interface catches this reliably, because the address is structurally valid — it is simply valid somewhere else.
- Copy the address from the casino's cashier every time. Not from a note, not from a previous transfer, and never typed by hand.
- Confirm the network label matches on both screens. The withdrawal screen and the deposit screen should name the same network in the same words.
- Check the first and last characters after pasting. The single cheapest habit on this route.
Confirmation time, briefly
Networks differ in how long a transfer takes to confirm as well as what it costs, and casinos differ in how many confirmations they require before crediting. This site publishes no timing figures because it has measured none. What it will say is that the two are related: the cheap chains are generally the fast ones, so the decision rarely involves a trade-off between the two.
Nearby on this route
Three pages that pick up where this one stops: Why small deposits cost more, Keeping a record of the route, Guides.