Cryptocurrencies are revolutionizing the online gambling industry. A few years ago, very few online casinos took Bitcoin very seriously. Today, the cryptocurrency is transforming the global economy. Meanwhile, an increasing amount of online gambling companies like CasinoFootball are accepting digital currency.
Some online casinos like btcgosu.com are uniquely accept cryptocurrency; these are called Bitcoin casinos. While there are many benefits for the player when it comes to this payment option, it can still be a hassle for developers.
Bitcoin has the potential to guide the future of online casino gaming, but there are still a few issues yet to be resolved. In this article, we will discuss the history, benefits, and potential of a future relationship between betting sites and Bitcoin.
A Brief History
The best way to predict the future is to understand the past, to provide a fuller analysis of the potential of online casinos and Bitcoins.
Online Casinos
Antigua and Barbuda passed their Free Trade & Processing Act. This legislation allowed organizations to start opening online casinos, and in 1994 the first one was launched. Only twelve years later, the online gambling market had generated more than $21 billion in revenue.
Even in the past decade, the way that we can interact with online casino gaming has changed completely. Gameplay and bank transactions are now faster and more convenient than ever. One of the essential shifts in this market was the evolution of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
A Currency Revolution
In 2009, Bitcoin made its appearance in the market as the first decentralized digital currency. At the time of its inception, the value of 1 BTC was far less than $1. Over the next eight years, that same coin would have grown be worth $20,000, at its peak.
If someone bought a $100 investment in Bitcoin in 2010, you could have turned that into $2 million a decade later. Some people made millions of dollars from their initial investment in the currency.
What has enabled Bitcoin to be so lucrative for some is also the thing that makes it so risky for web-based services like online gambling sites. As of today, this currency is still highly volatile.
Benefits of Bitcoin
In the U.S, some states are now even accepting Bitcoin as a tax payment.
Security and Control Over Your Money
Bitcoin transactions are all secured by state-of-the-art encryption, similar to that which is used for government and military transactions.
Low or No Fees
One reason the Bitcoin network has been so popular among online casinos is that transactions can be completely free. Players have the option to speed up any transactions by paying a small fee.
Fast Payments
With Bitcoin, players can make transfers across the world in as little as 10 minutes.
Fully Decentralized
Unlike banks and credit cards, Bitcoin is entirely open-source. The currency is not owned or regulated by anyone. A community of developers maintains the network and ensures that all transactions are immutable and confirmed once payment is made.
BitCoin & Casinos
For a while, Bitcoin complicated business for online gambling companies. When the currency first appeared, casinos were not ready to accept it as a form of payment because of licensing issues.
Some online casinos offered only Bitcoin as a payment method for a while, and they did not earn much attention. Many software developers considered it a fad and did not make moves to develop compatible systems.
Once Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies started making the headlines of major news outlets, their value skyrocketed. At this point, everyone wanted to get involved. As soon as significant retailers started to accept this payment, casino software developers jumped on the opportunity.
Today we have online casinos that exclusively accept Bitcoin as payment. Most online casinos allow players to use crypto-currencies as well as the more standard forms of payment like bank transfers and credit cards.
US-Based Online Casinos
In 2006, the US Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA). This legislation did not outlaw online gambling itself. It made it illegal for banks or other financial institutions to process payments, withdrawals, and deposits.
With these added barriers to the US market, many online gambling companies pulled out of the country and refused to accept U.S. customers.
Bitcoin is especially helpful for American gamblers and operators. It has provided more choices of where to gamble. Before, deposits and withdrawals could take a few days to be authorized. Since Bitcoin is not regulated or controlled, gambling sites in the US can process transactions much faster and more easily.
The Future?
The future is bright for cryptocurrencies, and they are likely to play a significant role in the global economy of the future. As these coins increase in popularity amongst the mainstream, they will increase in influence in the gambling industry.
We think that soon, all major online casinos and sports betting sites are going to switch to Bitcoin. There are a few things that need to change before a complete transition, however.
Right now, most companies do not want to deal with the hassle that comes along with accepting Bitcoin. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are still very unstable. If you wonder why it is so difficult, consider what they will have to deal with. Casinos will be taking a payment method that could devalue before it is ever processed.
For cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to be accepted as a universal payment method for online casinos, they will need to become more stable. Although the general trend of Bitcoin’s value has been upwards, there have been some disconcerting fluctuations over the past few years.
The Verdict
While Bitcoin remains so unstable, it is undoubtedly the most well-considered digital currency of our decade. The gambling world has been influenced in many ways by the emergence of this open-source, blockchain-based, cryptocurrency.
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