Bitcoin and its impact on the Gambling world

A general overview of Bitcoin

Bitcoin was set up in 2009 and is the most popular cryptocurrency on the market today. The Company was created with the objective to provide a new form of currency that requires no middle men, this eliminating the need for banks. Bitcoins can be used just like regular currency and can pay for a range of products/services such as buying hotels on Expedia and of course online gambling. So, Bitcoin is clearly a viable currency to use and has great potential for the future of businesses. One Bitcoin was priced at $0.08 in July 2010 before it became well known and todays rate for one bitcoin is as much as $15,880.

Whilst bitcoins price may continue to fluctuate it is certainly becoming ever more popular in the Market. This due to a range of benefits that bitcoins offer its users, for example international payments are easy and often cheaper as bitcoin is not tied to any country or subjected to regulation. Additionally, there isn’t any credit card fees when using Bitcoin and they can be used anonymously.

Bitcoin's impact on Operators

There are many different factors we could attribute to the successful growth of Bitcoin. Although the free slots gambling world is certainly an industry that has had one of the most significant impacts on the new currencies popularity. In 2015, Las Vegas casinos began to accept Bitcoin for smaller purchases and now use it as an acceptable payment option. Moreover, in the current Online Slot market we can see many more developers introducing Bitcoin payments. The Online Gambling industry has been cluttered with long withdrawal times due to the use of banks as middlemen. This lead to Bitcoin redefining the whole process with an excellent solution, they simply cut out the need for middlemen providing users with immediate withdrawals and deposits, relieving the stress of players having to manage their bank payments due to slow withdrawal times.

Furthermore, Bitcoin boasts a diverse range of benefits for all stakeholders of online gambling; players, affiliates and gaming operators. This being why we can see a growth in the amount of gambling websites that host Bitcoin being launched and having success. Below you can see some of the benefits of Bitcoin for operators:

Whilst most people recognise Bitcoin as a form of currency the vast majority of countries including the US and UK. This has huge benefits to operators as it means there isn’t a need for a license or to apply for one when using Bitcoin as the currency. In addition, setting up with a Bitcoin Business is much simpler in terms of market, operation expenses, setup costs and time.
Operators regularly fear their players charging back on transactions. However, Bitcoin has eliminated this and made their transactions non-reversible, with all deposits and withdrawals considered as final.
With Bitcoin both operators and players can benefit from no transaction fees. This results in operators negating the fees and so being able to offer larger payouts and better odds than usual.
Operators can benefit from a large potential pool of players as Bitcoin has such a large reach, anyone can use it anywhere, all that you need is an internet connection which players are clearly going to have access to, after all they are playing online games. Bitcoin casinos can also ride on the popularity of Bitcoin, as people become more interested with the new currency operators can draw in this crowd with Bitcoin specific Casinos.

Bitcoins impact on Gamers

Moreover, there is also an abundance of benefits that using Bitcoin for Online gaming can have for the actual players. Below is a list of just a few of many beneficial reasons as to why players are interested in using Bitcoin when Gambling:

Bitcoin was created online as a purely digital currency making it perfect for online gaming platforms. This differs from traditional credit and debit cards that weren’t designed primarily for online, but people have been forced to put up with their ineffectiveness prior to Bitcoin.
Users of Bitcoin can of course benefit from instant payments, your regular bank payments can take up to 5 business days or even longer for international. This can leave players late to make other general payments such as rent and bills as they are forced to wait for their withdrawals to enter the bank. Whereas those using Bitcoin can instantly receive their winnings.
Additionally, it is just as cost effective for players as it is operators. Just like operators they benefit from no transaction fees, but this is just a small amount for the players when you include the other associated costs of credit card or bank payments that usually take a big percentage cut as a service fee. So, by using Bitcoin players can benefit from keeping more of their actual winnings and no credit card fees.
Bitcoin allows its users a great degree of privacy, this has significant benefits specifically for the gambling industry due to the negative social stigma that many people attach to gamblers. This means casual gamblers a have fun without the fear of being judged.
The Security of Bitcoin is possibly the best of all digital currencies on the market if its stored correctly. If you protect private keys with strong passwords and keep your coins away from online wallets, you’ll probably never have to worry about anyone stealing your money. Now compare this to credit cards or PayPal which is stored on the gambling websites which could be at risk of getting hacked.

The Bitcoin Verdict

Bitcoin is still a relatively new concept but the benefits of it are clearly visible and has successfully exploited a gap in the market where there is a demand for a digital currency that doesn’t use middlemen. Cutting out the middleman has provided great benefits to lowering costs and instant transactions. Moreover, the fact Bitcoin is a digital currency means it has been able to create solutions to problems banks haven’t been able, whilst also providing top of the range security and privacy.