A Beginners Guide to Betting with Bitcoin

I am occasionally asked about betting with Bitcoin, especially Bitcoin Casinos and Bitcoin Gambling. This article is a culmination of some of the important facts about these, mainly those related to betting with Bitcoins.

Bitcoin is popularly being used by millions of businesses and people all across the globe today. Since Bitcoin transactions do not involve investment companies and banks, they have much lower fees and faster processing times compared to other online payment methods. The popularity of Bitcoin has risen so exponentially that virtually every major company in the world seems to have accepted it as a valid form of currency in the past few years.

With traditional methods becoming more and more expensive, the gambling industry has constantly been looking for more innovative ways to manage payment processing. Bitcoin has proven to be an excellent candidate for proceeding with this venture. Today, many online gambling websites accept cryptocurrencies for payments. By using Bitcoin when gambling, you can protect your identity and deposit or withdraw funds anonymously.

In this article, I will introduce you to all the vital aspects of Bitcoin betting. I will also help you learn how to use Bitcoin and identify other relevant opportunities for using this cryptocurrency.

What exactly is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is essentially a form of cryptocurrency or virtual currency – a peer-to-peer payment system that allows people to make online purchases using electronic cash. It paves the way for transactions between two parties without any third party getting involved in between. The absence of government intervention has made Bitcoin all the more popular.

Learn more about Bitcoin here →

Bitcoin wallet

A Bitcoin wallet is a software program that serves as a storage facility for Bitcoin. Each Bitcoin possesses a secret number (private key) that corresponds to the Bitcoin address of that particular wallet. Bitcoin wallets provide ownership of the Bitcoin balance to the user.

If you’re interested in trading in Bitcoins, you must have an established crypto wallet. There are four primary kinds of crypto-wallets, which I have listed below:

1. Desktop wallets

Desktop wallets serve as an address for users to send and receive Bitcoins. You can install them on your desktop computer and gain complete control over the wallet, in addition to storing a private key. Examples of desktop wallets include Armory, Electrum, Bitcoin Core, Hive OS X, and MultiBit.

2. Web wallets

Web wallets are known for providing access to Bitcoins from any location imaginable. Whether you are working on a particular browser or a mobile device, a web wallet will serve you just fine. However, you must be prudent when choosing a web wallet because it stores your private keys on the internet.

3. Mobile wallets

Mobile wallets are quite similar to desktop wallets in terms of functionality. They’re generally compatible with either the Android or the iOS operating systems. They also facilitate payments in physical stores with the help of “touch-to-pay” and near field communication (NFC) scanning of QR codes. Common mobile wallets include Hive Android, Mycelium Bitcoin Wallet, and Bitcoin Wallet.

4. Hardware wallets

Finally, hardware wallets are arguably the most secure type of Bitcoin wallet presently available. They are more or less immune to viruses and store Bitcoins on physical equipment. However, unlike other Bitcoin wallets, they are not free to use. You’ll have to pay somewhere between $100 and $200 if you want to use a hardware wallet.

Types of Bitcoin casinos

As of now, there are two kinds of Bitcoin casinos that allow gambling using Bitcoins:

1. Bitcoin casinos

As their name suggests, Bitcoin casinos exclusively deal with Bitcoins. All deposits and withdrawals in these casinos are processed in Bitcoin, with Bitcoin credit being expressed in fractions of one Bitcoin (such as 0.0001 BTC, for example). Moreover, players are able to remain quite anonymous at these casinos.

2. Hybrid casinos

Hybrid casinos are more or less standard casinos, except that they accept Bitcoin withdrawals and deposits. Although you can deposit Bitcoins at these casinos, they are converted into traditional (fiat) currency before you can start playing. Rarely, some casinos allow players to withdraw their winnings in Bitcoins back to an online wallet.

Is Bitcoin gambling legal or not?

As of now, there aren’t any particular laws for the regulation of Bitcoin gambling. Since Bitcoin isn’t officially allowed or prohibited, you can legally deposit and withdraw winnings in this cryptocurrency. However, you need to be aware of some things as far as Bitcoin gambling regulation is concerned:

There are open discussions regarding the regulation of cryptocurrency and blockchain-based services across countries.
Casinos accepting Bitcoin have been issued licenses from certain reputable gambling jurisdictions, such as the UK and Curacao.
Existing regulations around fiat currency at online casinos is usually not applied to Bitcoin gambling websites.
Countries that are strictly against gambling may take strong action against Bitcoin gambling, in spite of its nearly non-existent regulation.
Most governments still don’t refer to Bitcoin as real currency. However, Bitcoin is swiftly losing its somewhat negative initial reputation and is getting accepted by more and more countries.

How to make online casino deposits using Bitcoin?

You can make deposits in Bitcoin by following the steps given below:

Create a new account at the Bitcoin-accepted casino of your choice.
Locate the “cashier” section of the casino and choose “Bitcoin” as your deposit method over there.
As soon as you complete the above step, you will receive a special web address for your account.
Insert the above address in your Bitcoin wallet (the tab for sending Bitcoins).
Enter the required amount and confirm the transaction.

In most casinos, you will have to wait just a few minutes before the funds become available to use. Nevertheless, you should be careful when choosing an online casino that allows Bitcoin deposits; do your research and go for one that fits your preferences the best.

Advantages of using Bitcoin in online gambling

Bitcoin has undoubtedly proven to be a very convenient form of currency for both Bitcoin gambling and online purchases. Some of the most prominent advantages of Bitcoin include the following:

Bitcoin is a very safe payment method. Since it is encrypted and backed with blockchain technology, theft of any kind is virtually impossible.
Bitcoin transactions are exceptionally transparent in nature; it is nearly impossible to scam, hack, or cheat them in any manner. Even experienced programmers will be hard pressed to find a way to fraud the Bitcoin system.
It involves minimal costs in transacting over the blockchain. In fact, it has a reputation of being a more or less cost-free transaction option.
Bitcoin transactions are nearly instantaneous; they usually take anything from a few seconds to a few hours at most. As of now, the longest Bitcoin transaction period known is 24 hours. On the other hand, traditional deposits and withdrawals can take up to a few days.
These transactions are completely anonymous and un-attributable. There’s no paper trail left behind on bank statements that confirms transactions. As a result, it is very useful for players who wish to be secretive about their online gambling ventures.

Bitcoin gambling bonuses and promotions

Many people don’t know that Bitcoin casinos tend to offer handsome promotions and bonuses, along with high-yielding Bitcoin games and benefits. Traditional casinos and other gambling platforms tend to offer around double the amount of bonuses for profits up to a few hundred dollars.

However, Bitcoin casinos extend awards ranging from 1 BTC to 5 BTC. In fact, the top Bitcoin casinos have a reputation for designing attractive promotions to attract people who are skeptical about Bitcoin to their gambling platforms.

Disadvantages of using Bitcoin in online gambling

Bitcoin, like every other currency out there, has its own disadvantages as well. These are the most important drawbacks of Bitcoin that you need to be aware about:

Despite its growing popularity, Bitcoin is still supported by a limited number of casinos on the market.
The legal status of Bitcoin is still uncertain. As a result, many countries are yet to approve of this cryptocurrency.
There have been come claims of Bitcoin withdrawals taking even longer than those using credit or debit cards. It has been observed to occur mostly with websites that manually process Bitcoin withdrawals due to security reasons.
Due to its highly volatile nature, Bitcoin might be much more expensive than traditional currencies. As a result, its results are somewhat risky.
Unlike fiat currency, Bitcoin presently offers no chargeback or refund policy.

Conclusion

It is quite safe to say that Bitcoin has a future. Bitcoin has been rapidly growing more popular than ever in both the fiat currency and cryptocurrency worlds. It is slowly but steadily becoming the currency of choice for many people. Although we still don’t know when exactly the Bitcoin regulatory framework will get defined further, we do know that all cryptocurrencies and their equivalents aren’t going to lose their place in online casinos anytime soon.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Always ensure that you comply with local laws and regulations regarding online betting. Gambling involves financial risk and is addictive. Please play responsibly and within your means. Seek help if you need support.