BITCOINS AND ONLINE GAMBLING
This new and unique digital currency which gets more popular day by day is strongly related to online gambling because over half of the Bitcoin transactions are made through gambling sites. Could this mean that Bitcoin will revolutionize online gambling industry?
Most people know that Bitcoin is a digital currency which is only regulated by software and agreement of users, therefore no bank, organization, company or server is involved in the Bitcoin transactions between users. This has made Bitcoin into a currency that has a great potential of becoming a major payment method for gambling sites.
No top gambling company, such as Bet365, William Hill or BetVictor, has yet accepted this currency because it's somehow unstable and not so easy to use, but in the last few years a number of special gambling sites have been created where the focus is on Bitcoin transactions.
Probably one of the biggest is SatoshiDice, a website launched in 2012 that doesn't need any registration, special software client or any other requirement for bettors to start playing and placing bets. A person who wants to gamble their Bitcoins just needs to send their Bitcoins to the addresses listed on the SatoshiDice website - and the transaction is made instantly (the person sends their Bitcoins, SatoshiDice evaluates if it's a WON or LOST bet, then if it's the case - the winnings are sent instantly). For those who haven't use Bitcoins it may sound a bit weird, but in fact it's not so difficult if the terms & conditions are carefully read and respected.
Unlike other websites, SatoshiDice has attracted many players because of this easy and fast way of gambling. Sure, the game is basically like a dice game, so you don't have many options, you can't play casino games, poker or bet on sports, but even under these conditions, SatoshiDice has taken approximately $15 million in bets and become probably the best and popular Bitcoin gambling website.
For those who have Bitcoins and want to use them on normal gambling websites, similar to those which are currently very popular all over the world, there is good news: over 40 Bitcoin gambling websites exist!
o Poker: people can play poker with their Bitcoins on many websites, including BitsPoker
o Casino: most Bitcoin gambling websites are focused on casino games, including the most popular ones such as Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat, Craps. Some examples are BitBet, Satoshi's Roulette etc. Bc-casino even offers a software with over 100 casino games
o Lotteries: websites like bitpot luck, satoshi36 and many others accept gambling on lotteries
o Sports betting and predictions: btcoracle, predictious, nitrogensports are some of the sports betting websites where you can gamble your Bitcoins
The number of gambling websites created especially for Bitcoins transactions keeps on growing and there are high hopes that if this currency become stable, in a couple of years it could be a major force in the online gambling industry. Until then, it's very interesting to track the progress of the first digital currency ever created.
You may also want to read the following:
What to do with your bitcoins
Getting started with Bitcoin
Bitcoin - the first digital currency
