Bitcoin has come a long way since it was first envisioned in the late 2000’s. What started out as merely an interesting idea turned out into a global phenomenon that has shaken the foundations of the traditional money market. In fact, the Bitcoin phenomenon has produced a big number of brand new cryptocurrenices, as everyone seems interested in getting in on the crypto-game.
Although cryptocurrencies are starting to find their application in a number of online industries, it was the online gambling industry that was one of the first to pick up on Bitcoin, seeing not only their potential, but also the potential of the underlying blockchain technology.
Why are Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies Perfect for Online Gambling?
It wasn’t a coincidence that online sports betting, casino, and poker sites adopted Bitcoin quickly as a deposit and withdrawal method. The original cryptocurrency represented a kind of solution that was almost perfect for sites and players alike.
From the sites’ point of view, supporting Bitcoin meant they could avoid any local restrictions imposed on banks and other money processors. This was particularly the case with the United States, where the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 made it extremely difficult to get money on and off any gambling sites.
For the players, apart from all of these considerations, it was the pseudo-anonymity and safety of Bitcoin that made it an attractive option. While transactions towards online gaming sites may not be restricted in most countries, they often aren’t looked upon favorably by banks. With cryptocurrencies, people could make deposits and withdrawals without their personal banks interfering, which was a big game changer.
New Cryptocurrencies Entering the Online Gambling Space
Bitcoin may have been the first currency that propagated the idea of a decentralized payment system that didn’t depend on banks or any other institutions, but it didn’t take long for other similar cryptocurrencies to hit the market.
One of the things that made Bitcoin so popular initially was a unique combination of anonymity and transparency. What this means is that Bitcoin provides anonymity for careful users, but at the same time provides a complete history of all transactions ever made on the blockchain. This creates a potential problem of so-called “tainted” Bitcoins.
Solving Tainted Bitcoin
For example, someone can end up owning Bitcoins that were used in an illegal transaction at some point in time (say, purchasing illicit substances from the old Silk Road). This fact will forever remain logged in the blockchain history, creating a potential problem down the line and adversely influencing the value of these coins. This isn’t the case with the cash money, where one $100 bill is the same as another.
This property is known as fungibility in the financial circles. Traditional money is fungible, i.e. it is fully interchangeable. Tainted Bitcoins don’t have the same level of interchangeability, which is an issue that stems from the initially appealing idea of the full transparency of all transactions ever made.
Monero could be extremely attractive to the online gambling industry
Some of the new cryptocurrencies tried to tackle this specific problem, seeing it as their entry point to the market. One currency that especially stands out in this regard is Monero, which promises full anonymity and secrecy to all its users. There is no transaction trail for Monero, which means that no one can ever know where the cryptocurrency came from or what you bought with it.
Of course, Monero and other cryptocurrencies which offer this level of anonymity might be facing serious legal complications and blocks down the road, but that’s a topic for another time. Currently, their creators are trying to fill in market gaps and offer a solution they believe would increase the appeal for the users.
Gambling Operators Keeping Pace
Online gambling and poker sites are trying their best to keep up the pace with these quick developments in the market. While Bitcoins may be by far the most popular cryptocurrency of them all, options like Monero, Ether, Litecoin, Dash, Bitcoin Cash, and many others, have certain user bases. A new Ethereum-based cryptocurrency called Cash Poker Pro even aims to create an entire token-based platform for players. Offering more options means being attractive to more potential players, which is the ultimate goal for any gambling site.
America’s Cardroom, one of the few online poker sites accepting players from the United States, has been leading the way in this regard. As of recently, the site has started accepting a large number of cryptocurrencies. Alongside those already mentioned, America’s Cardroom also accepts Dogecoin, Funfair, Melon, Mastercoin, Maidsafecoin, Lisk, and more.
America’s Cardroom was one of the first sites to jump onto the Bitcoin wagon, which made perfect sense seeing how a large part of their target audience is located in the US, where gambling transactions are extremely complicated and quite slow.
The Future of Cryptocurrencies in Online Gambling
The popularity of cryptocurrencies has been on a sharp rise across the board with a special emphasis on the online gambling industry. More and more online casinos and poker sites are starting to allow their players to deposit in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
It’s hard to speculate on what the future holds here, especially because there’s been a strong movement to introduce improved regulatory measures for the online gaming industry. This is especially true in countries such as the United Kingdom, where the regulatory commission and the government have been working on new law proposals, marketing guidelines, and responsible online gambling stipulations.
These new laws might not play so well with the anonymity and secrecy of cryptocurrencies, so they could create a new set of problems for casinos wanting to operate in regulated markets. That said, it’s hard to imagine Bitcoin going anywhere but forward at this point in time after the huge growth in value and adoption we’ve witnessed over the last few years.
TheBitcoinNews.com – Bitcoin News source since June 2011 –
Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. TheBitcoinNews.com holds several Cryptocurrencies, and this information does NOT constitute investment advice or an offer to invest.
Everything on this website can be seen as Advertisment and most comes from Press Releases, TheBitcoinNews.com is is not responsible for any of the content of or from external sites and feeds. Sponsored posts are always flagged as this, guest posts, guest articles and PRs are most time but NOT always flagged as this. Expert opinions and Price predictions are not supported by us and comes up from 3th part websites.
Advertise with us : Advertise
Our Social Networks: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Youtube
