The popularity of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin peaked most especially in 2017 when a Bitcoin was valued at around 20,000 US dollars each. This made many people and industries shift their attention to the use of cryptocurrencies.
Although this only happened in 2017, Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies have been around for a few years now. In particular, Bitcoin has been circulating online since 2009. It was first values at less than a dollar and so it wasn’t as popular as it was now when it was first made available to the public.
Initially, Bitcoin was made for a rewarding process that’s called mining. The Bitcoin was mainly used for trading or to be exchanged for other currencies, products, and services. The first known commercial transaction with Bitcoin was for a pizza purchase with Papa John’s. This was soon followed by many other exchanges over the years.
Eventually, even the gambling or casino industry made use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. What’s known is that it was 2012 when Bitcoin gambling or gaming started. This was when SatoshiDice was released. With this, it was reported that there was a boost in Bitcoin transactions.
Since 2012, gambling transactions made with Bitcoin just kept growing. Many interpret this as how people prefer gambling online anonymously as this is one of the benefits of using Bitcoin and other altcoins out there.
In fact, in 213, reports have shown that bitcoin gambling accounted for over 50 percent of the Bitcoin transactions made.
The Bitcoin gambling industry is becoming more widespread as more and more online casinos like 24kcasino.com are starting to operate with it. There are even online casinos that only accept transactions made with cryptocurrencies.
Since 2014, it is reported that there has been a total of 4.5 billion US dollars that have been wagered with cryptocurrencies. It was also seen that Bitcoin gambling is on an upward trend and this is why there are people who’d see this as the future of online gambling.
Aside from anonymity, the use of cryptocurrencies in gambling has a lot more benefits for the players and the operators. For the operators, it is simpler, quicker, and cheaper to launch and run a Bitcoin casino. Usually, it takes 2 to 3 months for a traditional casino to launch, but Bitcoin casinos only take less than a month or 2 to 3 weeks.
It’s generally cheaper for online casino operators to transact with Bitcoin because of decentralization. The operators no longer need the services of third-party providers to process bank, credit, and debit card payments.
For players, aside from anonymity, the use of cryptocurrencies is simply convenient. Banks are strict when it comes to processing transactions that have something to do with gambling, and this is something that they no longer need to deal with as cryptocurrencies are decentralized. Transaction approvals are no longer necessary.
This also means that gambling offshore is made easier. Whether the players are playing on online casinos based offshore or they are traveling while gambling online, making gambling transactions with Bitcoin or other altcoins is usually processed in real-time.
It’s also typical that bitcoin casinos or online casinos that accept Bitcoin would offer better promos or deals to crypto users. Bitcoin gambling, despite its growth, is still in its early stages and so it just makes sense that Bitcoin casino operators are doing their best to lure in more crypto users.
The 4.5 billion US dollars of bets places with Bitcoin online equates to 24.5 Bitcoin transactions, according to the Bitcoin Strip. Statistics also show that people are placing around 337 bets per second with 3 BTC per minute.
The rise of cryptocurrencies can also be thanked for the growth of Bitcoin gambling. The number of active Bitcoin wallets still continues to increase and this could mean that eventually, there will be more people who would start playing at crypto-casinos.
Currently, running a Bitcoin casino is still illegal in the US. Most of the legally operating Bitcoin casinos are based outside the country. However, many crypto-gamblers are based in the US. If this continues or if the number of crypto-gamblers from the US continues to grow, it’s not impossible that the US will eventually regulate Bitcoin gambling.
The Bitcoin or cryptocurrency gambling industry is now taking shape and it won’t be long before the government will start to assess the situation regarding its legislation. Despite this, gambling with cryptos still seems to be the safest for gamblers out there. After all, they get to enjoy the anonymity of doing this.
