Crypto betting sites are not new in the industry. These have been around for some time that countries in the EU and some in Asia already have regulations for them. In the US, however, the legislation of such bookies remains in the grey area.
What’s only clear is that sports betting is already federally legal while online gambling, in general, isn’t exactly illegal in the US. Currently, there are already 20 states that have signed sports betting into law. This includes the states of New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, Illinois, and Tennessee.
The Federal Wire Act of 1961 has criminalized sports betting in the states outside Nevada including lotteries in the states of Delaware and Montana. This makes it impossible for people and businesses to make gambling-related transactions with banks.
The use of cryptos is not included in this, and this basically became a loophole that many are happy about. This makes online betting easier for many people in the US as they no longer have to deal with the hassle that banks would give them about their gambling transactions.
Online betting has now become the more preferred way for people to place their wagers as it’s simply convenient. In fact, the majority of the betting revenues in the US are from the mobile or online sector. More people are expected to gamble online with their mobile devices in the next few years too.
Now, some of the 20 states that already signed betting into law haven’t launched betting yet like in the states of Tennessee and Illinois. Some of these states also do not have online betting locally available like in the state of New York.
This means that the locals of these states and the states where betting isn’t legal yet will still have to place their bets on offshore online casinos whether they will be using cryptocurrencies or not. Now, is it safe to use cryptos on offshore-based online casinos?
Absolutely! You still have to do your part as a responsible gambler, however, as you’ll need to check which casinos are reputable and safe. This is why you need to frequent casino and bookie review sites like EfirBet, which has a great review of Betfair that you can check.
There are already betting sites that are only offering their services to crypto users with great promos and bonuses, but it’s also important to point out that many online betting and casino sites would prefer accepting cryptocurrencies and there are a few good reasons behind this.
Transactions with cryptos are generally faster. These payments can be processed faster than traditional payment options like with credit and debit cards because it is decentralized. Typically, account deposits using cryptos would only take a few minutes to process.
This is also the same when it comes to withdrawing your winnings or balance. Payouts are deposited directly to your crypto wallet as soon as the withdrawal request is reviewed and verified by the blockchain’s miners.
It’s also noticeable that Bitcoin casinos and betting sites have better bonuses and promos available. This is because a casino or betting site that transacts with cryptos generally operate with lower costs. They usually don’t need to pay for third-party services to process credit or debit card payments.
The players have other reasons as to why they prefer the use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and altcoins like Ethereum, Litecoin, and DogeCoin. One of these is how safe and secure crypto transactions make them feel. They can basically switch from one betting platform to another without the need to disclose their banking information every time they make a deposit.
This kind of gives them anonymity when it comes to gambling. However, know that there are online casinos that are obliged to ask for personal information to make sure that they are only dealing with adults. In the UK, for example, online casinos are required to ask personal details to ensure that no minors will be exposed to online gambling activities.
Overall, sports betting with cryptocurrencies in the US isn’t as popular as many have hoped it to be just yet. Still, many see that this will be the preferred way to make deposits in the future. Cryptocurrencies may not be making as much noise as it used to a few years ago, but experts still see that it could still reach another peak in the near future.
This would mean that more people will be curious about cryptos again. That will then lead to more businesses or more bookies that would embrace cryptos as a payment method.