With the rise Bitcoin and other prominent cryptocurrencies, online gambling websites have sprouted up around these communities. Websites such as bitZino, SatoshiBet and SealsWithClubs specialize in the use of cryptocurrencies while gambling online.
The trade of the cryptocurrency is an animal within itself. Bitcoin has experienced a wild up and down ride as the currency currently floats between the $200 and $300 per BTC amount at the time of the writing of this article. BTC is highly volatile as it once was being traded under $10 per BTC. Bitcoin’s highest trade happened in the $1100+ per BTC ranges.
So the question still looms for many consumers, is using Bitcoin to wager online a safe bet? To begin betting with Bitcoin, one must acquire Bitcoin. You can get a Bitcoin wallet from Coinbase.com. This will allow you to have an address to store your Bitcoin balance. You can then acquire BTC from one of many providers. Some who like to use PayPal to buy BTC use LocalBitcoins.com. Other BTC exchanges exist should you want to use a credit card to buy bitcoins or use a cash transfer service such as Western Union or MoneyGram to buy BTC.
The Pros and Cons of BTC Betting Websites
When you sign up for at a bitcoin sportsbook, you can realistically bet on sporting events, online casinos games, poker and other betting propositions knowing that you are doing so with complete anonymity. This can be advantageous should you need to conceal your identity. Since online gambling laws are somewhat murky in some areas of the world, betting with BTC introduces a new dynamic in the sense that if a country can’t regulate an underground currency, how can they regulate what people do with that currency?
The cons of BTC betting are obvious in the sense that betting with Bitcoin means that you are essentially trusting an unknown and potentially unlicensed vendor with your money. Given that there is no paper trail with BTC, you are placing a lot of trust into your Bitcoin sportsbook to not rip you off. You should always conduct thorough research on any Bitcoin betting website to ensure that others aren’t reporting being ripped off by the client. With Bitcoin, you should ways conduct as much due diligence as you feel is necessary in order to make a good decision on where to invest your money. With Bitcoin, there is little to no laws on the books regarding its use. You must use cryptocurrencies at your own risk when using them to wager online.
Why Choose a Bitcoin Betting Website Over a Traditional Sportsbook
One of the easiest ways to make money online is by betting on sports. If you know what you’re doing, you can sometimes find lines that are favorable considering the knowledge you have acquired on the specific event. Bitcoin websites often republish the odds of major sports books but some BTC websites will post odds and lines that differ from what other sportsbooks are publishing. If you are able to jump on these small edges, the difference could be significant at the end of the year when you begin calculating all of your winnings.
Bitcoin also offers you a quick, easy and anonymous way of cashing out without any sort of paper trail. Think about this, when you visit a sports book in Las Vegas, you have the potential to be seen in public. When you bet on sports online using funds from your credit card, you are doing so knowing that there is a possibility that someone could look at your bank statement and trace that transaction back to a sports betting website.
Bitcoin is Truly Anonymous
When you transfer your cash into BTC, no one is aware of what you’ve actually done once that money has been moved into BTC. That’s what makes Bitcoin betting so powerful; without a paper trail, you can remain discreet about what you are doing in your free time. Depending upon your profession or your affiliations within your community, you may want to keep it a secret that you enjoy gambling within the privacy of your own home. With Bitcoin, the money departs from you with no paper trail and it arrives to you with no paper trail.