Bitcoin gambling has been one of the trendiest buzzwords in the last couple of years in the online gambling industry. The increased popularity of online gambling and mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrency has caused many people to have various ideas on how to combine these two trends. The most successful one so far is bitcoin casinos, which seem to be popping up like proverbial mushrooms after the rain.
Not only do most online casinos accept digital coins as a means of payment, but there are dedicated bitcoin casinos that only deal with digital coins. Many agree that this is a natural development and that in the future we will see more of this phenomenon. Others, however, claim that this is only a passing trend and a short-lived one at that. Deciding whether bitcoin gambling is a good business investment in 2021 will require listening to both sides.
Bitcoin Origins
In the now distant past, in 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto published a white paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”, explaining what bitcoin is and how it functions. To this day, Satoshi’s identity remains a mystery. The birth of the world’s first digital currency went largely unnoticed by the general population, apart from a handful of cryptology experts.
Less than ten years later, when bitcoin reached its highest value (by then) of more than $20,000, everybody knew about it. Since then, it has had its ups and downs, but it is still going strong, attracting millions, if not billions, in investments from various groups and individuals. More importantly, it has spurred a veritable flood of other digital coins, and today we can choose from more than 4,000 different cryptocurrencies available on the market.
What is Bitcoin Gambling
Bitcoin gambling is a term coined to describe the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in online gambling. The basic principle is the same as with any other currency in terms of making deposits and withdrawing your winnings.
However, the use of crypto has other benefits for both casinos and players, which is why bitcoin gambling is so popular these days. First, there is a reduced cost to all transactions. Banking fees can quickly add up and eat up a significant portion of your money transfer to and from a casino. Blockchain transactions are much cheaper.
The second benefit is the speed of transactions. Transferring money to your credit card or bank account can take days to clear, with your money stuck in a banking limbo and you can’t access it. With bitcoin, transactions are almost instantaneous and you can use your funds almost immediately. Most of the delays are caused by strict anti-money laundering regulations many countries have adopted. Finally, blockchain transactions are transparent and casinos can no longer claim they have made fake payments.
What You Need to Know About Bitcoin Gambling
While bitcoin gambling functions similarly to gambling with traditional currencies, there are some peculiarities that you need to know about. First, you will need some bitcoin. You can get it on any of the crypto exchanges online, just make sure you compare the rates. Most of them will accept a credit card payment for your bitcoin purchase.
Once bitcoin is on your account, you will need a wallet to store it. Again, there are plenty of online solutions to choose from. We won’t make any recommendations, but you can find plenty of online reviews to help you decide which one is the best for you. Your wallet will have a unique hash address you can use to transfer bitcoin from your exchange account to it.
Now you need to log in to your bitcoin casino account and go to the deposit page, which is usually under the My Account tab. There you will see various options for making a deposit. Choose bitcoin and you will get another hash address you need to input in your bitcoin wallet.
The transaction will be almost instant and you will be able to use your funds almost immediately. Make sure you are eligible for any deposit or matching bonus the casino has to offer, as it can double the size of your deposit and allow you to play longer. Withdrawals function in the same way, you just enter your wallet’s hash address instead of your card number and soon your winnings will be at your disposal.
Bitcoin Gambling Investment
People often confuse gambling with investment, especially in online gambling. Needless to say, the two aren’t really comparable and shouldn’t be used interchangeably.
One thing that confuses some is that bitcoin investing is often described as gambling. The price of bitcoin can change dramatically over a very short span of time and is often inexplicable, so it is no wonder many experts describe such investments as gambling.
Then again, the same could be said about Wall Street investment as well. One beef critics have with bitcoin investments is that the mechanism that causes sudden changes in value isn’t always clear or transparent, which creates suspicions of market manipulation by shadowy investors. That being said, investing in bitcoin gambling isn’t the same as investing in bitcoin. In the former case, you are not investing in a currency, but in companies that use a specific business model and aren’t really tied to the rise or fall in the bitcoin value.
As such, it should be considered as regular investing and judged on those merits alone. The only important metric is whether a company is creating profit or not. And as far as bitcoin gambling is considered, all signs point that it is here to stay and that it will only grow bigger. Perhaps that means that 2021 is a great year for bitcoin gambling investment, as you have a chance to get into it on the ground floor.
