Pros and Cons of Gambling in Bitcoin Casinos
When the first cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin appeared, most people were skeptical about its potential. Today, no one can deny the increasing presence of cryptocurrencies in our world, as they’ve become almost as widely used for daily transactions as fiat currencies.
Apart from many products and services we can pay for using cryptos, this relatively new payment method has also entered the iGaming world. In recent years, many online casinos decided to add cryptocurrencies to their banking pages, and Bitcoin is always the one to break the ice.
Since this trend entered the online gaming community, there’s been an open debate on whether using Bitcoin for online casino payments is a good or a bad idea.
While there are many perks players can take advantage of with Bitcoin transactions, there are also a few disadvantages to consider. Read on to find out which side prevails!
What You’ll Get from Using Bitcoin in Online Casinos
As soon as online casinos realized that players like having cryptocurrencies as a payment option, some of them started integrating the pioneer, Bitcoin, into their platforms. Once it got accepted as a payment method in the first online casino, Bitcoin’s popularity only went up.
Anonymity and Security
The feature that helped Bitcoin reach enormous popularity on such short notice is the anonymity it guarantees its users. This is possible because Bitcoin, just like other cryptocurrencies, operates on a decentralized platform.
In other words, Bitcoin is not connected to banks or any other financial institutions. Instead, users keep their coins in special crypto wallets wholly separated from their bank accounts.
This is particularly useful when depositing money in online casinos as the only thing you need to share with the site is your cryptocurrency wallet address. In this way, you’re covered for both anonymity and security, as your personal details and bank account information remain safe and invisible to any third party.
Fast Transactions
While fiat currency transactions can take days, Bitcoin ones are, in most cases, instant precisely because no payment provider has a say in processing them. The only waiting period is the one imposed by the casino to verify your credentials. Once that is done, the money is sent to your crypto wallet immediately.
On average, Bitcoin transactions take between 10 minutes and several hours. Yet, even in the worst-case scenario, you won’t have to wait for your winnings longer than one day, which is still much faster than any fiat currency transaction.
Low Fees
Bitcoin transactions aren’t only safe and fast, but they also include very low fees, if any. Deposits are almost always free when using Bitcoin, while the cost of your withdrawal can vary depending on the casino you choose. The majority of gambling sites don’t charge anything for Bitcoin withdrawals, and the ones that do usually set a rather insignificant fee.
Special Bonuses and Promotions
Bitcoin users often get highly rewarded in most online casinos. Apart from the crypto welcome offer, many gambling sites create special bonuses and promotions for regular casino players who make Bitcoin deposits.
What is more, to activate crypto bonuses, players are usually required to deposit a smaller amount of money than what is necessary to trigger the standard offer. There are also some games and tournaments exclusively designed for Bitcoin players that other players can’t access.
On top of that, some recently-launched online gaming hubs decided to target cryptocurrency users only and come up with a promotional line-up entirely devoted to them.
Downsides of Bitcoin Transactions
Although Bitcoin has proven quite useful for online casino transactions, there are a few downsides players should be aware of.
Frequent Value Change
One issue with Bitcoin is the oscillation in its value that can occur every day. While the fluctuations are usually tiny, there have been times in the past when the price of Bitcoin dropped so much that it seriously damaged people’s liquidity.
Although this can be an advantage in cases when the price of 1BTC increases on the market, it can, likewise, be seen as a downside since players using it must pay close attention to the price change.
Not So Widely Accepted
Nowadays, Bitcoin is present in the iGaming industry more than ever. If an online casino supports cryptocurrency transactions, it will most definitely accept Bitcoin, while some well-known gambling sites accept other cryptos as well.
Nevertheless, there are still online casinos that don’t accept cryptocurrencies at all, and some aren’t interested in adding them to their banking pages in the future either. Therefore, if you’re interested in playing online casino games with Bitcoin, make sure that the site of your choice accepts cryptocurrency payments.
Should You Use Bitcoin for Online Gaming?
As you can see, the pros of using Bitcoin for online gaming purposes significantly outweigh the cons. Firstly, Bitcoin transactions protect your privacy since online casinos don’t get any other information except your crypto wallet address.
Additionally, Bitcoin transactions are much faster than fiat currency transactions because they don’t have to go through banks or other financial institutions. Withdrawal fees are also much lower for Bitcoin users, and most online casinos don’t even charge them.
On top of that, as the number of players who use Bitcoin for online casino transactions has been regularly increasing, gambling sites have created special cryptocurrency bonuses and promotions. This might serve as additional motivation for Bitcoin owners to use their cryptocurrency when gambling online instead of their local fiat currency.
However, players must consider the volatility of this cryptocurrency. Bitcoin’s value tends to change rapidly. That said, the value of fiat currencies is hardly set in stone either, so if you’re not worried about Bitcoin price oscillations, feel free to look for a casino that accepts it and start your online gaming journey right away.