While the Bitcoin survival debate still rages on, amidst massive price shifts in the world’s original cryptocurrency, one sector that is going all-in on cryptos and raking in the benefits of digital coin adoption is internet betting/gaming. The initial Bitcoin gambling sites appeared in 2011 as provably fair dice ones. Three years following the inception of the crypto gaming sphere, the first sets of licensed platforms showed up on the Web. Today, hundreds of Bitcoin casinos that accept USA players exist, offering perks that fiat-centric sites cannot match.
Betting on sports and casino-style games with cryptocurrencies is all the rage now. In 2016 the UK Gambling Commission recognized this looming trend and decided to make cryptos a fiat money equivalent. That is something that several other international online gaming regulators have done, and many more have announced plans for getting with the times. Hence, betting with virtual money on events/games with uncertain outcomes should sky-rocket in the years to come. Thus, below, we present a brief guide for parties interested in exploring this hobby. These are merely a few concise steps on how casino/betting enthusiasts can start testing their luck using Bitcoins.
The Best Bitcoin Casinos
As mentioned above, these days, the Bitcoin casino list is vast. So, for most Bitcoin gambling newbies, it can be undoubtedly hard to suss out trustworthy crypto platforms. These are ones with excellent track records of always paying out wins and sites that only host fairness-tested products. To help inexperienced online gamblers with such struggles, here are what many veteran players consider the best three Bitcoin casinos active right now:
- Wild Casino – Launched in 2017, Wild is a Panama-based site with a simple design, an extensive library of games, and a Bitcoin welcome package that can yield the equivalent of $9,000 in digital coins. It is a five deposit deal that comes with a 35x wagering requirement.
- Las Atlantis – Here is a 2020 gaming hub that offers fee-free withdrawals, nearly one hundred and fifty slots, and a registration bonus that can supply up to $14,000 in gambling cash.
- Super Slots – Staying true to its name, Super Slots is a platform boasting a jaw-dropping collection of high-end slots. It boasts an on-point website organization and a crypto sign-up deal that provides up to $4,000 in gaming funds through a 400% match.
To check out more Bitcoin casinos, visit premium interactive gaming review hubs that assess sites from this gambling platform category.
How to Deposit & Withdrawal Funds at Bitcoin Sites
Despite popular belief, using Bitcoins as a viable transaction method at gambling sites is super simple. Naturally, a player first must have a crypto wallet where he can store his digital funds. Quality choices are Electrum, Exodus, Mycelium, and the Coinbase wallet. Converting fiat money to cryptos is possible on the following exchanges, Kraken, Binance, Coinbase, Gemini, and Crypto.com.
After a gambler has his crypto wallet funded with coins, the next step is fueling his Bitcoin gaming balance. Here are the steps to deposit:
- Head to the cashier tab, usually accessible through a button in the top navigation bar.
- Select the deposit option.
- Pick Bitcoin as the desired payment method.
- Copy the casino’s wallet address or scan the presented QR code.
- Send a specific amount of coins to the chosen gambling operator.
- Confirm that the transfer went through.
The withdrawal procedure is similar to the deposit one. It consists of these steps:
- Again, open the cashier tab.
- Choose the withdrawal option.
- Select Bitcoin as the preferred transaction pick.
- Input a wallet address to which the requested funds should get sent.
- Verify the transfer.
- Check to see if the asked-for funds landed in the designated crypto wallet.
That is about all one should know about cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals at gambling sites, with the caveat that some platforms will ask users to complete an identity verification process known as a KYC procedure before they process their first withdrawal. That is mandatory in most cases. Not going through with this operation will probably result in account closure.
The Advantages/Disadvantages of Using Bitcoin Casinos
The primary negative of using Bitcoin for gambling is that, like all other cryptocurrencies, it can be volatile. That means its value can be at one point at the start of the day and significantly jump/drop in a matter of hours. Dramatic price shifts can cause gamblers to lose money by just keeping Bitcoins in their casino balances.
The benefits of using Bitcoin for gaming fun are that it is not subject to inflation, wins may not get taxed, transactions are fast, and fees are low. On some platforms, players can remain anonymous when betting, with no one being privy to how much they are winning or losing.
Scam Bitcoin Casinos
Despite popular belief, most Bitcoin casinos get subjected to some regulatory oversight. They also are likely to have a gaming license. Attaining approval from a trustworthy licensing body means that the licensee has completed a set of predefined measures that ensure that its management team has no criminal record. And it has enough financial stability to operate in this sector. Liquidity is a massive issue in the online gambling industry. Any player can hit a sizeable jackpot out of nowhere, causing an online operator to payout a prize worth thousands of dollars or even one worth millions. Of course, in this case, in Bitcoins. Consequently, an operator must prove that he has a specific amount of funds on hand and guarantee, in some way, that he can cash out most potential rewards.
Usually, Bitcoin casinos either boast regulatory approval from a Curacao master license holder such as Antillephone N.V. and Gaming Curacao or Panama’s Gaming Control Board. That said, multiple crypto gambling websites have no license whatsoever. They merely state that they have based their operations in Curacao. Yet, they do not have a licensor’s badge in the homepage footer, a regulator’s logo that links back to an approval validator that lists that site’s current licensing status.
Furthermore, there are famous Bitcoin sites with no license, but they have decent industry standing. These platforms only host simple, fair products such as crypto dice, Plinko, and Crash, focusing on niche hard-core crypto gamblers. By far, the best method to weed out shady operators from legit ones is to look up any considered site on an online casino review hub and see what these sector auditors have to say about the dependability of said platform. Scanning gambling message boards and social media groups is another quality approach for Bitcoin casino selection.
Signs of a scam gambling site include:
- History of lack of payment to players.
- No regulation.
- False advertising.
- Uncompletable bonus stipulations.
- Predatory general terms and conditions.
- No dispute resolution procedures.
- Rumblings of rigged games.
- Negative user reviews.
Are They Legal in the USA?
It is hard to see a consistent legal approach at the state level regarding Bitcoin. Nonetheless, the US is slowly continuing to develop federal cryptocurrency legislation. What all readers should know about Bitcoin is that it is not legal tender in the US. Though, at the time of writing, the IRS views all virtual currencies and crypto assets as property. That means that holding and trading digital coins is legal. Cryptocurrency exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken fall under the regulatory scope of BSA or the Bank Secrecy Act. Accordingly, any such service must get registered with FinCEN and implement a CFT/AML program. Anti-money-laundering (AML) policies are too very prominent in the interactive gaming sector. They mandate that operators maintain appropriate user records, which they can, and do, submit to authorities, such as financial institutions and law enforcement. The data transferred can contain personal info concerning players’ addresses, their monetary transaction history, locations of access, and more.
With everything stated above, US territories that allow online casinos to get operated by business entities headquartered on their soil, which their residents can access, do not allow Bitcoin gaming. That is a discrete stance taken by these states’ regulatory bodies. For example, The Division of Gambling Enforcement of New Jersey State clearly outlines that it can only license internet casino platforms that use federally regulated currencies. Though, as elaborated above, that is not a position that most foreign regulators take. Furthermore, no state or federal US law outright forbids US citizens from exploring and playing at offshore sites that offer interactive gaming, including ones that accept Bitcoins.
While there may not be any US-based legit Bitcoin gambling platforms, there are hundreds of foreign ones that will gladly accept US players. We mentioned three in this article. Some even go so far as to facilitate fiat to crypto conversion for users through dedicated interfaces that use software exchange solutions powered by brands like MoonPay. The option makes it super simple for anyone to buy Bitcoin with USD and begin testing their luck with virtual money.
No Deposit Bonuses
What are no deposit bonuses? They are the crown jewel of online gambling, the most enticing player allure in this sphere. In short, a no deposit bonus is a casino promotion that gives away free gaming funds with nothing in return. All gamblers need to do to claim this sort of deal is create an account with a Bitcoin casino that supplies it. After completing this action, they will receive a specific amount of free-play funds or some complimentary reel rotations on a given game.
It is vital to point out that free spins and on-the-house gambling cash will likely only be available to get utilized on pre-designated products. These will probably be high variance slots. Those are reel-spinning games with sizeable looming prizes, but ones they will rarely produce, ones in every few thousand spins/hands. More importantly. Because they feature a high variance setting, they will seldom churn out smaller wins. Thus, they are only suitable for those who like to chase massive wins on titles that boast substantial winning odds. While high variance slots are not jackpot games, they can yield rewards comparable to some reel-spinners that get advertised as ones.
It is crucial to remember that even though no deposit bonuses produce something for nothing, these promos are not stipulation-free. On the contrary, most Bitcoin casinos attach a wagering requirement to them. They have a set deadline too. A timeframe in which this condition must get met. If it does not get fulfilled in the allotted period, all funds accumulated as a result of a no deposit bonus will not get paid out to winning players. As a rule of thumb, no deposit bonuses list wagering requirements that are much lower than traditional deposit matches but have shorter deadlines. Also, the free-play amounts supplied via these bonuses hardly ever surpass the $100-mark. It is more likely that they will be in the $20 to $40 range.
Things to look out for when considering a no deposit bonus include:
- Wagering requirement.
- Game contribution.
- Max bet option.
- Banking methods allowed.
- Game accessibility.
Mobile Bitcoin Casinos
Online gamblers will be hard-pressed to find a Bitcoin casino nowadays that does not have a mobile version accessible through a smartphone. Some even go so far as to list a downloadable app for iOS and Android devices. In the past, dedicated mobile software was a remote play necessity due to the super-fast load times and seamless smartphone gameplay it provided. Nevertheless, that is no longer the case.
Thanks to advancements in HTML5 technology, mobile browser gameplay is almost as smooth as the desktop one. Not only that but virtually all the gaming products found in Bitcoin casino lobbies now get allowed for remote play, including live dealer ones. And all the promotions these sites offer are also claimable by those who wish to gamble from any place at any time.
Chat rain, free faucet coins, staking dividends, and reload matches can get snagged by remote Bitcoin gamblers, and the same goes for loyalty (VIP) perks delivered by Bitcoin gaming platforms.
This article was written in collaboration with online gambling analysts.