Since Bitcoin came to life in 2009, the cryptocurrency market has penetrated different industries, including gambling, over the last decade. Today, bitcoin gambling is gaining popularity over the internet, with several crypto bookies rivaling traditional online casinos and bookmakers.

Bitcoin casinos have taken the online gambling world by a storm for anonymity and convenience amid the growing gambling regulations around the globe. Some of these casinos have also embraced more cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, litecoin, and dogecoin. As a result, bitcoin casinos have continued soaring in popularity, making many believe that it has a crucial place in the future of online gambling.

The Rise of Bitcoin Casinos

While bitcoin was launched as a digital currency in 2009, it only hit the online casino realm in 2011 when a poker gaming site introduced it as a method to process transactions. ShapeShift founder Erik Voorhees later launched Satoshi Dice in 2012, which accounted for half of all bitcoin transactions online at the time. However, Erik later sold it anonymously.

In 2013, bitcoin gambling accounted for 50% of all BTC transactions on the internet, contributing to the crypto market’s growth. Today, bitcoin punters have wagered over $5 billion in BTC since 2014, and the market is still on an upward trajectory. That begs the question: why are bitcoin casinos on an upward trajectory and the influence that BTC has on the gambling market’s future.

Why Bitcoin Casinos are Gaining Popularity

Since the humble days of Satoshi Dice casino games, bitcoin gambling has ground in bounds and leaps for several good reasons.

• Privacy Considerations

To better understand how BTC affects privacy considerations, it’s crucial to understand what’s bitcoin. BTC works in a fully decentralized blockchain system where value is transferred from one node to another. The transactions remain anonymous, secure, and away from other third parties, everything every modern gambler is looking for on the internet.

The anonymity of bitcoin casinos is the major reason why people are choosing them. Think of it like having the Vegas casino experience or a traditional online gambling experience without relinquishing sensitive personal information.

• Helps To Avoid Location-Based Restrictions

While several jurisdictions are opening their doors to gambling sites, some governments are still restricting such activities in different countries. Fortunately, bitcoin gambling helps to avoid regulatory constraints imposed by governments that frown at betting activities. That’s because bitcoin casinos accept players from all over the world as BTC facilitates fast borderless payments.

By definition, it means you shouldn’t have any issues placing a wager from Ghana, Saskatchewan, Bahrain, or British Guyana. That’s unlike in normal online casinos that may be restricted from operating in a certain country.

• Bitcoin’s Value

If you’ve heard about BTC, you must know that its price keeps soaring. This digital currency has shown a tremendous growth rate while still at its infancy stage, rising from $1 in 2008 to around $13 292 in 2020.

Due to its value, people’s interest in getting hold of more bitcoins is reaching fever-pitch levels, and playing casino games seems like a fun way to do it. As a result, more crypto enthusiasts are using their mined or bought BTC to wager.

• Transparent Payments

Bitcoin was the blockchain’s flagship cryptocurrency, promising transparency more than traditional ways of transferring money through third parties. The blockchain records all transactions made in a public ledger, verifiable by anyone connected to the internet. That means any transaction sent from one address to another is verifiable.

Transparency is critical in gambling, as many punters want to have total control of their money. For instance, if you withdraw your winnings into your bitcoin account and never receive it, it would be easy to prove to the casino that you never got your money without involving other third parties like banks.

• Provably fair options

Compared to fiat currency gambling, bitcoin casinos are known to be more transparent. This transparency goes beyond simple transactions, as many games played using bitcoins boast of a provably fair algorithm. 

Are Bitcoin Casinos the Future?

With its privacy, fast payments, and security, it’s easy to see why bitcoin casinos will continue evolving and gaining popularity in the coming years. Despite these digital currencies not being accepted by various people as legal tenders, experts predict that bitcoin casinos won’t lose their market relevance in the next five years.

Bitcoin will also continue winning the trust of many people worldwide, as its value continues to rise gradually. In 2021, many bitcoin casinos will continue expanding to new markets, focusing on Asian countries. The prevalence of cutting-edge gaming technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality are also expected to take bitcoin casinos to the next level. 

That shows that bitcoin gambling has solidified its place in the next decade’s online gambling market, though traditional betting sites will continue growing stronger.