Bitcoin, often hailed as the digital gold of the 21st century, has made its mark in various sectors, and online gambling is no exception.
As the world becomes increasingly digital, more people are looking for new and innovative ways to spend their digital currency.
JACKPOTJOY OFFER
PLAY £10 GET £50 OF FREE BINGO OR GET 30 FREE SPINS
Click for full Rules. New members only, must opt in. Min £10 deposit & wager. 30 day expiry from deposit. 18+. Free Spins: on Double Bubble. 1p coin size, max lines. Bingo: Advertised ticket value based on £1 tickets. Game availability & restrictions apply. 18+ begambleaware.org. #ad. Please bet responsibly.
Enter the realm of online gambling, where Bitcoin provides an easy, secure, and often advantageous way to play.
So if you want to know how to use Bitcoin for online gambling and dip your virtual toes into the world of betting you’re in the right place.
Few people want to risk their hard earned cash so it’s easy to understand why cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Litecoin continue to exist in a niche.
But cryptocurrencies aren’t just an alternative to options like dollars and pounds. The technology behind the likes of Bitcoin – blockchain – is revolutionary.
Using Your Bitcoin At A Casino
Let’s take it back to basics when talking about how to use Bitcoin for online gambling.
Before you ever place a bet you need to get yourself properly set up. Here’s what you need to do…
Get a Bitcoin Wallet
Before you can use Bitcoin, you need a place to store it. This is called a “Bitcoin wallet.”
There are many types of wallets available such as mobile, desktop, online, and hardware wallets.
For beginners, online wallets like Coinbase, Blockchain.info, or Electrum can be easy to use.
Buy Bitcoin
Once you have a wallet, you need to buy some Bitcoin. You can do this through:
- Bitcoin Exchanges: Websites like Coinbase, Binance, or Kraken allow you to buy Bitcoin using your local currency
- Bitcoin ATMs: Some cities have machines where you can buy Bitcoin
- Peer-to-Peer: You can buy Bitcoin directly from someone else
Find a Bitcoin-friendly Online Casino
Not all online casinos accept Bitcoin. So, you’ll need to find one that does.
These casinos will usually have a “Bitcoin” logo or mention it in their payment methods.
This applies to all crypto casinos so they won’t be exclusive to Bitcoin, you can generally use any cryptocurrency at them.
Deposit Bitcoin into the Casino
Once you’ve signed up at a Bitcoin-friendly casino, go to the deposit section:
- The casino will show you a unique Bitcoin address. This is like an account number
- Open your Bitcoin wallet and choose the ‘Send’ option
- Enter the casino’s Bitcoin address and the amount you want to deposit
- Confirm the transaction
Remember, Bitcoin transactions are irreversible, so double-check the details before sending
Play & Enjoy
Once your Bitcoin deposit is confirmed (this can take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour), you can start playing your favourite casino games!
Withdrawing Your Winnings
If you’ve won and want to cash out in Bitcoin:
- Go to the casino’s withdrawal section
- Enter your Bitcoin wallet address and the amount you want to withdraw
- Confirm the transaction
- Your winnings will be sent to your Bitcoin wallet
Then all you have to do is convert your cryptocurrency back into your local currency. To this you go to your wallet or exchange and sell how ever much you want.
Simply follow their instructions to get money sent to your bank account.
Stay Secure
Lastly, always make sure to use strong, unique passwords for your crypto wallet and casino account. Never share these passwords with anyone.
Also, consider using two-factor authentication for added security. And remember, gambling should be fun and responsible.
Always set a budget and stick to it. Don’t chase losses, and know when to stop.
How Does Cryptocurrency Work?
For a moment, let’s forget about Bitcoin. Satoshi Nakamoto’s currency is produced as a result of calculations on the blockchain, meaning that it’s only a single part of the overall system.
The same applies to Litecoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum and many of the thousands of other cryptocurrencies currently in circulation. They all run on variants of blockchain technology.
Explain What A Blockchain Is
Blockchain is a way of recording information, from transactions (as in Bitcoin) to things like ownership ledgers, property deeds, and even scientific data.
Each ‘block’ in the blockchain is a list of transactions. Each block also includes a complete record of the data in every other block.
They’re all linked together in a ‘chain’ by complex mathematics.
The result is a super-secure ecosystem that is virtually immune to fraudulent activity because the verification process.
How the blockchain knows which entries are genuine, known as ‘hashing’, is accomplished by thousands of different computers completing equations.
If one of them gets a different answer to the others, the entry is invalidated.
Put another way, either all the computers – the miners – agree or none of them do.
Any prospective hacker would need to attack every block simultaneously in order to confuse the hashing system.
Considering that there can be over 600,000 blocks in the chain, hacking it is a prohibitively difficult task.
Irreversible Transactions
The next time you need to compare casino operators online, you may want to check to see if the website accepts cryptocurrency at its poker or blackjack tables.
The advantages over regular currencies can be numerous, with the enhanced security the obvious plus.
Although transactions can be tracked down with any blockchain explorer, they don’t include any identifying information about the person or the purchase/sale.
In fact, Bitcoin transactions look something like this:
00000000000000000210fb756d5d736f54d5bda943218887cc1f86ebb344f7db
Cryptocurrencies also benefit from immediate, irreversible transactions. This means that you can transfer Bitcoin to somebody and have it appear in their wallet straight away.
The fact that payments are irreversible means that chargebacks (a bane for credit card users) are a non-issue with cryptocurrency.
From the perspective of iGaming websites, payouts and deposits are also instantaneous. Cryptocurrencies also have the unique advantage of preventing things like rigged roulette wheels and the digital equivalent of loaded dice via “provably fair” games.
Using similar technology as the blockchain, the initiative allows players to see the outcome of their hand (and their actual odds of winning) in a ledger that can’t be altered by the casino.
As a final point, cryptocurrencies allow players to avoid transaction fees, credit card charges, cross border fees, and several other usage fees that blight normal currencies.
The sector has a complete absence of regulatory bodies, meaning that every coin in your wallet belongs to you.
