Update: Bitcoin and the Online Casino Industry
For several years now, gamblers have been looking forward to UK online gambling providers moving forward with the inclusion of cryptocurrency, namely Bitcoin, as a primary banking option. To date, it would be a gross understatement to say that transition has taken place.
Two years ago, experts estimated that about 10% of all UK online gambling sites were willing to transact business using Bitcoin. Here we are two years later, and little has changed. What is even more confusing is the fact that of the online gambling sites that do accept Bitcoin, it is not something they heavily promote.
On the face of it, Bitcoin would appear to be the optimum banking option for everyone concerned. Online casinos would benefit by being able to initiate fast transactions with little administrative intervention and low to no fees for issuing withdrawals.
At the player level, the benefits are quite impressive. By using Bitcoin, players would be afforded a level of anonymity they would never get with any other banking option. Their transactions, withdrawal requests included, would be quickly and efficiently processed at low to no costs. Players would likely spend more time looking for Bitcoin casinos than they would transacting business with their casino of choice.
Given the potential benefits to both sides with no real downside, one has to wonder why the UK’s online gambling industry as a whole has been slow or reluctant to embrace Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as viable banking options.
Identifying the Biggest Obstacles
There are reasons why Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not universally accepted as a means of exchange between customers and merchants. Mostly, it is and issue of ignorance and trust.
Even after 11 years of existence, Bitcoin is still not widely known or accepted as a viable currency. Experts claim that less than 10% of the world’s population understand what Bitcoin is and even fewer are willing to accept it as a means of exchange. If customers are not interested in transacting business with Bitcoin, it creates little motivation for online gambling operators (merchants) to offer it as a banking option.
There are also trust issues. The average gambling has no viable reason to believe using Bitcoin is a good idea. They do not understand how blockchain technology protects them nor do they understand the concept of a currency that changes in value by the minute. Gamblers love to gamble but not many of them enjoy watching the value of their money drop by 10% from one day to the next.
It also does not help when the only news people can find about cryptocurrencies is how easy it is for rogue elements to hack into crypto wallet websites and steal everything in sight. Even worse, the crypto owners are left with no recourse as their money disappears.
These are major obstacle for the common gambler and online gambling operators alike. Until government agencies can intervene and offer more protection against theft and price manipulation, using Bitcoin to fund gambling accounts seems to be too risky an option.
Image courtesy of Daily Dot