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The price of Bitcoin continues to fluctuate in an extreme fashion as bullish and bearish investors engage in a high stakes tug of war. Some traders have made a fortune by gambling on Bitcoin, buying and selling at just the right time, while others have been left high and dry. But Bitcoin is also revolutionizing the world of online sports betting thanks to the speed, security and anonymity that it offers. Going forwards, this is the chief role it can play for bettors and millions will be hoping that the world’s most important cryptocurrency manages to stabilize.
There are a huge number of pros to betting with Bitcoin rather than fiat currencies like dollars and euros. In many ways, it heralds a return to the golden age of online sports betting. It is specifically designed for online transactions that pay no heed to international borders, so you do not have to endure infuriating waiting times to withdraw your money. You get it rapidly in your wallet, and it is totally anonymous. There are no banks to block payments, no identity thieves helping themselves to your details and no unsecured web forms. You simply use an address and highly encoded personal and private keys that are secure, and you are paid out in a similar fashion. Wave goodbye to annoying marketing emails, an overreliance on Neteller and Skrill and long payout delays.
Check out reviews of the best betting sites on the market and you will see that many of them have made Bitcoin central to their offerings. They know how advantageous the use of Bitcoin is for many bettors, so they have ensured you can wager with it on their sites. The likes of 5Dimes, Bovada, Intertops, Bookmaker, BetOnline and many more all accept Bitcoin, and there are plenty of Bitcoin-only sportsbooks and casinos to choose from. Even Starbucks, Microsoft and Goldman Sachs are on board, so the tide certainly seems to be turning in its favor.
Online betting operators also like Bitcoin because it cuts out the middleman. That means no hidden fees, handling fees, conversion fees or transaction fees for you, and it allows the bookmakers to enjoy better margins. The betting industry is extremely competitive, so the operators are frequently passing those margins on to bettors, by offering more attractive odds, otherwise known as reduced juice. Everyone wins, apart from the banks.
Many naysayers try their hardest to halt Bitcoin in its tracks, and that brings us to the one giant disadvantage that Bitcoin has compared to the dollar: its volatility. The price can drop by more than $500 in a single day, and that can wipe out a hefty chunk of your margin on winning bets. Some sportsbooks allow you to track the price and withdraw in the dollar value that existed when you placed the wager, but many do not. That makes it risky. Of course, sometimes you enjoy a double win: your bet pays off and the price shoots up, so you are soaring. But many bettors fear the sharp declines.
The best advice is simply to bet in Bitcoin and then quickly withdraw any winnings and convert them into dollars as soon as possible. This can be a pain, but it is still preferable to all the waiting times and issues you face when betting in dollars. In future, the hope is that Bitcoin will level off and stop jumping about so manically. As more and more big firms like Starbucks adopt it, it will become more of a legitimate currency, and then sports bettors will be able to enjoy all the pros and not face any cons. Yet even now it remains an impressive development that hands power back to the bettor and helps make wagering a lot more fun.
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Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of Bitcoin Insider. Every investment and trading move involves risk - this is especially true for cryptocurrencies given their volatility. We strongly advise our readers to conduct their own research when making a decision.