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There was a time, only a couple of years ago when only a handful of people knew about Bitcoin. That’s not to say that this group of people didn’t realise its power to revolutionise the world.
Bitcoin only became mainstream after it was used in 2010 by Laszlo Hanyecz in exchange for two large Papa John’s pizzas, which he traded in exchange for 10,000 Bitcoins. From here, this cryptocurrency increasingly went mainstream across various sectors, as users increasingly saw it’s benefits, and used it to buy goods and services online. A further advantage of Bitcoin was its ability to eradicate expensive and time-consuming intermediaries. It has also experienced peaks and troughs in value. An exceptionally high point being at the end of 2017 when one Bitcoin was worth a whopping $20,000!
The Growth in Online Casinos Throughout 2020
The gambling scene has been growing significantly in the last couple of years. Back in 2018, gross gaming revenue was $22 billion. Going into the future, this is expected to be exceeded significantly. Europe is a market seeing awe-inspiring growth. This is believed to be down to the fact that licensing is very stringent here and possibly the most stringent than anywhere else in the world. Here, authorities are only offering licenses to the most well established and trusted sites. As a result, players feel very confident when placing their bets. Additionally, new technology, such as augmented reality, is helping to make online gambling even more famous by offering completely new experiences. And of course, mobile casinos are becoming more and more common. The fact that Bitcoin gambling is popular on casino sites is a further reason why online casinos may be growing throughout 2020.
Why is Bitcoin so Popular with Online Casinos?
There’s no doubting that now, the majority of online casinos accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. And it’s no wonder why. Even more traditional operators are beginning to accept it, which is excellent news for popular developers like NetEnt and Microgaming. But why is the currency so popular?
Firstly, it’s quick to use in terms of deposits and withdrawals. In fact, it’s much faster than using debit or credit cards, or wire transfer, which you might have to wait days for until you receive your money. Then there are no fees to pay, as the operator usually covers them. Or, if they don’t need to, they offer savings to customers in the form of better odds.
As well as saving money for gamblers, there’s another advantage to these lowered costs for the operator. They usually don’t have as many operating costs as other traditional gambling clubs, many of which have closed due to increasing online competition.
Bitcoin is also secure, and there’s little risk of a user’s wallet being hacked. Unlike other gambling sites, where players may be at risk of having their personal data stolen. As it stands, Bitcoin is also tax-free, although this could change in the future.
With the advantages, there are some downsides to Bitcoin as well. It’s price can sometimes be unpredictable, as it seems to be going up and down all the time. Also, there are some concerns surrounding Bitcoin exchanges becoming hacked. So it’s perhaps not as secure as you might have thought.
There is another issue with Bitcoin, which surrounds its legal status. In most cases, it is a legal form of currency. However, this can vary from country to country. Similarly, there is not much regulation surrounding Bitcoin at the moment. So, it will be interesting to see whether its popularity would be affected if this was brought in.
Will Bitcoin Always Remain Popular?
It’s true to say that Bitcoin has come a long way from being a currency that was popularised when used as an exchange for two Papa John’s pizzas!
Users quickly latched onto its many benefits, including quick transaction processing, no fees and adequate security, as well as having a high value at times as well. Of course, there were advantages for online casinos as well, like lower operational costs and the ability to undercut traditional gambling houses.
It seems to work well for both online gamblers and online casino providers. In fact, it’s probably a reason why online gambling has now become so popular.
It will be interesting to see how Bitcoin will perform in the future. Will it become more tightly regulated? Or will its price fluctuate at some point? And could this have a knock-on effect on the popularity of online gambling?
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.