Source: Ncryptcellular via Facebook

While not all businesses accept cryptocurrency and see it as a bit of a gamble, we’re seeing more and more companies coming around to the idea of the digital asset. Furthermore, industries as a whole are starting to accept the idea of this, at one point, foreign, concept – especially hundreds of online casino and poker rooms that brand themselves as Bitcoin-friendly institutions.

But at the end of the day, you might be wondering which specific places you can spend those digital dollars. We’re here to put your mind at ease and give you a list of some of the biggest companies that accept payments of bitcoins, ethereum or any other altcoins. So even though some might forecast less than stellar projections for the acceptance of cryptocurrency, we’re here to show you some industries/companies that have made the change. Let’s start with an industry that tries its best to cater to all payment types – an industry that specializes in the movement of money, whether it’s gambled at the poker table or won in slots games.

iGaming

Online casinos are known to accept a myriad payment methods from their customers as they often have roulette, poker and blackjack players buying chips using accounts from all over the globe. When you add in the fact that cryptocurrency is said to be a more secure form of currency, it seems like it would be a match made in heaven as even physical casinos aren’t safe from the threat of hacking. Despite this, plenty of sites are waiting to see just how big cryptocurrency becomes before making the leap. However, although some iGaming sites don’t directly accept cryptocurrency, they allow its use through the e-wallet service Neteller. 888poker, for example, accepts over 20 payment methods and is certified by world-class anti-spyware companies, but has customers using Neteller to fund their gaming with bitcoin. It’s a compromise that is sure to evolve going into the future.

If the trend continues to catch on with online bookies, poker rooms and casinos, land-based establishments might have to throw their chips on the pile and bet on the underdog as the currency becomes more and more commonplace. Who would have thought that what some people called “fantasy money” might come to make up a majority of the betting capital on Texas hold ’em, Omaha and blackjack tables the world over? If that’s the case, players might just have to get used to the fact that businesses backing cryptocurrency weren’t bluffing when the cyber cash starts invading Las Vegas venues. Odds are, it’s a future they’ll just have to adjust to.

However, poker, roulette and slots players as well as bettors should rejoice because they’re at an advantage using this payment method because they won’t have to worry about their identity being revealed while at the roulette table as cryptocurrency purchases (especially bitcoin) are known for their discretion. Bitcoin purchases are also not taxed because there is no way for third parties to identify or track transactions. Pair this with the fact that, unlike with banks and other financial institutions, there is no way for your accounts to be frozen. That means when you’re on that hot streak, you won’t have to worry about going cold. iGaming isn’t the only industry that accepts bitcoins, though. As it turns out, gaming in general (both console and PC) are starting to take the decentralized currency as well.

Source: Moco, voce e socialista via Facebook

Gaming

With every major gaming company offering digital downloads for their titles and encouraging online access (a paid feature for Sony, Microsoft and, soon, Nintendo), it would seem likely that they might start accepting cryptocurrency payments. This follows from the trend of poker rooms making sure players can download all they need to play online, without a need to purchase any software separately. However, as of right now it seems that Steam and Microsoft will have to lead by example as they’re currently the only companies that offer the service. The 125 million users on Steam can use the Bitpay function offered to purchase games online. It’s also worth mentioning that Newegg (not exactly a direct gaming store, but one often explored by gamers) offers customers the ability to make purchases using Bitcoin, so if you need to build a new gaming rig, you can do it with that extra cryptocurrency you have lying around.

Source: Badoo via Facebook

Online Dating

What’s more romantic than a couple of star-crossed lovers paying to meet each other with money that you can’t hold? Well, just about anything else, but it might be useful information to the population of lonely hearts at large to know that the dating site Badoo allows you to pay for a membership using Bitcoin and even offers premium features to members willing to do so. And it’s not just smaller websites that have adopted the change as the more popular OKCupid is giving hopeful romantics to pay for features using the currency as well. Competitor Zoosk doesn’t yet accept Bitcoins as payment, but chief executive Kelly Steckelberg hasn’t ruled out the possibility of it depending on how the currency fairs going forward.

Wikipedia

Lastly, despite Wikipedia not really being an industry, the information giant synonymous with the internet started accepting Bitcoin donations back in 2014 – a progressive move given people’s distrust of the currency even today. Wikipedia chief revenue officer Lisa Seitz Gruwell said the move was made in order to make it as easy as possible for people to donate, an adjustment that might prove fortuitous given the recent rise of Bitcoin prices.

Poker rooms, digital encyclopedias, dating sites… We’re in fact just scratching the surface. While there are many other companies accepting the digital currency, these are some of the most notable businesses bringing awareness to the world at large. In years to come, that number is sure to grow, so be sure to keep checking back for an updated list.