4.2 billion people have gambled at some point in their lives. About a quarter of that number do so on a regular basis.

It used to be that those that loved to gamble had to road trip to their nearest casino friendly town. Fortunately, those days are long behind us so long as you’re willing to be a little bit clever.

Online casinos have become big business for the World Wide Web and while they enable people who want to play the ability to do so from anywhere in the world, unfortunately, politics have muddied the waters.

In response to politicians making online gambling hard in some territories, Bitcoin has come on the scene to try and make things easier.

But is using Bitcoin for online gambling really a good idea? Below, we outline some of the pros and cons that correlate with that question.

The Pros of Using Bitcoin for Online Gambling

Many gambling enthusiasts swear by using Bitcoin when gaming online. Below, we outline some of the chief advantages that Bitcoin brings to gaming.

Privacy

There’s a myriad of reasons as to why you may want to keep your online gambling activities private. Perhaps you don’t want your spouse to know what you do in your leisure time. Maybe you’re trying to keep your spending activities secret from court settlements.

Whatever your reasoning may be, Bitcoin is housed in an encrypted wallet that is extremely hard if not impossible for external parties to tie to you without your help.

If gambling anonymously is something that’s important to you, Bitcoin is the best way to do it.

Instant Transfers

Bitcoin doesn’t go through the same protocols that standard bank transfers go through when money is moved. Since Bitcoin is moved without oversight, that means that there is zero lag between transfers.

When you want to move bitcoin into an online casino, you can do so instantly. When you want to withdraw your winnings, you can move money from a casino into your digital wallet with the click of a button.

Possible Favorable Exchanges

People have made fortunes investing in Bitcoin. You may be able to do the same thing by gambling with it.

Imagine if you turn a single Bitcoin into three while playing in an online casino. In theory, according to today’s rates, you’ll have made over $16,000 in profits. What if while you were gambling though, the exchange rate of Bitcoin to dollars climbed exponentially (as Bitcoin has been known to do).

In that case, you will have turned your initial gambling investment into something much greater upon withdrawal.

The Cons of Using Bitcoin for Online Gambling

While using Bitcoin for online gambling does carry advantages, it’s not without its drawbacks. Here are some downsides that you should stay cognizant of…

Limited Casinos

The vast majority of online casinos do not accept Bitcoin. There are a couple of reasons for this.

For starters, most online casinos aren’t advanced enough to understand the intricacies of Bitcoin. Rather than risk making mistakes that could prove costly for them, most choose to stray away from the currency altogether.

A second reason as to why you’ll have a hard time finding a Bit-friendly casino is that there may be license issues that prevent popular casinos like Maxim99 from taking Bitcoin.

Casinos are required to relay certain information to government bodies regarding their activities. Since Bitcoin is anonymous, casinos may not be able to report data the same way that they would be able to with traceable currencies.

These reporting limitations would then force casinos to not deal with Bitcoin or they’d risk losing their gaming license.

Possibility of Shady Casinos

Legitimate casinos have trouble working with Bitcoin. Illegitimate casinos do not.

That’s not to say that all online casinos that accept Bitcoin are illegitimate of course. What we’re saying is that many that are will use Bitcoin as their primary means of doing business since it allows them to operate under the radar of government agencies.

While doing business with under the radar casinos might seem like a good idea, regulations protect players in many ways.

A casino that’s willing to dodge the government is also likely willing to dodge their responsibility to keep games fair. That might mean that you’ll find yourself losing money unnecessarily online.

Losing Track of Loses

We all know what it means to lose $100.00. Most of us don’t know what it means to lose 0.01249 Bitcoin.

Since our brains are not wired to understand the implications of Bitcoin loses, you may lose some of your inhibitions when gambling with it. This could lead to very serious financial loses.

It’s very important that you have a system in place that allows you to understand what you’re wagering at all times when dealing in Bitcoin. If you don’t, every hand you play at an online casino is a hand that’s being played irresponsibly.

Wrapping Up Pros and Cons of Using Bitcoin for Gambling

Using Bitcoin for online gambling is something that’s becoming increasingly popular. While we understand why gamblers are adopting the currency, it’s very important that anyone playing with Bitcoin be very aware of how to use the currency and the legal implications of doing so.

No system is foolproof. If you’re trying to dodge government regulations through Bitcoin, you run the risk of getting caught which could carry very serious consequences.

You can learn more about Bitcoin and all of its intricacies by browsing additional articles in our content pool.