A recent article by the Off Shore Gambling Association makes the case for crypto-currency being the future of online gambling and they also contend that gambling with BTC is becoming increasingly legitimate. Here is a quick overview of the main points in the article...
- Gambling commissions in Central America, Kahnawake and the Caribbean have permitted their licensed sites to use bitcoin for a number of years now.
- Gambling sites in other jurisdictions have largely ignored BTC over the past few years because they though it's only use was to entice players from the USA who were experiencing difficulties using traditional banking methods.
- Some gambling analysts said that licensing bodies like the UK or Isle Of Man gambling commissions would never accept bitcoin, however, they have already been proven wrong as UK licensed NetBet sportsbook and poker room now welcomes bitcoin gamblers.
- US facing online sportsbooks like Bovada, Heritage and 4Dimes believe that bitcoin is the future of gambling not only in the U.S. but worldwide. Many of their non US-based players have requested bitcoin because they want to remain anonymous.
- Many cite price volatility as a major disadvantage to using bitcoin but following the recent drop in the price of the euro and the pound sterling, bitcoin is actually less volatile.
- The UKGC, which is widely regarded at the toughest and most stringent online gambling licensing organisation, recently updated the licensing requirements for their gambling sites to include acceptance of virtual currencies.