The Impact of Bitcoin on Online Gambling

While online gambling is under heavy regulatory fire seemingly everywhere around the world, it still remains a strong global market. Back in 2012, research company H2 Gambling Capital valued the global online gambling market at around €21.73 billion ($28.54 billion), estimating a 9.13% compound annual growth rate expected to occur until 2015.

Payment Method Restrictions

For some gambling jurisdictions, payment methods proved to be a significant obstacle. The regulating US market is a prime example: After Delaware, New Jersey and Nevada started offering online gambling services in November of last year, many players in those states ran into problems when trying to fund their accounts due to government forbidding using bank-processed payments for online bets. Market experts have pinned the payment method problems as central to the reason why the US online gambling market has yet to have made its impact.

Demand for Bitcoin Online Casinos

In other countries, cryptocurrency bitcoin was offered as a solution to payment method related issues. Online casino software company SoftSwiss which also specializes in bitcoin gambling solutions has gotten some 400 requests for the launch of bitcoin casinos in the last six months alone according to CEO Ivan Montik. The wagers made in bitcoin are not necessarily low as Montik demonstrates: "On one client website, launched just about a year ago, there are single wagers reaching 200–400 BTC. The total amount of bitcoins wagered on all of the sites operating with the SoftSwiss platform is equal to $10m per month."

Bitcoin Could Be the Answer

US regulation could be decisive in the advancement of bitcoin becoming a mainstream online gaming payment method, as bitcoin could have a great impact on online gambling. Its cosmopolitan nature overtakes national boundaries, and its transparency and speed of payouts tend to the needs of online casino players.