Bitcoin casinos

Some years ago, people treated Bitcoin very skeptically, hardly anybody really considered investing money in cryptocurrencies. But times change and today there’re more and more people, who believe that Bitcoin is the future of the financial system and also a revolutionary technology in the financial services sector. In truth, you can rightly say, that no other invention in these latter days has had such a strong effect on the world financial system as Bitcoin. The basic principles of this cryptocurrency rest upon the unique blockchain technology, due to which it can exist without the influence of public authorities or banking institutions. Moreover anyone can basically take advantage of it (under the condition that he/she has access to the world wide web).

Starting approximately from the late 2012, you might have observed a hasty growth not only in the popularity of this cryptocurrency, but also in its exchange rate. It is noteworthy that Bitcoin was one of the most profitable investment funds in the period from 2014 to 2017 inclusive.

The dizzying growth and popularity of Bitcoin, of course, could not been dismissed neither by ordinary users nor by respected mass media. Soon the representatives online gambling industry showed up: they started creating online casinos, poker rooms, sport books which accepted Bitcoin deposits/withdrawals along with traditional currencies (US dollars, Euros, Pounds and etc.). Some of them started working with cryptocurrencies exclusively. Such virtual gambling facilities were entitled Bitcoin Casinos.

In this section you will find more details about such facilities. Below you’ll find out:

• What is a Bitcoin digital cryptocurrency;
• General information about Bitcoin gambling;
• How can you start playing real money casino games using Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies (Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple and etc.);
• Answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding gambling operators, that accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as methods of deposits or withdrawal of funds.

What is Bitcoin?

Ok, now, what kind of thingamajig is this and what is it for? Let’s start with the definition. The well-known Wikipedia gives quite a long and complicated definition with lots of terms, which most of ordinary users may find unknown and bizarre. So, if speaking plain language:

This cryptocurrency is also protected from “counterfeiting”, because it’s a kind of encrypted information, which cannot be copied (the use of cryptography defined the prefix “crypto” in the name). But probably, one of the most pleasant things for ordinary users is the following: in comparison to other payments systems like PayPal, Skrill, Neteller etc., all Bitcoin transactions take very short time and usually have a very low service fee or even without it.

The name comes from two words: 'bit' - the minimal memory unit of computer and 'coin'. Thus, Bitcoin is a virtual coin.

Decentralization implies that there is no control center and the emission is possible thanks to a huge number of computers operating. Each of these computers uses a program, which is aimed at solving complex mathematical problems. The result of solving these mathematical problems is a reward in the form of a certain amount of Bitcoins. The process of getting crypto-coins is called mining.

The maximum possible number of Bitcoins that can be mined is 21,000,000 BTC. The smallest unit of the Bitcoin currency is called Satoshi. It took its name from one of the creators of this cryptocurrency. Besides Satoshi, there’re some other symbols and shortcuts for usage: BTC, mBTC, dBTC, cBTC and uBTC. Below you can see what each of these terms means:

• 1 Satoshi = 0.00000001 BTC
• 10 Satoshi = 0.00000010 BTC
• 100 Satoshi = 0.00000100 BTC = 1 μBTC = 1 micro-Bitcoin (you-bit)
• 1,000 Satoshi = 0.00001000 BTC
• 10,000 Satoshi = 0.00010000 BTC
• 100,000 Satoshi= 0.00100000 BTC = 1 mBTC = 1 milli-Bitcoin (em-bit)
• 1,000,000 Satoshi = 0.01000000 BTC = 1 cBTC = 1 centi-Bitcoin (bitcent)
• 10,000,000 Satoshi = 0.10000000 BTC
• 100,000,000 Satoshi = 1.00000000 BTC = 1 Bitcoin

Short history of Bitcoin gambling

The history of Bitcoins dates back to 2008. It was then that an anonymous user who goes by the moniker of Satoshi Nakamoto published a document on www.bitcoin.org describing the new digital currency.

As long ago as in 2009 the same Satoshi Nakamoto created the first Bitcoin wallet and “mined’ its first block of virtual coins. By the end of 2009 you could buy 700-1600 digital coins for $1.

Year 2010, was, let’s say, a game-changing year for the whole industry. The first Bitcoins stock exchange - Bitcoin Market - was established in February. Anyone could exchange their virtual coins for tangible paper money. On May 22, the first Bitcoin purchase was registered: one user bought two pizzas from another user for 10000 coins (which was equal to $25 as of the date of payment).

In 2013 cryptocurrencies began their mass spread and circulation. That was the time when the after-effects of the financial crisis made many people invest in the digital currency. As the result, in April 2013 the exchange rate for 1 BTC was about $100 and by the end of the year it reached a $1200 mark. As expected, such dramatic change in the rate was widely covered in all media.

The period from 2013 to 2014 was the time of emergence of online poker rooms, bookmaker offices and also Internet casinos, which accept Bitcoin as deposit/withdrawal of funds. One of the first facilities of such kind were Betcoin.ag and Seals with Clubs. However, due to poor demand among users, most gambling operators had to shut down during the first year of inception.

Ever since the situation has dispelled the pall: players use actively Bitcoin and some other cryptocurrencies in the iGaming industry for making real money transactions and bets as well. Some online casinos deliberately work with cryptocurrencies only, avoiding other currencies, as more and more players prefer to stay anonymous.

The current situation in the online gambling market looks quite positive: there’re quite many popular, safe, secure and respectable Bitcoin online casinos, which work very professionally and are a true role model for others; new casinos and games are released on a regular basis, as demand breeds supply. Anyone can play gambling games for Bitcoins: you just need to make sever clicks and there you go.

Real money Bitcoin gambling

The world of online gambling is developing at a skyrocketing speed. That’s not only because new games emerge, created with the help of the latest 3D technologies or even VR-technologies, but also thanks to the widespread use of cryptocurrencies. Residents of many countries (especially those, where gambling is in the 'grey zone') find it very good have the opportunity to make deposits and withdrawals with cryptocurrencies (Ethereum, Ripple, Dash, Litecoin, Zcash, Monero and etc.). The technology really makes their lives easier.

Like users of traditional casinos, clients of cryptocurrency online casinos can benefit from a number of lucrative bonus offers and promotions (mostly these are free spins and deposit bonuses). Some of these facilities even launch their own loyalty VIP-programs and offer no deposit bonuses, that are issued right after registration.

This section of the web-site will be extremely useful for those players, who aren’t familiar with real money gambling games for Bitcoins, but would like to put it into practice. It is worth noting that there’s no big difference between gambling games for traditional currencies (US dollars, Euros, Pounds and etc.) and for cryptocurrencies. The main difference essentially lies in the method of depositing/withdrawing money, fees for these operations, as well as speed of the transactions. Most of the facilities offer the same video slots, roulette, blackjack by the already well-known gambling software suppliers.

The advantages of gambling/playing at Bitcoin online casinos

Let's describe all the advantages of gambling on cryptocurrencies. Tell you straight off, some of the features, which we’re going to describe below, right now are inaccessible for those, who prefer traditional payment methods and currencies. Thus, you definitely should be aware of them:

• One of the good things about Bitcoins (by saying Bitcoins we mean all the other cryptocurrencies, that operate on similar principles) is their decentralized character. As the result, no one can affect any transaction (block it or cancel). This peculiarity makes cryptocurrencies very beneficial in a number of spheres of life. This is especially typical for online gambling in those countries, which ban transactions to online casinos/poker rooms/sportsbooks, but do not regulate gambling in general. The fact is that, even if regulators or the authorities of any country will curb the activities of online casinos, Bitcoin casino users will be able to continue to enjoy playing video slots, blackjack, roulette and other gambling entertainments.
• Instant transactions. If you use Bitcoins for deposits and withdrawals at online casinos, you can forget about long time of waiting for your withdrawals as if it was a bad dream: all money transactions with cryptocurrencies take matter of minutes.
• Minimum transfer fees or none of them at all. Besides the complete freedom in actions and fast transactions you’ll be very surprised by the service fees: mostly are either absent or their size is really insignificant. This is not only a great cost-cutting, but also a nice chance to use cryptocurrencies for deposits and bets more often. While other players confuse several electronic payment systems and bank cards or wait for several hours and even days, until they have money on their accounts, you can simply use Bitcoins and forget about such problems.
• Anonymity. Bitcoin is ideal for gambling games on the Internet, as most users prefer stay anonymous. The appearance of cryptocurrencies finally made it possible. Thanks to the blockchain technology you can make any money transfers, staying completely anonymous. The thing is that all the transactions within the system do not require personal data. At the same time, when using bank cards or electronic payment systems such operations can be easily tracked in the history of bank transactions.
• No limits. Maintenance of accounts in traditional currencies is quite expensive. Therefore, operators are bound to limit minimum and maximum deposit amounts. At the same time, if you use bitcoins to make deposits, you don’t need to care about their sizes: the minimum deposit will often be 1 Satoshi and the maximum will only depend on you.

Thus, it’s now apparent why more and more operators along with online gambling games fans prefer Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. Once you try playing gambling games for Bitcoins you’ll understand, why it’s considered to be the currency of the future and why it’s a lot better to use it for deposits/withdrawals in online casinos than, for instance, VISA cards or payment systems like PayPal, Skrill, Neteller and etc.

List of casinos for Bitcoin gambling

As we’ve already mentioned before, the ability to play gambling games at internet casinos for Bitcoins appeared in 2013. Ever since the interest towards such facilities is only increasing and that’s why it’s no surprise that more and more gambling games operators add cryptocurrencies to the list of payment methods.

We’ve done a really huge job in order to compile a list of the most popular, safe and reliable online casinos where you can play/pay with Bitcoins and several other cryptocurrencies. The reputation of many of them can be proved by real players reviews on the thematic web sites and forums. All you need to do is to choose the brand you think you like most, make a deposit and get down to the gaming process with the huge selection of video slots, roulette, blackjack, video poker etc.

Casinos for other cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin is a sort of a pioneer in blockchain technology and crypto-currencies in general. That’s why so far, it’s the most popular, however, not the only digital currency.

Lately, more and more internet casinos add so called altcoins. The word “altcoins” is the abbreviation for “alternative digital coins”. This term is a collective name for all other cryptocurrencies except for Bitcoin itself. Mostly online casinos accept such altcoins as Ethereum and Litecoin.

The most clear-cut example for online casinos, that accept payments with Bitcoins, is Fortunejack Casino. This casino enables deposits/cash outs with the help of Ethereum, Litecoin, Zcash, Dash, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Darkcoin, Dogecoin, Peercoin, Namecoin, Reddcoin and Novacoin. Moreover, the team standing behind the brand monitors all the changes and tendencies in cryptosphere and acts maximum quickly to enable deposits/cashouts/bets in altcoins, which are popular with miners.

Bitcoin casino types

Today all the internet casinos, that accept Bitcoins, can be divided in several types:

• Bitcoin only. These casinos are preferable for those, who play for BTC on a scheduled basis. Some of them even do not require registration or/and identity verification in order to make a deposit/withdrawal.
• Hybrid. This is the most widespread type. Many hybrid casinos do not only accept cryptocurrencies for deposits (Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, Ripple, Monero and etc.) but also allow to withdraw winnings to them. Their distinctive feature is that when you make a deposit with their help, most likely your cryptocurrency will be converted to fiat currencies like US dollars, Euros... This is a measure to let clients play the majority of games with no problem (most of the games’ suppliers forbid to play for cryptocurrencies). Winnings withdrawals are paid in the same way you’ve made a deposit with.

How to start gamble at Bitcoin casinos?

Those users, who have never previously used Bitcoins, usually come up with questions, where to find them and how to obtain cash them later. Below we’ll give a step-by-step guide for you to start gamble at Bitcoin casinos for real money.

• Step 1. Register a Bitcoin wallet. The most popular ones are Bitcoin Core, Electrum (for PCs and Android devices), Copay (for PCs, Android and iOS devices), Bither (for iPhone, iPad, Android);
• Step 2. Buy Bitcoins. In order to do this, you have to go to the stock exchange like Bitstamp, Kraken, Bittrex, Poloniex and etc, where you will be able to refill balance with your VISA/MasterCard bank cards or by bank transfer. Alternatively, you can try to buy them from a private seller on web sites like LocalBitcoins. It won’t take you long, but in future you’ll forget about crazy service fees and long-time withdrawals;
• Step 3. Find a suitable place to play. We recommend you to refer to the list above;
• Step 4. Make a deposit to the casino from your Btcoin wallet. After you register on the official casino website, you’ll get access to the cashier and get your own BTC-address. If you decide to make a deposit, you’ll just need to transfer certain amount of Satoshi from your wallet to the address you were given. All the deposits are immediate and almost free. After you have money on your balance you can get down to the gaming process;
• Step 5. Withdraw winnings. After you finish playing, you can go to the cashier and make a withdrawal request. In most cases it would be processed in a matter of seconds.

Games’ types at Bitcoin casinos

The major reason why users keep registering and making deposits to online casinos is that they want to tempt fortune and also try to win some money in gambling games. Great selection of gambling games is one those factors, which define the choice of this or that casino. Like other traditional online casinos, Bitcoin casinos are ready to provide their clients with a variety of video slots, roulette, blackjack and etc. by the same leading software developers with only one difference: bets in Satoshi (BTC) or altcoins.

Moreover, most of the entertainments are available absolutely for free thanks to special demo-versions.

Slot machines (video slots/pokies) for Bitcoins

The most widespread type of casino games are video slots (pokies in Australia). Today the Internet is full of different slots and you might even find several dozen Bitcoins slots, including games with jackpots. Provably fair Bitcoins slot machines have low dispersion and higher RTP rates, which may reach up to 99%.

Blackjack, roulette and table games with live-dealers for Bitcoins

Blackjack is one of the most popular card games in gambling facilities, that’s why it’s no wonder, that most Bitcoin casinos also have many blackjack variants.

The roulette is probably one of the easiest gambling games, because you just need to choose the number, section or color, then make a stake and hope for the better. The most popular Bitcoin casinos offer their clients several types of roulette, such as American, European, French and many others.

Live Casino (live-dealer games) and Bitcoins appeared at one and the same time, but has already gained popularity among punters. And together with an option to play for Bitcoins they make a truly revolutionary breakthrough. Many casinos, which accept Bitcoin deposits, are ready to offer their clients live dealer games (roulette, blackjack, baccarat and many others) with an option to make bet in cryptocurrencies.

Many BTC gambling operators also offer such games as poker, video poker, dice, keno, different lotteries, virtual races and many other things.

Provably Fair games

Some Bitcoin games have a 'distinguishing feature' - an opportunity to to check the integrity of the results. Such games are called provably fair games. Provably fair games are a kind of a breakthrough not for BTC gambling only, but for the whole gambling industry in general. With the help of this technology, users may be sure that the results of the gaming process used only fair chances/probability of winning. Thanks to hash-encryption technology even skeptical players can finally see that casinos do not have control over RNGs.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many games alike, but there’re still some. Mostly these are provably fair blackjack, provably fair roulette and provably fair video slots.

Thus, in Bitcoin games you can instantly carry out checks of the integrity of each outcome and to be confident that you are not cheated. If playing in traditional facilities, only thing we can do is rely on RNG and laboratory, which tested it. If playing in Bitcoin casinos, you can check everything yourself. This feature is available to everyone and absolutely for free.

Legibility of gambling games for Bitcoins

The vast majority of countries yet do not have any regulations on cryptocurrencies, however, the states have now divided into two nominal groups, which have a very different approach towards them.

• Those countries, which decided not to ban the turnover of cryptocurrencies and have an aim to create certain rules and regulations: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Ukraine, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, the UK, the USA and many other countries (Hong-Kong as well).
• There’s another group, which considers Bitcoins illegal and see their turnover if not prohibited, then very strictly limited: Bangladesh, Bolivia, China, Ecuador, Iceland, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam and other states.

Assuming all that, you can see that most of the developed countries decided to cooperate with cryptocurrencies, rather than not, however, there’s still no solid agreement or law in any of these countries about them. That’s why the legal status and therefore regulator actions may alter from one country to another.

For example, if taking the USA, any transactions with cryptocurrencies are deemed as clearing and settlement. Moreover, Bitcoin themselves are seen as valuable asset and therefore they are taxed.

In Canada cryptocurrencies are treated as income that can be derived from commercial activities. In Finland by contrast, cryptocurrency transactions are considered as financial transactions and thus the value-added tax can not be applied to them.

Like the block of the countries, which appreciate cryptocurrencies, the group of those states, which act against them, cannot become equally of the opinion, how to treat them. In Russia it’s considered, that Bitcoins are a surrogate currency, that’s why its use is formally prohibited.

The Government of Iceland is trying to control the outflow of the national currency and therefore crypto-coins are seen as a true threat to the monetary affairs of the country.

Gambling in online casinos for Bitcoins: FAQ