The Best Cryptocurrency Sites for Gambling

The world of cryptocurrency keeps growing all the time, as more and more people are finding out how useful the digital coins can be. This growing popularity of usage flies into the face of the notion that the coins can serve no other purpose than as a store of value. Cryptocurrency can indeed make for a good investment opportunity, but it now goes far beyond all that.

One of the ways that Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies are working their way into daily life is as a port of entry to online gambling sites. In fact, the gambling arena has been perhaps the most receptive to those wishing to do more with their coins than just hoard them in the hopes that they might grow in value somewhere down the line. You can find numerous betting sites on the internet that will accept a wide variety of coins and provide you with the same kind of convenience and action as the sites that accept traditional currency.

Navigating this world of online casinos and betting websites that are amenable to cryptocurrency transactions isn’t always easy. You need to go in with a game plan and understand which sites will be receptive to your particular needs. In addition, you should know which sites are reputable, and by contrast, which aren’t on the level.

The following is a quick primer on cryptocurrency gambling sites, how they work, what you’ll need, and how to choose the right ones for you. Cryptocurrency provides an efficient and effective way for those who want to scratch their gambling itch. If that’s you, you should learn as much as you can about this particular niche in the cryptocurrency realm.

Explaining Cryptocurrency

Perhaps you haven’t heard of cryptocurrency yet, or maybe you have heard a few things in the news but haven’t studied into it too closely. Cryptocurrency is an invention that combines technology and finance and has the potential to really be transformative in society.

What you need to know as a potential user of cryptocurrency is that it essentially works as an alternative currency. You can use it to buy goods and services just as you would with cash, bank cards, credit cards, checks, and whatever other method of payment with which you might be familiar. The trick is that you have to find merchants who will accept payment in crypto, but that list is growing, especially in terms of those who offer gambling services.

Cryptocurrency is enticing because it is known as a decentralized currency. There is no government in charge of its distribution. In addition, you can make transactions with it without involving third parties such as banks and credit card companies.

Those third parties tend to charge fees for their services, so the extra costs are minimized when you use cryptocurrency. The settlement of a cryptocurrency transaction also tends to happen much quicker than with other methods of payment. That means that the money appears in the receiver’s account and is debited from the sender’s account in hardly any time at all.

The Changing Value of Cryptocurrency

When you are dealing with cryptocurrency, you must be aware of the value of the coins. Traditional currency, such as American dollars or British pounds, doesn’t rise or fall in value in large amounts, only incrementally and over generally long periods of time. But because people are buying and selling cryptocurrencies at high volumes due to the excitement behind the coins, their values tend to be much more volatile.

That is why you should always be wary about spending the cryptocurrency that you have or accepting large sums of it as payment. You might send a large amount somewhere and then find out the next day that the coins in question increased in value significantly. By contrast, you might receive a lump sum of cryptocurrency coins that are then devalued shortly after the fact.

Of course, these transactions can also work out in your favor. It is a good idea, if you plan on using cryptocurrency in your gambling exploits, to at least check on the market once in a while. This is especially useful if you’re planning on gambling large amounts, since those chunk amounts would be most susceptible to price volatility.

Advantages of Using Cryptocurrency in Online Gambling Sites

Perhaps you might be wondering why you would need to bother using your cryptocurrency, if you already have some, to deal with online gambling sites. As stated above, there are the positive benefits afforded by cryptocurrency in terms of lower fees and quicker settlements. But in terms of online wagering, perhaps the best benefit to be had by crypto users is anonymity.

When you use traditional currency in any online transaction, you are exposing a great deal of information to the other party and to the internet at large. First of all, even if you are spending two dollars, debit cards and credit cards work on a “pull” protocol. That means that they pull out all of your financial information just to get those two dollars, making it vulnerable to theft.

On top of that, you generally have to enter large amounts of personal information just to make even the tiniest of purchases. In this age of identity theft and privacy concerns, that is truly problematic.

Now consider how cryptocurrency works. If you are engaging with a gambling site and want to put a certain amount in an account, only that amount is shared with the site. That’s because cryptocurrency operates on a “push” protocol, only pushing out the needed financial information and leaving the rest of your crypto funds untouched and unknown.

As for personal privacy, you don’t have to surrender a single iota of it to make a cryptocurrency transaction. Considering that many people want to keep their online gambling activity private from others, this is especially beneficial. Keep in mind that certain sites might require you to enter some of this information to do business with them, however, depending on their policies. That can be left to your discretion whether or not you want to go that route or find an online gambling site that lets you use cryptocurrency and remain completely anonymous.

Types of Cryptocurrency Coins

Before you decide to gamble with cryptocurrency, you need to decide which coins you wish to utilize in this process. Each distinct coin contains their own sets of advantages of disadvantages.

Bitcoin is, by far and away, the most popular cryptocurrency offering on the market. It was the first form of crypto, and it has only grown in popularity since then. The best part of online gambling with Bitcoin is that it is the coin that is accepted by the most sites. On the downside, because the price of Bitcoin is so much higher than other coins on the market, you’ll be hit with higher fees when you go to spend it.

There are other alternative coins, also known as altcoins, which try to act in the same mode as Bitcoin in terms of streamlining the process of online payments. Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Dash are among the most popular of these. Their fees tend to be much lower than Bitcoin, and settlement times are sometimes faster. The only problem is that you might have a harder time finding gambling sites that will accept them as payment.

You can also buy into the Ethereum network by purchasing some of the native coin, known as Ether. Ether lets you maneuver that network and take advantage of the many apps that are included on it. Some of these are gambling apps, so Ether will be most useful in engaging with these decentralized applications, which tend to keep fees much lower than on third-party websites.

The Process of Online Gambling with Cryptocurrency

Your first step to gambling online with cryptocurrency coins is to acquire some of the coins. That requires you to first attain a digital wallet which can store whichever coins you want to buy. These wallets might be physical pieces of hardware, which are excellent for storage. Wallet apps can also be downloaded on your smartphone, and these allow for much easier access to internet gambling sites, although they don’t achieve the same level of security as physical wallets.

Next, you have to choose your site, which will generally require you to deposit a certain amount in your account to begin. If they are crypto-friendly, these sites will accept your payment in the coin in question, then convert it into traditional currency as they take the payment. It is just a matter of you inputting your personal key into your wallet to unlock the funds and then adding in the transaction key provided by the gambling website.

Deciding Upon the Right Gambling Site

You should do your research before jumping into the online gambling world with cryptocurrency. That means that you should know if the site you’re considering has the right combination of features that you’re seeking. Here are some of the features in which you might be interested.

Range of Gambling Options

In many cases, people have a specific area of interest when it comes to gambling sites. You must make sure that the site in question caters to those areas before proceeding.

For example, you could be someone who favors casino-type gambling. This could mean slot machines, with all of their different varieties, to table games, which run the gamut from card games like poker and blackjack to dice games like craps to other more exotic options like roulette. Peruse the gambling site to make sure your games of chance are in the mix at the cryptocurrency site of choice.

On the other hand, you might prefer to gamble on the outcomes of sporting events. Luckily, there are many online sportsbooks springing up that allow access with cryptocurrency payments. And they offer a range of sports, but again, you should check up first to make sure that your sport of choice is on the menu.

You might be interested in everything all at once, including both casino games and sports betting. There are many cryptocurrency gambling sites out there that have these capabilities. A little due diligence on your part will turn up the best of those.

Site Specifications

Obviously, as mentioned above, you’ll want to make sure that the site you choose is able to accept payments in the cryptocurrency of your choice. After that, you’ll want to ask some probing questions of the sites you’re studying. Don’t settle for answers that are unsatisfactory, or else you’ll end up having an unpleasant, perhaps costly, experience.

Another important area from which you should seek information is about the so-called “house edge.” It is well-known among gamblers that casinos and betting establishments make money because, over time, the games are established in such a way that the average losses by gamblers will outweigh the wins. A reputable site should include information about their “house edge,” and it should be at a level with which you feel comfortable.

Incentives

Many sites are anxious to get into the cryptocurrency game, sensing the opportunity in an ever-growing market. As a result, they may offer bonuses to players who will fund their accounts with cryptocurrency. Look around a little bit, and you’re likely to find an offer that will make your gambling coins get you a lot more action than they would on another gambling site.

Conclusion

The cryptocurrency gambling market is one that is truly booming, which is quite amazing considering the first digital coins are only about a decade old. Looking ahead, the opportunities for gamblers to use cryptocurrency, with all its inherent advantages, in their gambling endeavors should continue to expand. Just make sure that you go into this brave new world of online gambling armed with knowledge and come out of it with a positive experience, win or lose.