Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the early months of 2024, you’ll appreciate that the cryptocurrency Bitcoin is setting all-time highs for its value.
Numerous factors have seen it soar. More and more people are using Bitcoin on real money poker sites—but why? Is it safer? Are you less likely to have your identity information stolen?
Why Is Bitcoin Popular for Online Poker?
There are many reasons why people are flocking to bitcoin-friendly real money poker sites, owing to its autonomy as a currency and the fact that a bank or national body does not govern it.
Some online poker players want privacy, whether they don’t want their partner to know they are gambling or if they reside in a place where gambling is illegal.
Betting with the local currency through a conventional payment method can leave a paper trail, which could expose their gambling activity to third parties.
The economic qualities of Bitcoin lend themselves to online poker play. Given that it is a separate currency from the one people are paid in, it can be easier to budget when you have your dollars for everyday life and your Bitcoin for online poker.
In addition, Bitcoin is much more valuable than other currencies. Even if you raise 100 Zimbabwe dollars or win 1000 Vietnamese dong, it means very little. Therefore, many players wish to use Bitcoin (among other cryptocurrencies) as it is a more valuable asset than many ‘real world’ currencies.
Avoiding Information Harvesting
In the modern world, one of the biggest online threats and risks is having your information compromised. If you submit your details to the wrong place online, they could end up anywhere in the prying eyes of cyber criminals and even offline criminals.
Signing up for everything and anything online could lead to this. Unfortunately, not even legitimate websites are safe for this…
While some governments have passed laws to prevent companies from selling your data to other parties, some still do. Also, if it’s an offshore casino, they don’t abide by the local laws anyway…Another point is that even if a site keeps your information secure, it might be compromised.
If you’ve submitted information about your financial details, you could find that your accounts will be fraudulently used.
Bitcoin has issues around theft, but the pitfalls aren’t as deep. Bitcoin anonymity ensures that users remain unidentified while completing transactions, making it challenging to compromise specific accounts.
For those with privacy concerns, using Bitcoin for online poker (and other online transactions) offers many safety protocols over traditional payment methods.
The worst-case scenario if you lose Bitcoin is that you lose Bitcoin. Depending on how much you lose, you’ll be pretty annoyed.
However, you could land in deep peril if someone steals your personal data and financial information. They could take out a mortgage, ruin your credit score, and generally run a mockery of your real-world finances.
Crypto Only, Please
People want to protect their information, but companies and businesses also want the same level of protection. That’s why many casino platforms are now going off the grid and accepting Bitcoin as a payment method. There are even some online casino and poker sites that only accept cryptocurrency! Those are typically offshore sites.
Whether they want to avoid paying taxes or speed up their transactions, crypto is becoming increasingly popular for businesses. While it used to be for minor sites, now major gambling brands like Stake.com and 888 Casino both accept Bitcoin as a banking method.
These websites and more even incentivize customers to use crypto, with enhanced sign-up offers and other promotional deals when users pay with Bitcoin.
Should I Start Using Bitcoin Now?
If you like the sound of these benefits, Bitcoin could be a genuine possibility for you to get involved with. However, it is worth spending time to do your research on how cryptocurrencies work. Reading just one article isn’t enough.
The lay of the land is volatile, and unlike traditional currencies, the markets are increasingly volatile. While the value of Bitcoin (at the time of writing, Late March 2024) is at an all-time high, it could quickly drop to the gutter in a few months.
Given that there is no centralized body regulating crypto, there is no guiding hand to help you through the process—unlike when you go to a bank branch and try to set up a bank account, where the staff will be courteous and maybe even offer you a coffee.
