Bitcoin Sportsbooks 101 In The USA
The federal government has been hostile toward online gambling for the longest time.
But it all came crashing down since the Supreme Court has allowed the states to legalize gambling if they see fit.
In particular, sports betting is becoming increasingly common across the country because residents have access to land-based casino gambling.
For our discussion today, we decided to shine a light on sports betting sites that accept bitcoin bets in the United States and here are the results.
To be precise, it’s Tim Harrison who will supply us with the ammunition to carry on today’s discussion.
Mr Harrison is a betting expert who works at BetZillion, a company working for the betterment of punters worldwide.
In recent years, cryptocurrencies have become a mainstream topic for people from all walks of life. Many online betting sites are starting to accept tokens as valid currencies.
Bitcoin is the most popular choice among both operators and punters. Find more information here.
Now that you know what binds Bitcoin and online sports betting, let’s dive deeper into the topic.
Tim Harrison to Majid Z Hacker: What’s the Legal Situation of Online Sportsbooks?
As we said in the first paragraph, online sports betting has been illegal in the USA for a long time.
The ban was lifted in 2018 when the Supreme Court decided to dissolve the legislation criminalizing betting.
Since then, many states have come forward and legalized sports wagering.
Among all the states, 18 have decided to go one step further and legalized online sports betting. Online sportsbooks are legal if you’re physically present in one of those states.
The “physically present” bit is significant because the current gambling laws in the USA permit a betting site only to accept players from the state it’s licensed in.
For example, if an online sportsbook is licensed in New Jersey, only people who’re physically present within New Jersey can bet.
The location is verified with a separate geolocation software before you use real money.
So, if you’re planning to use a VPN or any other means to access a betting site, Tim advises strongly against it. Chances are, your will get suspended.
What About Bitcoin?
If you’re asking whether Bitcoin is legal in the USA, we request you to look around.
Almost every store you walk into or any investor you look up is all about Bitcoin and other crypto tokens. Is that possible if it was illegal?
Bitcoin started in the USA and has been a part of this country for over a decade. So, there should be no doubts about the legality of Bitcoin in the USA.
Tim Harrison’s Take: How Do Sportsbooks that Accept Bitcoin Work?
If we have to guess, this is the real question in your mind. How do Bitcoin and online gambling even work together?
The answer is straightforward. You deposit BTC tokens as a deposit. In the same way, you withdraw BTC tokens from the sportsbook.
There is another approach to this. If you look hard enough, there are blockchain-based sportsbooks where all the operations are done on the blockchain.
Those are true crypto sportsbooks. Sadly, they have a long way to go before becoming mainstream.
For now, let’s focus on Bitcoin payments to online betting sites. To be a part of this paradigm, you need a few things first. A crypto wallet, an exchange to buy BTC tokens, and a real money betting .
If you search on Google, you’ll find a massive list of crypto wallets you can now.
Tim recommends using one of the reputed ones as their services are vetted by years of experience.
If we have to name a few, Coinbase, Binance, Trezor, Metamask, and Exodus come to mind.
At the end of the process, you’ll get the unique address. It’s a string of random characters that point to your wallet on the blockchain.
Think of it as the bank number. Just like you use the bank number to transfer funds, you use the crypto wallet address to transfer crypto tokens.
The next step is buying BTC tokens. If this was 10 years ago, you could’ve mined your own using GPU power, as the blocks were simple enough.
It’s not possible anymore, so let’s not walk that path. Instead, buy BTC with fiat money from a reputed crypto exchange like Binance or Coinbase.
You can buy directly from P2P sellers if the exchange offers it. You’ll first need to sign up for an at the exchange.
Then, you’ll get the option to connect your crypto wallet to the exchange. You’re ready to buy the tokens with your credit/debit cards when that’s successfully done.
Now that your crypto wallet has the funds, you can choose an online sportsbook that accepts Bitcoin and sign up.
All you have to do is:
- Visit your ’s deposit section,
- Choose Bitcoin as your payment method,
- and Follow the on-screen instructions.
In most cases, you don’t have to pay any extra fee.
Ohiocaferacrs: Characteristics of the Safest Online Sportsbooks
Tim believes safety should be your foremost concern if you genuinely want to enjoy online sports betting. Check the below parameters before you commit real money.
1. License: Just because you’re using Bitcoin doesn’t mean you should bet at an unlicensed betting site. Thanks to cryptography encryption, your money might be safe, but your data will still be at risk.
2. Encryption: The website or the sportsbook app should have SSL 128-bit encryption. You can it with the tiny padlock icon on your address bar.
3. Other Payment Methods: If an online sportsbook only offers Bitcoin, it could be a better site. The best sites always provide a blend of banking channels, e-wallets, and cryptocurrencies.
4. Fair Odds: The odds for betting markets must be fair and competitive. The best way to this is by comparing odds at multiple betting sites.
