Bitcoin Gambling for the 1st Time at Kentucky Derby

by

There’s no denying that Bitcoin gambling online is booming, as evident from the dozens of Bitcoin bookmakers and casino sites that have been launched in recent years. But where the cryptocurrency gambling sector was slow to develop is in the land-based industry where the traditional way of wagering still prevails.

However, as a new report shows, Bitcoin is quietly crawling into the traditional gambling sector where more and more prominent events are beginning to take cryptocurrency wagers. One of the latest premium events to jump on the crypto-bandwagon is the popular Kentucky Derby, which set a new milestone this year by allowing bets in Bitcoin.

Kentucky Leads the Way; More to Join?

Paving the way for a wide-spread land-based adoption of Bitcoin gambling in the US, the Kentucky Derby allowed betting in cryptocurrencies for the first time this year. As reported by Investopedia, the Derby will from now on allow bettors to place a bet by using not only Bitcoin wallets but also Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin deposits.

During last year’s Kentucky Derby, the race saw a record number of wagers placed that surpassed $100 million. According to the director of operations at the race, Tim Maxwell, during this year’s event, which took place on May 5^th, the betting volume was expected to increase even further.

Maxwell believes that the future growth in wagering will be brought on by the introduction of cryptocurrencies to the events. As he puts it, local punters looking to bet with crypto coins have only had international gaming companies to turn to thus far, but now they have more options. His estimates proved to be justified even before the event took place as online horse racing service US Racing found that a “non-insignificant trend” in people using cryptocurrency to bet was observed prior to the start of the derby.

However, the director of operations believes that “further clarification” is needed on the risk management and legality of accepting digital currencies before a global adoption could happen in the gambling industry. Nevertheless, he remains an optimist and expects a number of online Maltese, UK, and Canadian operators to start offering Bitcoin deposits by the middle of next year, but also land-based casinos and bookmakers by the first quarters of 2020.

An Event That’s Not to be Underestimated

The Kentucky Derby is one of the most prestigious events in horse-racing each year, despite being quite short. Dubbed as “the most exciting two minutes in sports”, the derby had once attracted an average number of 150,000 visitors to the Churchill Downs race grounds each year and many more to land-based and online bookmakers in recent times. The event has been held annually since 1875 during the 1^st Saturday of May and it is the finale of the 7-day Kentucky Derby Festival.

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade 1 stakes race for thoroughbreds that kicks off the first leg of the Triple Crown events and is followed by the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. With a race as prominent as this one deciding it’s time to open up doors for Bitcoin bettors, it’s no surprise why the cryptocurrency sector can’t stop buzzing about it.