Cryptocurrency Betting in US on the Rise
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One of the latest reports that show the growth of this market was posted by Bloomberg BNA on Tuesday and it showcases a 40% growth in cryptocurrency betting in one of the biggest online crypto-betting sites.
Cryptocurrencies – a Safe Bet for Operators
Bitcoin, along with other cryptocurrencies (more recently), have provided a safe way to gamble or bet online for players in markets like the US or Russia where online gambling was heavily restricted by local authorities. The growing use of cryptocurrencies for betting over the years has expectedly driven many leading bookmakers and casinos to adopt the new payment method, some even to set up a business that is solely funded by digital currencies.
In one of their latest reports, Bloomberg BNA spoke to John Milton, a marketing manager of online sportsbook Bookmaker.eu which had implemented cryptocurrencies in 2015. The site, which mostly attracts US bettors (80.01%) and bettors from Canada (9.30%), has noted a significant increase in cryptocurrency betting over the past three years.
According to Milton, the adoption of cryptocurrencies was “swift” throughout 2015-2017 for the bookmaker. In 2015, only 10% of users on the platform chose to make a deposit in cryptocurrencies and only 8% of total users withdrew with the same method. For comparison, by the end of last year a total of 42% had made a deposit using cryptocurrencies on the site and a staggering 85% chose to withdraw to a cryptocurrency wallet. By the end of 2018, however, the sportsbook expects the number of such transactions to grow to a full 100%.
For now, statistics from other popular betting platforms are unknown. The media outlet also reached out to other popular online bookmakers for a comment on the matter but none chose to respond back to the request.
Bitcoin Gambling – A Billion-Dollar Market
Another interesting report from 2017 shows that the Bitcoin Casino/Sportsbook market has grown rapidly since the first Bitcoin gambling websites started appearing online. In 2013 alone, around 50% of all Bitcoin transactions were made for the purpose of online betting. At the same year, another report showed that gambling transactions were, at the least, 10 times higher than transactions made in dark-web marketplaces which were long considered one of the key uses of Bitcoin by influential media.
According to online numbers, since 2014 an estimated amount of 3.7 million Bitcoin has been wagered by the spring of 2017 and over 24.5 billion bets were made with Bitcoin at online betting and gambling sites. This is yet a small number when compared to the entire online gaming industry, which had an annual volume of $45.86 billion during 2016, but nevertheless shows that Bitcoin is playing an important role in the online gaming scene.
