A new addiction: Bitcoin poker and its growing popularity

Bitcoin poker has seen exponential growth over the last year or so due to the opportunities it provides online players and poker sites. Bitcoin can be confusing to understand for many new to the space, but you do not need to know the technology or how it works in order to use it on poker sites.

In simple terms, Bitcoin poker is the means of playing poker with Bitcoin. There are many benefits of using Bitcoin to play poker or other online gambling games. Online poker allows users to play with their Bitcoin and use it to buy into games. If a player is successful in a poker tournament, they are then rewarded in the same currency.

Here, we will go through some of the benefits of Bitcoin poker and how these benefits are making it so popular in the gambling community.

Benefits of using Bitcoin in online gambling

Privacy

Bitcoin is built on the blockchain, meaning it is decentralised. This decentralisation means no one person or entity governs or owns it, much unlike dollars, pounds, or euros, which are all currencies that are controlled by a central government.

Because Bitcoin is a decentralised, digital currency, it means no banks have authority or jurisdiction over the transactions a user wishes to make. This brings about more freedom for online gambling, allowing players to spend as much as they like on one particular game. This freedom also brings about anonymity for a user. Bitcoin is not totally anonymous as all transactions are recorded and stored on the blockchain. However, Bitcoin poker allows a user to make payments not under their own name, meaning no one will ever know who a player or user is.

Quicker transactions

Bitcoin poker offers faster transaction times compared to standard online poker games. This is because, as previously mentioned, Bitcoin is a decentralised currency, meaning there is no need for a centralised authority to authorise the payments, which often leads to delays and slow transaction speeds. Due to this, the transaction speed when using Bitcoin is a lot quicker, and sometimes depending on the company, the transaction can be instant. The majority of online casinos have the right to hold a player’s winnings until certain agreements are met. But as soon as the casino has confirmed the application for a winner to withdraw their money, the transaction will take no longer than 10 minutes.

Low fees

Not only is Bitcoin poker safe and private, but the transaction fees can also be very low. This is because there is no need to pay for a middleman such as a bank and their often high transaction fees. Bitcoin is built on the blockchain, meaning there will be a small transaction fee, but this is often so small it goes unnoticed.

These fees will also vary from site to site and depend on the types of sites used. But usually, fees are still less than playing with fiat currencies.

US regulations

Online poker and its legality can be a complex issue, with some laws being unclear. Each country has different laws about poker and gambling, so it is always important to understand these differences before playing.

However, Bitcoin offers a way around such laws that stop banks from processing transactions in online poker tournaments. Because banks are not involved with this decentralised, digital currency, it means any legal issues involving banks and online poker are nonexistent. As Bitcoin is decentralised, it can often mean the Bitcoin poker site is also decentralised, meaning any jurisdiction or law will not regulate them either.

Final thoughts  

Bitcoin poker has the potential to take over from standard poker. Bitcoin as a payment option for online players is also sure to grow and be the future of all online sites. We have seen the benefits it brings players and the potential for growth it offers poker. Online poker sites will soon start to fall behind if they do not indulge in the decentralised world of Bitcoin.

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