With more and more online gambling establishments accepting Bitcoin, many American players are starting to use it as their banking method of choice, enjoying the anonymous nature of the currency. However, there are also some issues that are creeping in now, which gamblers are having to deal with. The main issue at hand is how much the value of the currency fluctuates.
Bitcoin Value Changes Drastically.
To understand the problem with using Bitcoin for your gambling, you need only look at its value at the end of March. Just two months ago, one Bitcoin was trading for around $1000, while today it is worth over twice as much, $2200. Even the current value is 19% lower than it was just one week ago when it was trading at an all-time high of $2791.69. This massive increase in value came in the wake of Japan legalizing the virtual currency. The Bitcoin value dropped from its record high to its current levels, following investors selling to make some profit.
Gamblers Don’t Know How Much They’re Betting
The issue with the fluctuations in value means that online gamblers using Bitcoin struggle to keep track of much they are actually wagering. An example of this can be seen with many online casinos that accept Bitcoins. Typically, the minimum bet for online slots is 0.05 MBTC, or millibitcoin. That equates to around 11 cents today, but just a few months ago it was worth 5 cents.
If an American gambler hasn’t kept track of their Bitcoins value, they could land up placing much larger wagers than they had intended. Some online gambling sites have actually started to lower the minimum bet sizes, in order to compensate for the massive increase in the currency’s value, while others have not.
Bitcoin Expected to Continue to Increase
While the currency’s value does fluctuate a lot, it has been steadily climbing for a long time. The value spiked after Japan legalized the currency but took a hit after the WannaCry ransomware hack demanded payment in Bitcoin. Despite the issues, numerous financial analysts expect it to continue to show growth, with some even suggesting that the value could reach $6000 by the end of the year.
