Peter Smith
Popular crypto currencies in sports betting are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Tether. One of the first countries to adopt crypro betting was Ireland, probably due to their large tech workforce and being home to many tech headquarters. A quick look at the biggest Irish bookmakers on Scs.ie shows that about 75% accept some form of cryptocurrency for payment. In contrast, fiat currency such as GBP or EUR is usually the more traditionally accepted currency.
Why Switch To Crypto?
Privacy
Many people switch to crypto because of the element of privacy. The word itself has Greek origins meaning secret or hidden, which was developed so that owners would be entitled to confidentiality. In sports betting this is an obvious advantage because using your debit card would mean that the transactions appear on your statement. Anyone, from a mortgage lender to your spouse, can request to see your bank statement if you let them and this can have devastating consequences. Instead, using crypto means that you cannot be tracked and it will not affect important life events such as buying a house or securing a loan.
Financial Empowerment
Tied to the aspect of privacy of using crypto, you don't need to use your identity when making transactions. A lot of crypto currencies don't require you to have identification, or even a bank account. KYC (Know Your Customer) is a type of verification that requests government-issued ID like your passport and biometric data such as your photo, but not every crypto requires this process. People who have trouble opening a bank account for any reason prefer to use crypto for this exact reason. They can get around this roadblock and continue to place bets without a debit or credit card leading to financial empowerment.
Faster Withdrawals
Faster withdrawals are the primary advantage of crypto currency. When you place a sports bet and win, the euphoria doesn't last long when you are using a debit card. It can take as long as five days to process a withdrawal request, not counting weekends. Instead, punters choose e-wallets like Skrill and Neteller, which shortens the withdrawal processing time to three days. The typical speed of withdrawals when you are funding your account with crypto will vary based on the currency and value, but it is usually a couple of hours at most.
Lower Fees
When you use a debit card, credit card, or e-wallet to make payments or withdraw money, the money is passed through various channels. The bank or digital wallet takes a cut of your funds, which seems like a small percentage. However, when your earnings are large, this ends up being a substantial amount of money. With crypto, the fee is much lower. Plus, there is no conversion rate tax. As crypto transactions are permanent, and there are no refunds, this means lower operational costs for the betting site and is also another reason why the fees are lower.
Bypassing Location Restrictions
Some countries do not allow sports betting, but there is a way to bypass this by using crypto. By making use of the anonymity and security of crypto currency, you can continue to bet despite your location. On the other hand, banks and other digital payment platforms would block the transaction and it would not go through.
The Downsides To Consider
Crypto might be dominating sports betting, but being well-informed is crucial. Firstly, crypto currency isn't widely available like fiat, and you won't find it on all betting sites. Because it isn't as prevalent, you may struggle to find a safe bookmaker that allows these kinds of transactions and hence more time will be spent researching. A tip to avoid this unnecessary hassle is to find out beforehand which payment methods a betting site offers. Usually, this is found in the help centre section of the site, or at the bottom of the page.
Another risk to consider is that some sports betting sites that accept crypto are unlicensed and this means a higher likelihood of being scammed. Making sure that the betting site you are registering with has a license issued by the respective authority and the correct security checks in place will save you from this. A benefit of crypto is that it offers privacy, but in turn this means that you will not be able to dispute fraud or receive a refund in most cases.
Should You Use Crypto For Sports Betting?
Crypto currency has a myriad of advantages: confidentiality, low fees, fast withdrawals, and more accessibility. If you are thinking of using crypto to finance an approved betting site as opposed to fiat, you will be joining the many people around the globe.
Peter Smith
