John Stossel Discusses the State of Bitcoin Online Gambling

John Stossel from Fox News’ The Stossel Show, recently had Naomi Brockwell, a Bitcoin Center NYC Policy Associate on his show. The two discussed the state of bitcoin in the online gambling circuit.

Bitcoin Online Gambling

There was talk between the two that bitcoin has revolutionized the landscape of online betting, especially for those who didn’t have access to it before. In most US states, online gambling is illegal, but with bitcoin, identities are kept private and hidden from government eyes.

Online gambling has become easier for people to access than ever before according to Brockwell. She says:

“The way that the ban on internet gaming is enforced is that the government actually targets the intermediary, the financial institutions, that process the payments to the online gaming sites. What’s amazing about bitcoin is it is a peer to peer currency so it doesn’t actually use any of these financial institutions therefore the bettor can communicate and make payments directly to the casino.”

She adds that 50-60% of all bitcoin transactions are made through the gaming market, and that the digital coin’s technology is actually making it safer to bet online.

Brockwell goes on to state that bitcoin eliminates the risk of charge-back fraud, as transactions are irreversible. In her view, bitcoin is a form of free speech, where the government can’t track what people spend their money on.

Underground betting sites and sports betting sites are adopting bitcoin in their operations to make gaming smooth. Tyler Wilson, the CEO of BitcoinSportsTrade said:

“The emergence of bitcoin has allowed us the opportunity to create an online sports-betting platform that makes it 100% more convenient for US sports bettors in a variety of ways.”

Wilson compares casino deposits and withdrawals paling in comparison to bitcoin’s instantaneous structure. He too sees bitcoin for its offering of freedom of financial expression.

Bitcoin Gambling Market

With bitcoin, online gaming sites become more easily accessible to Americans. They can place bets online using private information, on a website that is established across an ocean.

Online site Predictious allows users to bet on things like sports, politics, the Olympics and even the Oscars. The Ireland-based company began back in July 2013, and only does dealings in bitcoin. Americans that deal in the bitcoin gambling have their funds transferred instantly. This allows them to avoid regulations which forbid such transferring activities back home.

Whether or not one agrees with Americans taking on bitcoin to gamble safely, it has to be recognized that bitcoin’s impressive technology is the reason why something like this could even work.

Featured Image