Bitcoin is a digital currency also known as a “cryptocurrency”. It doesn’t exist in any palpable form but rather exists in a virtual world. It is not connected to a central bank, which means it can not be exploited by a government.

This is the description always given to Bitcoin, but it’s one that still confuses many people, so let’s break it down a little more. If you already know the score and are here to learn about Bitcoin gambling and Bitcoin casinos, skip the next bit.

Explaining Bitcoin in Layman’s Terms

A few hundred years ago, all currency was created from gold, silver and other precious metals. This meant that if you had, say, 1 dollar, then you had 1 dollar worth of silver or gold. If you were to melt the coin down and sell it for scrap, you could sell it for 1 dollar. It wasn’t quite that simple, but that was certainly the reason behind it and it was perfectly logical.

Then fiat currency came along. This currency is created from cheap metals and other materials, it has no inherent value and its actual value is determined by the government, as well as many other factors too complicated to touch upon here. These currencies are susceptible to global changes and can plummet in value overnight, rendering them completely worthless, as we have seen with the hyperinflation in Mexico and Zimbabwe over the years.

They are unstable, yet we rely on them to buy the things we need to survive. Bitcoin does away with this and introduces a new idea. With Bitcoin you still have something that has no inherent value, but because it is “mined” into existence like gold and silver and because it is available in limited amounts (also like gold and silver) it has more inherent value.

Bitcoin is also not connected to any government or any bank, which means that it is more stable when it comes to national events and changes. This is why it is considered the currency of the future, because when all of this fiat money becomes worthless, we will either be forced back to gold and silver, or we’ll be pushed forward into Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Online Casinos

Bitcoin online casinos are simply casinos that accept Bitcoin in the form of a deposit. But there is a little more to it than that, so let’s unravel this subject some more:

How they Operate

Bitcoin casinos allow you to deposit and withdraw using Bitcoins. In most cases you can only use Bitcoins. The majority of online casinos use payment gateways that come loaded with a variety of web wallets, credit cards, debit cards and more. This means that rather than going through options to add VISA, MasterCard, PayPal and other methods individually, they are simply adding one network that has all of these.

Bitcoin is not included on these networks as it processes payments in a different manner. This means that casinos that have all of those other options tend not to have Bitcoin, and casinos that have Bitcoin tend not to have the other options.

Where to Find Them

You can find them right here on this site. We have reviewed the very best Bitcoin casinos and we update our reviews regularly to account for any changes that these casinos have undergone. It is rare for a good casino to turn bad, but it’s not unheard of, so we like to keep an eye on them to keep them on their toes.

Are they Safe?

They are perfectly safe, but you should make sure that they are licensed, regulated and legal. It doesn’t take much for a scammer to create a fake Bitcoin online casino in order to steal your money and with Bitcoins this is easily done.

Check that they are licensed and regulated, check that they use security certificates and check that they actually have the games that they claim to have. Scammers are fly-by-night schemers. They want to be here today and gone tomorrow, so they don’t go to the trouble of getting SSL certificates, casino software and all that jazz.

That doesn’t mean that an online casino that has such a setup is legitimate, but it’s certainly a good indicator.

How to Deposit with Bitcoin

Your first step is to create a Bitcoin wallet. There are many options for that out there, including wallets that can be stored locally and wallets that can be stored on clouds.

You then need to add Bitcoins to your wallet. You can do this by signing up to a cryptocurrency exchange such as CoinBase. For this you will need to verify your ID and address and then exchange your native currency for Bitcoins at the latest price.

Once you have done this then you will have your wallet ID and your Bitcoins. From there you just need to signup, choose the “Bitcoin” deposit option and then send the required amount.

How to Withdraw with Bitcoin

When it is time to withdraw, just select “Bitcoin” as a method, input the amount and your wallet ID and then process it. It should be instant, but they will likely run some checks first so it may take up to 48 hours for it to land in your wallet.

If you want to turn these Bitcoins into actual cash then you will need to jump on an exchange and swap them back. However, considering the potential that Bitcoins have, it might be worth holding onto a few of them. You just never know how high the value of this digital currency will go and if you sold them for a few hundred dollars before they climbed to several thousand dollars, you’ll be pretty angry with yourself.

Bitcoin Safety and Security

Bitcoin is very safe and secure and if you use a reputable online casino then that will be safe and secure as well. There are some things that you need to do to ensure this is the case though. Firstly, make sure your home computer, the one that you will be gambling on, is safe and free of malware, viruses and hackers.

You can use anti-virus programs and firewalls to make sure this is the case. You should also back everything up to a cloud or an external hard-drive, including your Bitcoin wallet. This is true for Mac owners as well. Macs are harder to hack, but such things still occur. If you own a Mac, just make sure your OS is updated to the latest version, use iCloud and take advantage of their Time Machine facility. That should be enough to keep you safe.

When you are online you should avoid giving your password out to anyone and you should also make sure that the password you use has not been used elsewhere. Hack attempts are very common these days and while hackers are not taking many credit card numbers, they are taking email addresses, user names and passwords. If you use the same details on a chat room, email client or social media account as you use on a gambling site, those details could be stolen and used to gain access to all of your hard earned and hard won money.

You can use a password manager or you can simply use a Word document to store passwords. Just make sure that you use a long string of random characters to ensure it can not be easily guessed.