Gambling online within the U.S. is illegal in all but six states. It is controlled by strict regulations that make it difficult for players to transfer money in and out of regulated internet casinos.
However, those rules need to be revised about bitcoin.
Internet casinos that provide users a way to gamble using cryptocurrencies are booming, sidestepping regulations while operating and advertising in an almost unregulated manner. Numerous websites not located in the U.S. provide a simple way to begin playing. A lot of these websites need more background checks.
“This segment has exploded in a very short amount of time. And as an uncentralized entity is making it harder to decide how to go after these players,” said Alex Costello, the vice president of government relations at the American Gaming Association. This trade association advocate for U.S. casinos and registered sports betting companies.
“We are a highly regulated industry for a good reason: anti-money-laundering concerns, responsible gaming concerns,” Costello added.
Gambling addictions usually result from a lack of preventive mechanisms. A gambler who spoke with NBC News but asked not to be identified said that cryptocurrency casinos don’t offer the same addiction-mitigation features offered by mainstream gambling establishments, for example, being able to block yourself.
“I’d tried everything locally to stop myself from doing this, but suddenly it was like a Hail Mary,” he declared. “I could self-exclude twenty times, and it won’t matter as you can simply return and create a new account.”
Gambling online has seen a dramatic increase in popularity in recent times, both in the U.S. and abroad. Twenty-two states, as well as Washington, D.C., have legalized sports betting online. Online casinos authorized to provide services to Americans from outside the United States must be registered in every state where they operate. They often also try to verify customers’ physical location. They accept deposits made through bank transfers or credit cards, in line with federal laws to stop money laundering.
The cryptocurrency market is also in a growing phase of its own, and companies are attempting to sell bitcoin, ether, and a range of other digital currencies. According to a recent NBC News poll, one in five Americans has invested in the cryptocurrency market, traded in, or utilized it.
These casinos are also flourishing. They advertise all sorts of games at casinos; these sites generally accept common payment methods such as credit cards, bitcoin, and ether. These can be used on virtual versions of slot machines and roulette. The crypto casinos NBC News surveyed are not in the U.S., making government oversight challenging.
John Holden, an assistant professor from Oklahoma State University and researcher on gambling regulation, has stated that online gambling is not associated with a larger crime network.
That may change as the crypto casino market expands. A study by Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics company, found that there are 70 crypto-friendly casinos currently operating and that they’ve received an estimated $2.8 billion in the first half of this year. In 2017 the industry raked in 10 billion dollars, Chainalysis found, a 64 percent increase from 2020.
This type of gambling is not legal in any state.
Holden declared that “there has been no state that has allowed betting directly on cryptocurrency.”
A quick search on the internet makes crypto casinos seem like another online service.
YouTube and Twitch are filled with influencers who urge gamblers to play on sites that accept crypto. They also offer instructions on how to use virtual private networks to get access to websites that restrict access to individuals from certain countries. Several U.S. media companies have promoted rankings of the best cryptocurrency casinos by encouraging sponsored content on their sites, including Orlando Magazine, Men’s Journal, and TheStreet.com. Most websites mentioned in these posts specifically prohibit players from the U.S. from playing.
However, many of these websites need more effort to ensure the rules are followed. Certain require just an email address to sign up, which allows users to pay over cryptocurrency to fill their account and play within minutes.
Most casinos do not check where users are coming from or can be accessed by anyone who uses a VPN to redirect their internet connection through another country.
Costello stated that the American Gaming Association has raised concerns with the U.S. government but has not had much luck.
Costello stated that he had talked to federal and state law enforcement. “Unfortunately, federal law enforcement is somewhat stuck because they aren’t regulated or registered in the United States and often not located in the United States. This often creates a challenge to pursue an easy case.”
According to Keith Whyte (executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling), crypto casinos can be especially dangerous for people who suffer from addiction to gambling.
“Crypto gambling is simply adding risk to the risk of gambling,” Whyte said. “They are not regulated, and so they are likely to be unscrupulous operators with little or no protection for the consumer.
The gambler who spoke to NBC News said crypto casinos have caused him to fall back into addiction after the time he stopped gambling. After recognizing he was suffering from problems, the program allows you to prevent yourself from gambling at any licensed casino or sportsbook. He continued to watch gambling online and, via their promotions, they offered crypto casinos to bypass the block. To feed his accounts, he started to purchase cryptocurrency legally.
He claimed there was no method to stop, and the websites had no security measures to prevent gamblers from betting on wild bets.
It may not be helpful if you’re in an addiction to gambling. He stated that it’s an option to put a stop. “Whereas the crypto casinos, they don’t care stake. They don’t care about the world.”
The addict claimed he had quit gambling and had tens of thousands of dollars in debt. He then admitted to his family that he was addicted.
“Something needs to be done, but the crypto sphere needs to be addressed,” he said. “What can you do at the end of the day?
