Both cryptocurrencies and eSports have been in the news a lot recently, so you might be wondering whether you can use Bitcoin to place wagers on your favorite eSports teams and games?
Nowadays some betting websites like Bovada.lv already allow using Bitcoin to bet on eSports and other sports. So, we’ll be taking a look here at all of the main issues to bear in mind.
How Legal Is Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies?
The answer to whether you can legally use Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies really depends where you live. The truth is that there is nothing to stop you from doing this in most countries, but some places have unclear laws or have decided to directly ban cryptocurrencies for the moment.
These tokens can be used safely in the US and the UK, as well as Japan and many other countries. Very few countries ban it outright, but in some cases it’s a gray area since there is no legislation making cryptos legal or illegal. If we look at the case of China, Bitcoin was restricted and then was made illegal in 2021.
India is one of the countries where Bitcoin is most difficult to use, as banks can’t deal with them and the overall situation is still unclear despite several attempts at passing laws to clear things up.
To start using any cryptocurrency, you should check the exact laws where you live, in terms of being able to hold them and whether you need to pay taxes on them. Since the blockchain can still be classed as an emerging technology, the laws are subject to change and you should make sure that you stay up to date with anything that could affect you.
There are differing opinions online about which countries hold the most BTC. With this being a pseudo-anonymous form of money, it’s difficult to get exact details on how many tokens are held in each country. Yet, it seems clear that the US is one of the top nations in terms of the number of Bitcoin held and trading volume. India, Russia, and Nigeria are some of the other countries with a large number of users.
The Current Online Betting Regulations
As with the last point, this basically comes down to where you live. In countries like the UK, Spain, and Sweden online betting is legal and heavily regulated. Many developing countries have no precise laws, so people there often use offshore betting sites to place their bets. In countries like India, Russia, and Indonesia, any type of sports betting is banned.
The situation is different in the US, where each of the states has been looking into introducing their own laws to regulate online betting. There have been legal online betting bills passed in states like Arizona, Colorado, and New York recently, while New Jersey is an example of a state where this option has been available for some time.
It wouldn’t be fair to say that every American state will eventually legalize online sports betting. But it seems safe to suggest that the list of legal states will carry on growing. It’s important that you look into the current standing where you live and make decisions based on that.
How to Bet on eSports with Bitcoin
Let’s assume that you can legally use Bitcoin and bet online. The first step to doing this is to buy some Bitcoin. This isn’t as difficult a process as you might think, although you should take a few moments to understand the different stages listed in this guide to purchasing BTC. Remember that BTC can be extremely volatile. Therefore, you should consider whether you want to buy just enough to gamble with just now or hold onto a larger amount as an investment.
The next step is to find a betting site where you can pay using Bitcoin. At this stage, it’s worth mentioning that other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Litecoin are accepted on some of these sites. Once you locate a site that looks good, you should check out the different categories of sports that they offer.
If there’s an eSports section, this is where you can find the latest games and tournaments. Typically, you can put your stake on the final outcome of games like Dota 2. League of Legends, or CS: GO. You could also look for alternative wagers on things such as number of maps won or the number of kills made. This industry is growing, so we can probably expect the selection of games and bets to increase over time.
Select the bet that you want to make on the bet slip and choose the size of the wager. You can then see the odds and how much you’ll win if your prediction is correct. Simply confirm the wager and if you’re right the payout will arrive automatically once the events work out in the way you predicted.
Betting on eSports using Bitcoin isn’t particularly difficult to do and if you choose the site wisely it’ll give you an extremely safe and secure way of placing some wagers online.
