What is Bitcoin?For those who don’t know, Bitcoin is a decentralised virtual currency known as a cryptocurrency. When people hear “decentralised” and “currency” in the same sentence, they naturally get concerned. How can a currency be secure if there’s no-one guaranteeing it? The answer is blockchain technology. A blockchain is a continually updating list of records. These records are lumped together in a series of blocks that are connected via encryption. Blockchains can be used to record anything, but they’re most commonly used to record transactions, which is what the Bitcoin blockchain does. Although anyone can view the blockchain, no-one can alter it: only the blockchain itself can do that. This is what makes Bitcoin secure.
Benefits of using bitcoinThere are a number of benefits of switching to bitcoin for online poker: If these perks are not enough to convince you to make the switch, then keep on reading . Here below we are going to be talking about some legal issues and how they may be regulated as had been mentioned before on the top. Is It Legal To Use Bitcoin For Gambling?There is no restriction on using Bitcoin to fund betting sites, or indeed any other online merchant, so long as they accept the payment method. All that matters is whether gambling is legal in the territory you are attempting to gamble from and whether the operator holds the relevant licences. Some payment providers themselves can restrict use for certain purposes such as gambling, this is what American Express does, but this is not the case with Bitcoin as it is in effect owned by the very people that use it. In the UK in order to accept bets online operators must possess a gambling commission licence, you can read more about this in our licencing article. The licence allows you to accept players from the UK and those players can fund their accounts using any legal payment method accepted by the online bookmaker. In this article we are only talking about UK licensed and legal bitcoin betting sites. Because of the anonymous nature of bitcoin there are a lot of offshore dodgy bitcoin betting sites and casinos, so what we're offering here are safe legit ones. As with any other payment method you will be expected to verify that you residing in the country and that you are over 18. When opening an account with a bank card this is often easier as the bookie can cross check your name and address against details held with your bank. With Bitcoin you will need to send in additional verification documents, but you need to do this with other payment forms such as PayPal too. Read our ID and verification article for more about this. If you are betting with a UK licenced betting site and you are betting from the UK then there is no restriction on Bitcoin funding whatsoever. In fact, Bitcoin is a great option to use to fund online bookie accounts as it is a truly global currency, its fast, has low fees and is safe and secure. It also lets you keep track of your gambling transactions away from your normal bank account. As far as I know Bitcoin is legal in all jurisdictions. Some countries severely limit the use of Bitcoin (e.g. Russia) although these countries also tend to restrict all foreign currency use. Bitcoin, like any other currency, can be used for criminal activities and has in fact was mislabelled in its early years as a currency for crime. Bitcoin is in actual fact a great tool in fighting crime, especially cybercrime. Bitcoin cannot be counterfeited, transactions are irreversible and is secured against loss by the Blockchain. Earnings made in Bitcoin are subject to tax just as with any other payment medium. If using Bitcoin to gamble however this isn't a concern anyway as you don't pay tax on winnings in the UK. There are no limits, as yet, in using Bitcoin funding to receive sign up bonuses and free bets.Bitcoin is a very secure method of funding, the nature of the transaction means that the cash is highly encrypted with both recipient and sender certain of each others identity. Taxing BitcoinsIn some places, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are recognized by tax authorities, meaning you should claim them on your taxes under the appropriate category. But this is a tax after the fact. There are transaction fees built into most Bitcoin exchanges and other buying and selling entities, but they aren’t necessarily a tax. Taxes are defined as a contribution to state or federal revenue. In order to do that, your local state and federal governments would have a hand in the operation, which is not appealing to some Bitcoin users. Getting started: 1.downloading a wallet!.The first thing you need to do to get started with bitcoin is download a bitcoin wallet. A bitcoin wallet is like a bank account for storing your bitcoin, minus the bank. There’s a variety of different wallets you can choose from, each with their own benefits. Find out which wallet is the right one for you.
|