While those things are indeed interesting and important, today’s exploration centers around the rapidly growing sphere of new casinos that accept BTC— the coin ticker for the blockchain’s native coin—for deposit and play.


With the recent influx of institutional capital from the successfully launched series of exchange traded funds (ETF) the price has behaved in a way that's unprecedented when analyzing Bitcoin from a cycle perspective. As the much anticipated 'halving' event draws closer—where the reward for miners halves making it more scarce, thus making Bitcoin more valuable— many expected a large dip. However, this hasn't happened, perhaps implying that this cycle will operate differently to previous rounds due to the influx of vast aforementioned institutional capital from the powerhouses of BlackRock et al. Indeed, given the unprecedented nature of the price rise last month, some cryptocurrency experts are pontificating that we might be in a ‘supercycle’ where the price of Bitcoin will top in the next 18 months at an extraordinary figure. However, it’s worth noticing that the price may well nosedive due to regulation, or people changing their preference to more modern and faster blockchains and their native coins. After all, cryptocurrencies tend to be very volatile and it’s hard to predict the price.


Chasing a piece of the pie


Perhaps, given this skyrocketing price and mentions in the media—very positively for the first time in approximately two and a half years—many traditional online casinos want a piece of the pie?


Indeed, this sentiment didn’t only begin in February, but as soon as there were rumblings of ETF approval in 2023. Recognizing, in fact, that this digital asset isn’t going away any time soon, and instead presents a new customer base with different deposit patterns and behaviors, casinos have begun to take notice.


Tom White, the Head of Content at CryptoLists, a site that specializes in both crypto finance as well as gambling, stated that: “Price predictions are ultimately educated guesswork. Nobody, even those of us working in or adjacent to the industry know for sure what’s going to happen. What is certain, however, is that many mainstream online casinos are noticing what’s happening and are becoming hybrid sites – continuing to offer fiat deposit options to their customers, while presenting a crypto alternative too.”


White continued: “You only need to see the brands featured in and around the UK football industry as shirt sponsors, pitchside ad boards, and so on, to see several of these brands were either already or are becoming crypto focused.”

Beyond dollar diversification


Interestingly, though not particularly surprisingly, the best Bitcoin casinos have often been around a bit longer than these recent gains in crypto. In fact, although the general trend seems to indicate a positive correlation between the high performance of crypto currencies and the rise of new crypto gambling sites, the inverse also shows a pattern. Indeed, when betting with Bitcoin in particular, some trends show an increase in activity when the price is headed downward. This is perhaps because when the price is up, some long-term holders don’t wish to part with their asset whereas on a downward path they seek to reclaim some lost profits.


While previously, casinos went head over heels to offer a variety of fiat options to cater to international clientele, today they're seeking to diversify the method of payment itself. Beyond the e-wallets and processors, offering crypto enables play beyond borders, so to speak. The diversification from USD and GBP to NOK, for example, is a miniscule broadening of their offering when compared to offering deposits in BTC and ETH, for example. Moreover, with this acceleration of crypto acceptance among institutions has seen an increase in digital deposit options too, with existing Bitcoin casinos branching further into coins including Solana, Ether and Tron to name a few popular alternatives.

Markus Jalmerot at Crypto Lists expects that 60% of all online casinos now accept Bitcoin (BTC) as a deposit method, but less than 8% do it exceptionally by offering support for the Lightning Network, enabling very quick transactions. If a Bitcoin casino supports wallet to wallet transactions and doesn't rely on third parties such as payment processors, then it’s much more likely that the Lightning Network is accepted for transfers, making it a smooth journey for visitors.


Wrapping it up


Will the ongoing positive price movements and public sentiment around Bitcoin continue to lead to a surge in new Bitcoin casinos? Of course, only time will tell. However, what’s for sure is that such a significant chapter in the world’s financial story will certainly create ripples throughout the iGaming industry—if both the past and the present are taken into account.


As Bitcoin's value climbs, it not only garners more attention from investors but also from the general public, making it a more attractive proposition for online transactions. This trend has not gone unnoticed by traditional online casinos, many of which are now accelerating their plans to introduce Bitcoin as a deposit method. The rationale behind this shift is clear: integrating Bitcoin enables these platforms to tap into a growing market of users who prefer the anonymity, security, and ease of transaction that cryptocurrencies offer.


In summary, that the interplay between rising Bitcoin prices and increasingly positive public sentiment has significantly influenced the online gambling industry—leading to a noticeable surge in the emergence of new Bitcoin casinos—is clear for all to see.