How to Buy Bitcoin for Online Gambling

Today, the vast majority of online casinos allow you to purchase cryptocurrency directly through the casino platform, making online gambling a lot easier than it used to be when you want to use cryptocurrencies to play.

However, this is something that isn’t yet universal, and if you’re wondering where you can buy Bitcoin for use at an online casino, we’re going to show you below some of the different places you can get BTC to use at Bitcoin casinos. Let’s kick things off by looking at the most common method of buying crypto for Bitcoin gambling sites; a Bitcoin exchange.

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Bitcoin Exchange

A Bitcoin exchange is, by far, the easiest way to buy and sell Bitcoin for online casinos today, favoured among many players thanks to their user-friendly navigation, their ease of use and relatively low fees. Bitcoin exchanges are pretty heavily regulated today too, so when you buy crypto to send to an online casino, you can be pretty confident that your crypto is safe and secure at all times. Below we’re going to run through some of the most common Bitcoin exchanges you’ll come across today.

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Binance

Binance is most likely the most prominent Bitcoin exchange globally for online gambling (we’re excluding Coinbase here as it’s not suitable for use with Bitcoin casinos). Not only is Binance incredibly well-respected, but it’s also heavily regulated, ensuring that your coins are safe when you choose to store them there.

Unlike many Bitcoin exchanges, Binance allows users to sign-up and make an account without having to undergo a know-your-customer (KYC) check, which is ideal for those who don’t want to actually buy crypto and only want a Bitcoin wallet to use as an intermediary between their other wallet and online Bitcoin casinos.

Binance offers a vast selection of cryptos, too, so you won’t just be limited to playing with Bitcoin. While this page focuses on Bitcoin gambling and Bitcoin casinos, today, there are online casinos that accept a whole host of cryptocurrencies. If you have a Binance account, it’s good to know that you’ll easily be able to buy other cryptos later down the line if you so choose to do so.

What’s more, if you do decide that you want to do more than make Bitcoin transactions by buying and selling crypto at Binance, you’ll also be able to take advantage of their state-of-the-art verification software. This software allows you to complete a know-your-customer (KYC) check instantly, and their software automatically verifies you, so there’s no waiting time whatsoever!

Kraken

Kraken is another hugely popular crypto exchange that’s well-known in the online gambling world. It can be used at Bitcoin gambling sites, and Kraken also happens to be one of the longest-running crypto exchanges out there, first established in 2011.

Kraken is notable for several reasons, but they’re best-known for the fact that they were the first crypto exchange to have their volume and trading prices displayed directly on the Bloomberg Terminal, a major step forward in the world of crypto gambling. In addition to this, Kraken was also the first major crypto exchange to pass what’s known as a proof-or-reserves audit, which ensures that user funds are safe and secure even if the company goes insolvent.

When it comes to the services Kraken provides, they specialize in Bitcoin. However, they have recently added support for several other cryptocurrencies too, and they’re known for their low fees, which attracts many high-volume traders to their platform. They also use cold storage to hold the vast majority of their crypto holdings, and this ensures that your crypto is safe; even if the site were to get hacked, only a small amount of crypto would be able to be stolen; the rest would be protected in cold storage.

Unfortunately, at the time of writing, Kraken is only available in the UK, US, Canada and Japan – but they’re looking to expand into more markets in the future, and we’re confident we’ll see more Bitcoin exchanges like Kraken allowing users from around the world to buy Bitcoin.

Bittrex

Bittrex is one of the world’s biggest crypto exchanges, and it was initially started with the intention of allowing users to trade cryptocurrency pairs. The site was founded back in 2014 by a collective of engineers. Some of these entrepreneurs had previously worked in cyber security for companies like Microsoft and Amazon, so it’s fair to say they knew what they were doing.

Soon after its launch, Bittrex became one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges, and it also became one of the best-known names in the industry. Thanks to its proprietary business model, it allows for transactions to be processed almost immediately. However, users do need to complete a know-your-customer (KYC) check as part of their regulatory requirements.

Initially, the only way to buy crypto through Bittrex was to trade crypto you already owned; this means that you couldn’t buy crypto through the crypto exchange itself. However, this changed earlier this year, and it’s now possible to purchase digital currency using fiat currency options like GBP and USD.

While Bittrex doesn’t feature the most user-friendly user interface, the site does what it says it does, and we find it relatively easy-to-use, even if it does look a little dated at first.

Bisq

The principle of Bitcoin is that it provides open and free entry to a monetary unit. Banking products, such as a checking account, are only available if you have a legally valid government-issued identity. This step is not essential with Bitcoin, as it may be accessed independently of country or locality and without any verification.

Although many will claim that this ease of access opens the door to criminal conduct (the same can be said of handling cash), it also provides individuals in less-developed banking institutions with rapid access to units of account. Millions of people worldwide do not even have access to bank accounts or the ability to trade because their governments lack the necessary economic systems, or the individuals do not have a government-issued identity. When combined with a cryptocurrency platform like Bisq, Bitcoin can become a useful option in these situations.

Bisq is a downloadable program and peer-to-peer autonomous crypto exchange. That means that Bisq, like Bitcoin, has no single point of failure and thus cannot be taken down. Bisq is non-custodial, which means that no one besides the user touches or manages the user’s funds.

This aspect contrasts with centralized exchanges like Coinbase in that Coinbase maintains the user’s assets in a custodial account for which the client does not have the secret keys. In such a case, Coinbase has the power to suspend your account if it considers your account activity suspect, regardless of whether the behaviour is truly unlawful in your region.

Bisq is instantaneously available to everyone with a smartphone or computer because there is no registration procedure or KYC rule. This makes it suitable for anyone seeking privacy, dissidents living under hostile regimes, or anybody lacking a government-issued identity.

Bisq allows you to trade a variety of currencies, including Dollars and bitcoin, as well as many cryptocurrencies. Its autonomous and peer-to-peer nature can result in low trade volumes and delayed transactions, although this is definitely worthwhile for some.

P2P Marketplaces

P2P (peer-to-peer) marketplaces are yet another popular option for those looking to purchase bitcoin to use at online casinos. Many people actually prefer P2P marketplaces to buy their digital currency as they offer quite a few benefits over the crypto exchanges we just looked at.

One of the issues with the exchanges we just looked at is that they don’t always provide a wide range of payment options. One of the reasons why P2P (peer-to-peer) exchanges are gaining popularity with participants is that users can use debit and credit cards or bank transfers to buy Bitcoin, along with a whole host of other payment methods.

A peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace allows you to buy cryptocurrency directly from the vendor using various payment options. Don’t worry; the cryptocurrency is kept secure in escrow, ensuring that merchants cannot just disappear with your funds!

While practically endless payment options are available in P2P markets, gift cards, TransferWise payments, Skrill, and Neteller are among the most popular.

It’s simple to get started; all you have to do is create an account on the marketplace and browse through the available listings. You may then initiate a deal with a seller, who will instruct you on how to proceed with the payment.

The coins will be released into your marketplace wallet once you’ve made the payment and the seller verifies that they’ve received it. The coins can then be sent to either your personal or Bitcoin casino wallet.

Below, we’re going to take a look at a couple of the leading P2P marketplaces you can use to buy BTC for online gambling. If you want to get started with Bitcoin gambling quickly, these are likely your best bet!

LocalBitcoins

LocalBitcoins is, without a doubt, the most popular P2P marketplace, and it’s commonly used for those looking to buy the digital currency to use at their preferred online gambling site. Many of the top Bitcoin casinos actively recommend that their players use LocalBitcoins as it’s easy to get started.

LocalBitcoins has listings from thousands of different sellers, so there’s very little chance of you failing to find an offer that suits your personal preferences. For example, if you’re looking to buy Bitcoin for online gambling, you can simply join LocalBitcoins and choose an offer you like the look of, and within an hour, you have the coins in your Bitcoin wallet ready for transfer to the online casino!

What’s more, as LocalBitcoins has so many different sellers, you can often find much better prices than you’d find at conventional crypto exchanges. You also have complete control over the price you buy the coins for, so if you’re looking to maximize your earnings from Bitcoin gambling, it’s a great place to get your coins.

Unfortunately, LocalBitcoins doesn’t allow you to link your bank account yet, and when you make a purchase, you’ll be dealing directly with the seller. Bitcoin transactions sent from LocalBitcoins also can’t have an adjustable-fee set which is something we’d like to see the site implementing in the future. Still, LocalBitcoins is one of the best choices for buying coins for Bitcoin gambling, and we strongly recommend the site!

LocalCryptos

LocalCryptos is a non-custodial P2P marketplace that makes it easy for users to buy and sell a wide variety of cryptocurrencies; at the time of writing, they support Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Litecoin and Ethereum. Registration is completely anonymous (all you need is an email address or phone number), and once you’ve opened your account, you’re free to open a trade with one of the sellers on the site and begin buying crypto.

Today, LocalCryptos is available to users in more than 130 countries, and the site offers support for some 40 different payment methods! This makes it easy to get started with Bitcoin gambling as you can buy and sell your crypto in your preferred manner, and thanks to the anonymous nature of the site, it’s an excellent option for those who are privacy-conscious, too.

Of course, one of the biggest advantages of using LocalCryptos is that the site doesn’t store your coins, nor does it have access to your wallet. You have full control at all times, which means that even if the site were to be hacked or thieves managed to get into the back-end, your coins would be safe, provided you keep your private key(s) safe.

Once you make a Bitcoin deposit at LocalCryptos, the funds appear immediately, so it’s also a great place to sell Bitcoin if you manage to hit a nice win at a Bitcoin gambling site!

Another benefit of playing at LocalCryptos is the fact that they have very low fees (as little as 0.25%), which means that you’ll be able to get a lot more for your money when compared to some of the more conventional crypto exchanges and P2P marketplaces you’ll find out there today.

While there’s no mobile app available, and while LocalCryptos’ website isn’t the most modern, it’s relatively easy-to-use and easy-to-navigate, and, as we mentioned, signing up takes just a couple of minutes. Therefore, it’s a good option for those wanting to get started quickly and easily.

Bitcoin Brokers

One of the other ways you can buy Bitcoin to send to your online casino Bitcoin wallet is using what’s known as a Bitcoin broker. While these aren’t as popular as crypto exchanges or P2P marketplaces yet, they’re steadily growing in popularity, and we expect to see them becoming even more popular in the coming years as crypto continues to become more mainstream.

Bitcoin brokers allow you to connect with real people and talk to them directly, discussing the trade you’d like to make and negotiating a price for the coins. Once you’ve agreed on the terms and conditions of the trade, you make the payment, and the broker sends the coins to your address. This can be facilitated either through an in-person trade or through certain brokerage websites, one of which we’ll take a look at below.

Circle.com

Circle.com is a Bitcoin brokerage that serves players from a wide variety of countries, although they typically focus on the US market. As we just looked at, when you use Circle.com, you simply connect with the broker, come to an agreement and once you’ve transferred the money to their bank account, they’ll send the Bitcoin to the wallet address you specified when setting up the trade.

One of the most significant benefits of using Circle.com is that once you’ve made the bank transfer, your crypto will be instantly delivered to your Bitcoin address. You can also use debit and credit cards to buy crypto from them again, with the coins being instantly sent to your wallet.

However, there are some downsides to using Circle.com, and perhaps the biggest one is that you’re limited to $300 worth of Bitcoin transactions per week. If you want to increase this limit, you have to undergo quite intrusive know-your-customer (KYC) checks — an annoyance for many users.

Alternative Ways to Buy Crypto for Use at Online Casinos

While crypto exchanges and P2P marketplaces are the most common (and easy) ways of buying Bitcoin to use at an online casino, there are some other ways you can get your hands on coins. One of the most popular of these alternative methods is to use a Bitcoin ATM.

As the name suggests, A Bitcoin ATM is a physical machine that you’ll find in some major cities in Europe and the US, and these machines allow you to buy BTC using cash on the high street!

You simply walk up to the machine and set up a trade, which means choosing how much Bitcoin you’d like to buy and entering the wallet address where you want the coins sent. Once you input your wallet address and insert cash into the machine, the coins will be immediately sent to the wallet address you provided.

This is quite a novel way for users to purchase crypto, and while it may be a bit of a gimmick, some players are actually using Bitcoin ATMs to get their crypto, so it may be an option if you live in a big city!

FAQs

How do I send crypto to an online casino?

To send crypto to your Bitcoin casino account, you first need to get a Bitcoin address; this Bitcoin address is found in the cashier section. Copy this Bitcoin wallet address down and head over to where your coins are stored. Simply start a new transaction, enter your casino wallet address and choose how much to send, and process the transaction. That’s all there is to it!

What’s the best crypto exchange?

This question is entirely subjective, as what works for you may not work for other players. However, if you’re looking to buy crypto to play online casino games, we’d recommend using one of the crypto exchanges listed here on this page.

These crypto exchanges are reputable, have a good track record and are regulated in some way, shape or form. They also allow you to send crypto to a Bitcoin casino or sports betting site, which other crypto exchanges like Coinbase don’t allow.

Can I buy Bitcoin using debit and credit cards?

Yes! Almost all major crypto exchanges now let you buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies using your debit and credit cards. This allows you to gamble online, using your card, but without giving your card details to the online casino.

Do I need to verify my ID before I can buy Bitcoin?

That depends on where you choose to buy your Bitcoin. For example, most online casino players will already be familiar with know-your-customer (KYC) checks, where you need to upload your ID to the casino before you can make gambling transactions. While the crypto industry isn’t quite as heavily regulated, to send money to online betting sites, you may well need to verify your ID before you’re able to do so.

Whether or not you do depends on the crypto exchange you choose to buy your coins from, the amount of crypto you purchase and which payment method you choose to use. For example, if you’re planning to use debit and credit cards to buy Bitcoin to send to online gambling sites, then you more than likely will need to complete a know-your-customer (KYC) check.

What casino games can I play at Bitcoin casinos?

Today, all of the mainstream Bitcoin casinos offer a wide variety of games, and if you’re looking at gambling online, then you’ll be pleased to hear that the game selection on offer to players has never been bigger! You’ll find a huge range of games, including video slots, casino table games, live dealer games, and video poker. Some crypto casinos have even started to offer what are known as provably fair games, games that run on the Blockchain where you can personally verify the randomness of each game by comparing the hashes!