The first time I traded for bitcoin it was like I was defusing a bomb. Every click of the mouse was done with apprehension, not knowing if I was following the proper steps or flushing my hard-earned money down the crypto crapper.
My ultimate goal was funding a sportsbook account with bitcoin, and enjoying the benefits of “easy in/easy out” deposit and withdraw. And while I didn’t really need another gambling outlet, having other accounts at online books, I was curious to see what all the bitcoin buzz was about.
That was about a year and a half ago. And in that short time since, bitcoin has launched into the mainstream, most notably – or notoriously – for its meteoric rise in value and the volatile market fluctuations that continue to bob bitcoin up and down like a piece of drift wood riding the tides.
Bitcoin has been a staple of the online gaming industry for years now, with operators like Cloudbet exclusively accepting the cryptocurrency since 2013 and a number of conventional sportsbook operators including bitcoin among their banking methods in recent years. And for good reason.
The anonymity of bitcoin is one of the biggest selling points to bettors, avoiding traditional banking institutions and any regulations or legal bear traps that can make funding an online account a pain in the ass. What really sold me, however, was the transaction time. Once you had everything set up to buy and transfer bitcoin, you could have money in your account within an hour or two and you could withdraw winnings – often a painful ordeal with traditional withdraw methods – just as quick.
But despite being an established payment option, many sports bettors are cautious and clueless about using bitcoin to fund their bank rolls – as was I during that first transaction. Hell, I Googled about five or six “How To” articles before I felt comfortable with the process. And, yes, it is a bit of a process out of the blocks.
Getting started
First off, you have open an account with a Bitcoin exchange/wallet. This takes a little time, and like joining any banking institution you want to do some research around which ones are available in your area, their processing fees and their authentication and security practices.
For me, I’m not hording or trading bitcoin regularly and simply use it to move funds to and from my bank and sportsbook, so I don’t usually use a wallet (although, it’s not a bad idea to set one up). The going back and forth between exchange account and a bitcoin wallet can get pretty costly when you add up all the fees (like any bank, fees suck). And I’m not moving massive amounts of money either, being a recreational bettor who simply wants a couple bucks down on the game.
It took me about two hours and a bit to find the proper exchange and open an account. After that, there was a verification process for security purposes. Some exchanges require you to send them documentation to verify your account while others work with credit reporting agencies to offer a quick online questionnaire to verify that you are who you say you are.
Buying bitcoin
Once your account is verified and you’re allowed to make a transaction, you’ll want to choose a deposit method that best suits you. Sounds a lot like a sportsbook, doesn’t it? Myself, I went with the INTERAC online method because it seemed simple enough, but I did have a waiting period for my transactions to be processed the first few times I moved money from my bank account into my Bitcoin exchange (can be about 72 hours). Like I said, getting set up is a process.
When those funds were deposited into my exchange account, I simply typed in the amount I wanted to convert into bitcoin and clicked the BUY button. BOOM BAM. I was a proud first-time owner of fractions of a bitcoin.
Now, as I mentioned, I was simply curious about using bitcoin to fund a sportsbook account and had no intentions to keep the cryptocurrency. In retrospect, should I have held on to some of that bitcoin? Maybe. At the time, I think it might have been trading around 1 bitcoin = $500 USD and just six months later it had doubled in value. But the return on my modest investment wouldn’t have made too big a splash, so I don’t lose any sleep over it.
In today’s Bitcoin marketplace, the value can climb and fall hundreds – even thousands – of dollars in a few hours. This is where the handicapper in all of us can shine, already having a nose for value. Before you swap dollars for bitcoin, look at the current market trends and do a few searches around bitcoin projections and anything that could impact the value (one political whisper about bitcoin can send the price flying in different directions).
For my purposes, I take the gas station approach and try to get in and out as fast as possible before anything can really change. But if you’re moving any significant money around the Bitcoin exchange, timing your buy could yield some quick returns before you even place a single bet.
Bitcoin bankroll
OK, we’re in the home stretch here. You’ve got bitcoin in hand and want to bet with it. As mentioned, many of the top online sportsbooks in Europe and offshore accept bitcoin as a funding option and there are even some books out there – such as Cloudbet – that only deal in bitcoin.
There is an advantage when going with these exclusively-bitcoin books as it pertains to the company’s overhead costs. Since they don’t have to spend money on multiple payment methods and all the fees and logistics that come with those, their operating costs are not as high.
That means they can take less off the top and return that value to their customers in the form of lower-vig lines. If you’re a bigger bettor shopping for the best return on your investment, using these types of bitcoin books is perfect. I’ve seen some lines differ as much as 25 cents when comparing typical online books to bitcoin-only operators. Even standard spread bets are priced at -105 or -106 instead of the usual -110 juice.
Once you’ve selected and signed up at your sportsbook of choice (or sticking with your existing book that accepts bitcoin), you’ll need a BTC transfer address from the operator which is usually provided in the deposit section of your account profile. It’s a big-ass string of numbers and letters that looks like it was written by a child pretending to type.
Going back to your exchange/wallet, you’ll want to find the withdraw or transfer bitcoin option. There you’ll paste in the sportsbook’s BTC transfer address and the amount of bitcoin you want to send. Given a click and confirm, and waiting for the blockchain process (could be an hour or two), you should soon see your deposit in your sportsbook account and receive the proper notifications.
Withdraw winnings
After taking your bookie to the cleaners (or licking your wounds and walking away with only your shirt remaining), the bitcoin withdraw process is almost the reverse of everything we discussed above.
First up, get a BTC transfer address from your exchange/wallet (usually found under “Fund” or something like that), find the withdraw option in your sportsbook account and paste that address where needed along with the amount of bitcoin you want to take out. Click and confirm – as well as wait out the blockchain (watch a movie or take a walk) – and your bitcoin is on its way.
Now, some operators may require that you verify yourself through their processes before you withdraw. These are pretty much the same as those put forth by Bitcoin exchanges and wallets. So be sure you read all their policies on deposits and withdraws.
Once that’s complete, those betting winnings will make their way to your account of choice and from there you can either hang on to your bitcoin – and ride that rollercoaster – or you can sell them for your preferred currency and transfer that money to your bank account via the options provided by your Bitcoin exchange.
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That’s it. Or at least, that’s all I’ve got to share. I’m in no way a bitcoin expert and when it comes to anything technical, much like water, I often take the path of least resistance. This process detailed above was as simple as I could make it.
And honestly, the more I use bitcoin for my sports betting purposes, the simpler it gets. You don’t have to be a big-time bettor or a cryptocurrency wiz to take advantage of what is – hands down – the best way to manage your sport betting funds.
