Bitcoins for gambling....

Spent about an hour reading about it through various sites... if this was to catch on $50 would be cheap.

Biggest issue its faced with is security...a couple exchanges have already been hacked...and since transactions can't be reversed...you are screwed if hacked.

I still though can't see it being mainstream without a huge improvement in security. You would need to have some sort of card to swipe in order to make betcoins usable in a retail setting.

I still think the primary usage now will be illegal activity. What is to stop terrorist organizations from using betcoins to purchase things? Also gambling and drugs will be popular usages since transactions can't be traced.

Don't get me wrong...I love the concept....just see some huge obstacles here. If they improve security protocol it could become a big deal...until then though I think you will see wild fluctuations of price and usages deisgned for illegal activities

 Just spotted this article on the Yahoo finance page.....

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-cyber-currency-bitcoin-trading-160600245.html

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bitpay-integrates-bitcoin-with-fulfillment-by-amazoncom-2013-03-06     cant believe they pulled it off , its only   amazon were house and merchant site tho, looks like btc is pickin up more steam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmfLTKRphxU

The Yahoo article was a good read, and Wiki does give a good overview as well.

Good stuff Van

It has hit $70, I am really kicking myself for not buying more but who could have predicted the jump. Bitcoin has taken a whole new turn in my mind.

I bought 10 bitcoin at $13 a few months ago to test out the water, not as an investment but as a way to facilitate wagering. If I lost the $130 for whatever reason I didn't really care just wanted to try it out since it was so hyped.

I am about even right now in my wallet from betting. So while I didn't make any money gambling if I cash out completely right now it is still over 5 x return from my initial purchase. This is mind darn!ng me right now.

I told 2 of my friends when I started who are also gamblers but like me don't do off shore anymore with all the hassle. They didn't jump in with me but I kept them up to date on how my progress was going. One of the things I told them was Bitcoin can go up in value but also can drop as well. It's like a double risk.

When it hit $40 I started to look at it as an investment besides using it as an easy way to bet. We talked about it and said we probably missed the boat and it's too late. I play it pretty conservative and don't take big risks investment wise so this was a no go for me.

Now at $70 I am thinking the same thing. It can't go much higher can it? People are predicting astronomical #'s with this but to be honest I have no idea why the value is jumping, hell I am still trying to wrap my head around the concept in general. I will say that it is legit as I have cashed out my initial purchase and it is relatively quick.

Even if the value is volatile you can narrow the window. Once you are set up, you can buy your bitcoin, xfer it to your book, make the bet cash out of the book and sell your bitcoin in a relatively short time. Within hours depending on how fast the book grades the wager.

At this point I am just rambling and a little buzzed so take it for what it's worth but I don't have a negative thing to say regarding the betting aspect of Bitcoin other than there are less options available but I would expect it to open up more as time goes by.

Good luck Gentlemen

I thought BitCoin was a scam.

I did more research on this. I will make as much bitcoins possible, A year or two from now, sell my bitcoins for cashprofit. 

Today is the one month anniversary of this thread.

And the price is close to 70 bucks.  Up from 30 in a month.

Jeesh.

So John Smith sitting in his basement creates these bitcoin virtual wallets.  Start selling each wallet for x price.  These r my question Van.

I will try my best....  But I am certainly not an expert - more of an observer:

1.  Bitcoins are in the virtual domain.  Nobody really even knows who created it.  There are a limited amount, and the experts say there is no way to make more because of the mathematical formula involved.

2.  There is no real currency backup.

3.  When a person buys bitcoin, they are buying bitcoin from the open market exchange - not the originator of the currency.

4.  Bitcoins only value is what public perception is.  There is no "gold standard" or currency equivalent.

It is not a scam.  It could be called a bubble though - and that it is way overvalued.  All I know is that it went from about 5 bucks to 70 bucks in about 4 months - and that is real money.  People are making money on this.  Could it be zero tomorrow?  Of course.  But I don't think you should dismiss it - maybe put it on your "watch list" to see what happens.

I have 3 bitcoins that are now worth about 200 bucks.

I have been reading this thread and a lot about bitcoins in general, I'm very interested...getting tired of the hassle of cashing out with these books and am strongly considering testing out these bitcoins for sports wagering...some basic questions I'd like answered please:

  1) i havent bought coins in a while, the followin is just word of mouth ,i have no exp with these comp.  research it b4 u use it.

bitinstant
coinbase
mt gox
theirs a couple more , i dont remember tho , my apologies.

2) a) download a bitcoin client ,u can create addresses wit it. then u gotta synchronize with the network takes like 2-3 days to download all the  blocks (holds the tranactions, i think)

b)this is less complicated, go to blockchain.info  create a address with them,do not use this to store alot of ur coins,its used as a everyday address wallet. kind of like i have my real wallet in my pocket and the rest of my money in the bank or what not.  (u can store ur coins offline, im not tech savy enough to explain it right.)  by the way u can have as many address as u want, do not lose the password and passphrases. if u want people to send u coins just give them ur address , and to send u need theirs.

theirs a couple more but ill just give u the basic info.

3) -btcsportsmatch-  similiar to a exchange , 1% juice, basic betting sides ,totals
   -bitbook.biz  -  reduce juice  ,max  2 btc for now, they will up it,basic bettin
  -btcsportsbet- 10% juice, basic betting  , i dont no what the limit is, it doesnt seem like they have one.
-blockbet.net- each bet is attached to a address  send it to the play u want and they will send ur bet back in the morning.  10btc max

stay away from anonibet.com , they are the bet ed and betisland of bitcoin books.

when u withdraw u move it back into the wallet address that is urs. fastest withdrawal i had was under a min  , longest was 6 hrs. each sportsbook act  will have its own address , u just send the coins there , its self serve. takes  10 min to hours.

4) exhanges,or sell it to someone(probaly the last option),  or u can buy stuff with it online, u can buy gift cards. theres some company (i forgot the name,if any one knows post it) that  orders  items for u and when they get the items they will send it to u. u pay with bitcoins.dont no what the fee is.

this is all i got for u now, if u need more info  go browse or ask the folks at  bitcoin talk.org.,   alright  cheers my friends.

u seem to be truly interested in btc,one uclabruins, if u like i can send u  half a bitcoin to test out to see if btc is for u or not.  theirs alot of learning involve , i dont want u to waste ur time on it if it aint for u. gamblers live busy lives, we gotta drink beer, eat nachos,burn the sacred herb, hahah, but no, gamblers always have to think about numbers and factors inside their heads. (capping)

https://www.theverge.com/2013/3/8/4080160/hackers-steal-over-12000-of-bitcoins-from-bitinstant   careful with bitinstant their security suks at the moment.  the workers at bitinstant got bamboozo'd  by an imposter posing as a  employee.

Hit 78 bucks today.

friggin crazy.

  yea , it has been crazy, i keep thinkin its gonna  stabalize  or drop , it just doesnt stop

The bitcoin volatility is very problematic.  In my opinion, if the bitcoin was created as an alternative to currency, it should remain somewhat stable.  With the bitcoin increasing so much in value, people would be hesistant to use it as currency because of the rapid upward bias of its value.  Why would i pay anybody one bitcoin for a good or service worth $75 (days market value, i think) when next week my bitcoin could be worth $90?  The acceptor of my bitcoin would of made a 20% gain in one week from this transaction, excluding the orginal $75 bitcoin transaction.  I'd rather use U.S. dollars or any widely accepted currency instead of a bitcoin.  So if I'd rather use dollars instead of this bitcoin, what's the point of a bitcoin in the first place?  As an investment vehicle? Sure maybe yes, maybe no.  But an alternative to currency?  As long as the bitcoin is this volatile, I wouldn't dare use this as currency.  I'd simply trade in and outta bitcoin as if it were a highly volatile tech stock with a very limited daily volume.  Good luck to all

The more that I have been using it...sober, the more I realize the risk. I can't justify buying any more unless I lose what I have or it is going to be a quick turn around i.e. purchase, wager, win (Hopefully) and cash out rinse repeat.

I don't want to hold too much at this value, not that I have a lot, but then again I said that when it was at $43.

I cashed out 5 more of my 10 bitcoin today which I initially bought for $13 a piece. Will just use the rest to bet.

Whatever happens from here on out I am up a few hundred and is/was a really interesting experience.

Side note out of curiosity I signed up at silk road just to check it out. There is some crazy CRAZY garbage on there, its exactly like ebay but for degenerates. Sellers are rated etc. so you know who is legit on what they offer.

Also want to clarify that the profit came mainly from Bitcoin's increase in value and not my gambling prowess.

I am slightly better than even from my betting with Bitcoin all the profit has been from the jump in value which I was not expecting.

I know I am not talking big numbers but it was well worth the time over the last 2 months just from the experience alone.

Agree with this.

I think a lot of people are hoarding rather than spending.  And until it stabilizes, there will be very little spending and a lot of saving.

Keep us informed NF.

Real world experience is always the most useful. 

I am holding on to my 3 bitcoin.  Maybe in 10 years I will send my kids to college with it.