Bitcoin players see gold in Asia online gambling

Published in: Latest Intelligence

Entrepreneurs are optimistic about the potential for Bitcoin in the Asian online gambling industry, but say China’s approval of the virtual currency may be necessary to ensure widespread acceptance.

Bitcoin, which is becoming a household name, is a new payment system operated by users with no intervention from a central bank or other authority. It allows for total anonymity and processes payments almost immediately.

While Bitcoin is called a digital currency, authorities think otherwise. In the U.S. Bitcoin is considered private property rather than a legitimate currency. Therefore, using Bitcoins to wager on casino games online can’t be considered illegal since, technically, Bitcoin is a property or commodity and therefore a tradeable asset.

This may present enormous opportunities in Asia, where there is a lack of clear regulation of online gambling, making most activity in the sphere illegal. Using Bitcoin may provide a means for the Asian gambler to participate without violating the law on real money gaming. A customer would simply need to open a Bitcoin wallet, open an account with a Bitcoin gambling operator, transfer funds from the wallet, then gamble in Bitcoins until he cashes out and transfers back to his wallet.

Gambling online with Bitcoin is already thriving in Europe and North America. But increasingly operators are turning their sights to the fast-growing Asian market.

In fact, several startups from Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines are already supporting and promoting the use of the digital currency like ANXBTC exchange, Bitmarket.ph, and Cryptex. However, China’s support is needed to provide the market influence for wider acceptance.

During the last quarter of 2013 and in the first few months of this year, China has been a hot topic as it hinted complete opposition against the use and acceptance of Bitcoin on its soil. However, Gov. Zhou Xiaochuan of the People’s Bank of China announced that it will not completely ban Bitcoin, and instead may classify it as a tradeable, collectible asset.

Although audited numbers are still relatively small compared with Western Europe, analysts are expecting strong growth in the online gambling market in Asia as several jurisdictions consider regulating the activity.

According to Executive Director Gabriel Sukenin of Coinapult in a Calvin Ayre interview, “…the pickup is going to be swift and significant. We’ve already seen it with online payments throughout Asia and Bitcoin is going to continue on top of that. Right now, it’s certainly a tiny portion of the market, and we’re going to continue to see a very, very large growth. I think the advantages are going to be very clear. Now you can move money for free anywhere instantly and do so in any amount. All of a sudden, you open windows to new gamers.”

As well as providing a legal means to gamble online, Bitcoin transactions also allow a faster way of transferring money across borders. Unlike fiat currencies, which require several banking days to be processed and sent to the recipient, Bitcoin payments are processed in as fast as a few seconds. Although some transactions may take some minutes or a few hours due to the required number of network confirmations a transaction will have to go through, payments in the form of Bitcoin are light years ahead of real money transactions in terms of speed.

Additionally, Bitcoin does not impose massive transaction fees as compared to the high fees incurred in fiat-operated platforms, and it promotes anonymity, which completely eliminates the need for documentation and submission of personal information.

Recognizing this market potential, more and more Bitcoin casinos, sportsbooks, and poker rooms are being tailored for the Asian gambler, with an increasing number of Asian languages supported on the various platforms.

Several Bitcoin-powered gambling websites such as BetVIP, Birwo, Satoshibet, and CoinRoyale to name a few can now be viewed in Traditional and Simplified Chinese, which shows the strong potential Bitcoin gambling entrepreneurs see in China. Japanese, Bahasa Indonesia, and Vietnamese language options are also available to Bitcoin players in the region.

Another clear indication that Bitcoin has started to mould online gambling in Asia is through the websites that are primarily designed for the local bettors. Distinct examples of this would be Bit455, which prides itself as Asia’s premier Bitcoin sportsbook and casino, Satoshinori, and OLE Bitcoin. Although they are based and licensed in Asian countries, they employ the generic look and feel of an online gambling website that appeals to the global taste.  

Meanwhile, SBO Bitcoin, which is licensed and regulated by the Philippine government, is a Bitcoin gaming portal for Singapore and Hong Kong bettors who wish to experience Asian casino and sports betting services.

Oron Barber, CEO of start-up Betcoin Tech, a provider of Bitcoin gambling solutions said, “Setting up a Bitcoin based gambling operation can be online and offline and costs are approximately 60 percent of the cost of a platform from other suppliers, purely because of the simple adjustment and the fast integration. During operations, the costs are around 80 percent, again, because of the transaction types. It’s true that the coin value can be unstable, but it’s like any other currency and operators understand this.”

However, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for Bitcoin in Asia, with recent negative news such as the collapse of Mt Gox in Japan. Although this impacted the Bitcoin price, the online gambling market, on the other hand, was not largely affected.

Nevertheless, Bitcoin isn’t taken lightly. The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced earlier this year that it will be imposing rules on the cryptocurrency to tackle the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing. However, Japan just recently decided that Bitcoin regulation is not among its top priorities as of yet.