Banking can be a massive pain in the backside for American gamblers. You have the UIGEA to thank for that. The UIGEA prohibits banks from processing transactions to and from offshore gambling sites.
One of the best solutions to this problem is cryptocurrency. Using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum allows Americans to make hassle-free payments. That way, they can do what they enjoy the most – gamble online.
If you already know about the benefits to using crypto and already own some, then your next step is to join a US cryptocurrency gambling site. We recommend you choose one from the list below to ensure you have a safe and enjoyable experience online.
You can rest assured that every site listed above is a high-quality gambling site where your information and money will be safe.
We can say that because we do a lot of research into every gambling site we recommend. Then we only recommend the sites that meet our high standards.
- Every gambling site must have a current gambling license
- They must work with reputable and licensed third-party companies for their software, marketing, banking, etc.
- Each site must have reasonable terms and conditions
- We only recommend gambling sites that have a positive reputation in the industry
If a gambling site fails to meet these standards, then we have no business recommending them.
We’re also customers at most of the sites we recommend – especially the best of the best that we list on pages such as this one. And there’s absolutely no way we’d put our money and information at risk.
We’re going to talk about Americans gambling with crypto. We’ll first give you a few reasons why you should consider gambling with crypto. Then we’ll follow up with a big downside to doing so and solutions you can try to get around this issue. Then you’ll learn about the different types of cryptocurrency gambling sites you can join.
This all starts in the next section.
American Twofer: Combining the Benefits of Crypto with Online Gambling
There are so many benefits to gambling online. Seriously. If you’ve only gambled offline in brick-and-mortar casinos, you have no idea what you’re missing.
Take convenience, for example.
Going to the casino takes effort. You need to travel to get there. That might be a 15-minute drive or a 4-hour plane ride. That costs time and money – money that you could use to gamble online with instead.
Then there’s leaving your house. You have to plan a casino trip into your schedule. Maybe you’ll have to take time off work or find a babysitter for little Timmy. You also have to put clothes on.
Gamble online, though, and you can play from home or wherever you have internet access. You can play during your downtime without having to worry about work or your family.
You can even play buck naked. We won’t judge.
Unless you’re American. Then you’re going to struggle. Not struggle to sit around naked, but to gamble online and enjoy all the perks that come with it.
Americans Struggle to Gamble Online Outside of Legal States
If you’re an experienced online gambler, then chances are good you’re familiar with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. You might even remember how easy it used to be to fund your player account and how much harder it got once this bill passed.
Here’s what the important part of the bill says.
“Prohibits gambling businesses from knowingly accepting payments in connection with the participation of another person in a bet or wager that involves the use of the Internet and that is unlawful under any federal or state law.”
This means that your bank can’t process your transactions to and from any online gambling sites that aren’t licensed within one of the few states where online gambling is legal.
What’s messed up about this, other than the government taking away Americans’ rights to gamble, is that the bill might not have passed had anyone read it beforehand.
The UIGEA was added to the Safe Port Act. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) said that no one on the Senate–House Conference Committee even saw the final language on the bill before it was passed. The UIGEA was snuck into the Safe Port Act and then hastily pushed through.
Then the news of the UIGEA passing broke. And even though the new laws didn’t take effect until a couple of years later, many gambling sites immediately pulled out of the American market. Some had no choice, as their stocks took a nose dive. Party Poker’s stocks, for example, dropped 60%.
Now, gamblers continued to play anyway, even though it only got harder and harder to do so. Even today, you can still play at offshore sites using banking methods such as credit and debit cards, prepaid cards, and bank transfers.
However, you have to deal with payment delays and declines. This is a massive pain in the butt.
Fortunately for Americans, a better banking option is now available.
Why Americans Should Gamble with Crypto
Cryptocurrencies have existed for less than a decade. Yet they’ve changed the financial industry, including what we’re willing to invest in and use for currency.
Crypto has even changed how we gamble online.
We’re not going to spend any time talking about when cryptocurrencies got started and all the different kinds you can invest in. We recommend you read our complete guide to cryptocurrencies for that information.
What we want to focus on here are the benefits to using cryptocurrencies, specifically for gambling online. There are several benefits that solve the issues that come with using fiat currencies.
Let’s start with the fact that cryptocurrencies are decentralized. This means that no government or authority oversees it or regulates it. No one has any say as to how you get it or use it.
Now, that might change in the future. Some governments are starting to try to figure out how to regulate crypto to prevent crime and people from getting taken advantage of.
For Americans, for now, this means that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin don’t follow the same rules as fiat currencies. Banks can’t decline your transactions because you’re bypassing the banks altogether.
Then there’s the anonymity. You’re not required to give anyone your information before you can buy, sell, or use crypto. Everything’s tracked using addresses. These addresses are then recorded on the blockchain for the specific crypto you’re using for transparency purposes.
But no one will know it’s you that spent the crypto. No one will know what you spent it on. This includes the government and any nosey friends or family members you may have.
Those two perks eliminate nearly all the problems Americans have at offshore gambling sites. However, there are still more benefits to using crypto for online gambling.
- Payment Speed – Crypto payments process in minutes, if not a few hours. This is much faster than any fiat banking method you can use.
- Lower Fees – Crypto bypasses the need for a third-party payment processor. Therefore, no one needs to pay the fees to use them. Your worst-case scenario is usually a nominal fee from the blockchain. Sometimes gambling sites will charge a small fee, too, but it will be less than a bank transfer.
- Lower House Edge – Bitcoin Casinos that primarily/exclusively use crypto don’t have the overhead costs that traditional online casinos do. Many casinos pass these savings on to their customers in the form of a lower house edge on some of their games.
And so on.
The bottom line – Americans that gamble online at offshore gambling sites should strongly consider using cryptocurrencies instead of traditional banking methods.
Not only will banking be far easier and less stressful, but you’ll also get to enjoy some of the other benefits that online gamblers located elsewhere in the world get to enjoy.
You’ll get to claim deposit bonuses, free spins, and VIP promotions. You’ll be able to gamble for real money from your mobile phone and tablet. And you can play casino games for far cheaper than you can in brick-and-mortar casinos.
There are so many reasons to use crypto to gamble online and few, if any, real reasons not to. That’s why we recommend that our readers – especially our American readers – give crypto gambling a shot.
Best Methods for Minimizing the Crazy Crypto-Gambling Swings
There are loads of benefits to gambling online. There are so many reasons why Americans should consider using crypto to gamble.
However, there is a dark side to both of them.
Take gambling, for example. It’s a losing proposition for 99.99% of people at 99.99% of the games that you can play. The games are set up in such a way that the casino has an edge over you.
There’s no way around for this for the majority of games in the casino. As for the rest, most people are unwilling to do the work necessary to reduce the house edge.
The point – most people are going to lose money gambling. And because of the way gambling works, you can lose a lot in a short timeframe – regardless of what the house edge says you should lose.
Then there’s crypto. Buying or investing in cryptocurrencies is hardly different from buying or investing in stocks. The value fluctuates from day to day based on supply and demand but also on trends and the news.
It can fluctuate a lot. We’re talking hundreds or even thousands of dollars per day, depending on the specific currency and what’s happening in the world.
One or the other is bad enough on their own, but put them together, and you can experience massive downswings. You can lose a lot of money in a short period of time.
You might not be able to avoid this altogether. But there are things you can do to reduce how often these swings happen or how bad they are when they do.
The following are a few of those tips.
1. Choose the Best Games
If you want to minimize how much money you lose, then you should be selective about the online bitcoin games you play. Some games are better than others.
We recommend you stick to table games.
These games usually have a house edge of less than 7%, and there are several games that have a house edge of less than 2%.
Another option is video poker. You can find poker machines where the house edge is less than 1%.
Of course, the house edge is only one part of it. Another thing to think about is the gameplay itself. What’s great about these games is that you can break even for long stretches at a time. This helps to minimize swings.
This is unlike games such as slots or keno where you’re either winning or you’re losing. There’s not much in-between.
Stick to this tip, and perhaps you can reduce the variance you experience on the gambling side of things.
2. Avoid Bonuses
You’d think that bonuses would be a good idea. Get some free money to play with, and that can help deal with the volatility that comes with gambling.
And maybe it will…for a little while.
You’ve got to remember that these offers come with terms. You need to fulfill these terms before the casino will allow you to cash out. This might mean wagering thousands of dollars.
If you play with this money, lose it, and have no intentions of ever playing at this site again, then that’s not a big deal.
But what happens when you use up all that money and want to cash out, yet you didn’t manage to fulfill the playthrough requirements?
In that case, the casino may or may not allow you to cash out until you meet the playthrough requirements. This means that you’ll have to play with your money until the playthrough is fulfilled. And you might lose it all.
If you want to reduce the swings you experience, it’s a good idea to make sure you have the option to cash out your money when you’ve had enough losses.
If you’re forced to spend your money, you’ll have no choice but to deal with whatever Lady Luck throws your way – good or bad and whether you like it or not.
3. Learn Game Strategy
This sort of piggybacks off our first tip.
If you stick to games with a low house edge, you’ll often reduce the extreme highs and lows that you’d otherwise experience playing games like slots or keno. You can take this to another level, though, if you learn the optimal strategy for the game you’re playing.
For some games, such as baccarat, Let It Ride, Caribbean Stud, or Casino Hold’em, there won’t be a ton of strategy to learn.
Play a game like blackjack or video poker, though, and you can reduce the house edge to practically zero.
You could take this even further by learning how to count cards. Do this, and you can flip the edge around to where you’re beating the casino for a profit.
Beat the casino for a profit, and it’s possible that you could offset any losses sustained from both gambling and crypto investing.
4. Sign Up for a Rewards Program
Another great way to offset your losses is to join a rewards program. This can be a cashback program or VIP program.
Here’s how these programs work. You’ll earn points for every $1 you spend. Earn enough of these points, and you can turn them in for rewards.
For example, every 100 points you accumulate might be worth $1 in cashback. Or maybe 10,000 points will boost your account to a tier where you can earn bonuses, cashback, feeless withdrawals, and more.
All these perks have a monetary value. Thus, they can help to reduce the swings you experience between gambling and crypto.
5. Minimize Banking Fees
If you play at a gambling site that deals only in crypto, such as a Bitcoin-only site, then your fees should be minimal.
However, if you join a hybrid gambling site – one that accepts both crypto and traditional currencies – they might charge fees similar in size to their bank transfer or credit card fees.
One fee of $5-$75 might not seem like a lot, but if you request a cash-out or two every month, these can add up fast.
These banking fees are on top of the losses you experience gambling and investing in crypto. If you break even at either venture, you’ll still lose when you factor in the fees you pay. It’ll be even worse if you are experiencing a massive bout of negative variance.
The best thing you can do here is try to find a site that doesn’t charge crypto users fees, or compare sites to find a site that charges the lowest fees.
This tip alone won’t eliminate the swings you experience. None of these tips will. Combine them all together, though, and maybe gambling with crypto won’t be so swingy after all.
Which US Cryptocurrency Gambling Site Should You Join?
Now that we’ve talked a little about the benefits of crypto gambling and how to reduce your swings, let’s wrap things up by talking about how to choose a cryptocurrency gambling site to join.
You have several options when you consider all the combinations. Let’s look at your options now.
All-In-One vs. Product-Specific Gambling Site
Two options you have to choose from are an all-in-one (AIO) or product-specific gambling sites.
An AIO gambling site is a site that offers several types of gambling under one roof. For example, you can bet on sports, play casino games, play poker, and sometimes even play bingo.
The benefit of going this route is that you have access to several types of gambling while having to manage only one account. Make one deposit, and you can bet on whatever you want.
The downside to these sites is that they usually have one or two strong products – say the casino and sportsbook – while the remaining products are average at best.
If you want a general casino experience – like what you’d have playing offline – this is the best way to go.
However, if you want a great sportsbook, casino, or poker room, then you might be better off joining a product-specific gambling site instead.
There’s no guarantee that any one of these product-specific sites is fantastic. Just because they focus on one type of gambling doesn’t mean they do a good job at it.
However, once you find a product-specific site that is good, you won’t want to leave. They’ll have excellent offers, betting opportunities, features, and more.
Once you decide which type of site you want to join, the next step is to add crypto to the mix.
Crypto-Only vs. Hybrid Gambling Sites
Another choice you’re going to have to make is whether you want to play at a crypto-only or hybrid gambling site.
A crypto-only gambling site only accepts cryptocurrencies for payment. You can’t use credit or debit cards, bank transfers, e-wallets, or gift cards. You can only use Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and so on.
The benefit of going this route is that you’ll experience all the benefits of using cryptocurrency. You won’t have to deal with banks. You can play anonymously. The casino will offer a better house edge and table limits.
However, the tradeoff is that these gambling sites haven’t been around for long and don’t have the reputation that hybrid sites do.
Hybrid sites accept both crypto and fiat currencies. You can choose to deposit with a debit card or e-wallet, or you can use Bitcoin or Ethereum. It’s up to you.
One of the benefits of going this route is joining a casino that has a solid reputation with several years’ experience as an online gaming operator. You can also bounce between payment methods. You’ll often have more games to choose from, too.
Which Type of Site Do You Choose?
There is no right or wrong here. There’s a good chance that, if you’ve read every word on this page, you know what benefits sound the best to you.
For example, if you want anonymity, payment speed, and hassle-free banking, then you know crypto-only sites are the way to go.
If you like casino games and sports betting, then maybe a crypto-only AIO gambling site would be best.
Only you know what benefits you want and what you want to gamble on.
There’s nothing wrong with having multiple accounts, though. Join a couple of different sites to see which ones fit your personality and interests the most.
Then go all in with your favorite one(s).
Conclusion
Americans have it rough when it comes to online gambling. At least, they do if they don’t live in a state such as New Jersey or Delaware where online gambling is legal.
This makes online gambling extremely difficult because the government makes banking difficult. But this is a hurdle you need to overcome if you want to gamble online for real money.
Cryptocurrencies solve this banking problem and come with a host of other benefits like anonymity, lower fees, and more.
There’s definitely some tradeoff to using crypto to gamble online, though – namely variance. However, if you’re willing to ignore that or can find ways to reduce it, crypto is a solid banking option for Americans to use.
It might even be your best bet yet.