There is a large number of casino players in the United Kingdom that would like to play at different Bitcoin (BTC) casinos. However, the online gambling market in the UK is heavily restricted and regulated. This is something that creates a regulated environment for companies to operate, but at the same time, it has affected the number of casinos available for players in the UK.
Indeed, there is a limited number of platforms that United Kingdom players can currently use. However, there are some things that you should know about using Bitcoin (BTC) and other virtual currencies that could help you solve this issue. In this guide, we will tell you the current legal situation of Bitcoin casinos in the United Kingdom and how you can use BTC to play your favorite games.
🇬🇧 Are Bitcoin casinos legal in the United Kingdom?
Let’s start with the current legal situation of Bitcoin casinos in the United Kingdom. Are crypto casinos legal in the UK? Bitcoin gambling in the country is legal, however, there are some regulations that companies must follow if they want to offer services to UK clients.
If we get into the details, every single online casino company that wants to accept players from the United Kingdom should have a specific license to operate in this market. This is very common in some industries. Regulators require companies to get a specific license, which is not an easy path.
Therefore, in this specific example, owning the standard license provided by Curacao might not be enough for companies that offer Bitcoin online casino games to players from the United Kingdom. Not being able to be compliant with this license might create legal problems for casino game providers.
At the moment, no other license allows casino companies to operate in the United Kingdom. Indeed, companies should get the exclusive (and difficult to get) casino license offered by regulatory agencies in the UK. That creates a concentrated market that reduces the options for users and their possibility to select a casino that will let them get access to some of the best games to play with Bitcoin.
However, there are some ways in which users can play at different online Bitcoin casinos without being worried about licensing. The only option that players have is to use unregulated BTC gambling sites.
Unregulated casinos would offer similar solutions to traditional online crypto casinos but without holding an official license or fiat payments. They might work only with digital currencies, making it easier for users from all over the world to get access to these platforms.
Additionally, it is very important to take into consideration that unregulated Bitcoin casinos do not usually have KYC verifications, which means that they are more user-friendly (they do not require your private information for you to start playing favorite games).
Nevertheless, they are also not ideal due to many reasons. Indeed, we will get into the details of how unregulated Bitcoin casinos could help users in the United Kingdom get access to different online casino games. There are many things to take into consideration before deciding to use one of these platforms.
⚖️ Pros and cons of unregulated Bitcoin casinos in the United Kingdom
Let’s get into the pros and cons of unregulated Bitcoin casinos in the United Kingdom. It is worth pointing out that there are positive and negative things about these platforms. Despite letting you play different online casino games, they would also have some negative aspects that you should know before sending funds to these platforms.
Pros of unregulated Bitcoin casinos:
- Unregulated Bitcoin casinos accept different digital assets
- These casinos would not require you to share KYC information
- Crypto payments are faster, cheaper and there is no middleman involved
- Through these platforms, users in different countries can get access to online gambling
- Online crypto casinos without regulations have a faster registration process for clients
- Players would find that the whole deposit and withdrawal process is faster than using licensed platforms
Cons of unregulated Bitcoin casinos:
- There is a smaller number of online casino games available for players
- Users can only deposit funds with digital currencies
- There is always a fear of exit scam
As we can see, there are different positive and negative things about using unregulated cryptocurrency online casinos. Despite that, they would be very useful for users that want to play their favorite games using digital currencies, including Bitcoin.
Nonetheless, they might not be ideal for those players that want to play using traditional payment methods. Considering that they do not have a license, these platforms will not be able to create partnerships with some of the most recognized game providers in the industry.
In general, casino game creators would not partner with unregulated casinos. This is a standard in the industry. This is why it might be possible for users not to find the games they want to play using these unregulated platforms.
Online casinos without a license usually develop their own games. In some cases, copies of the most popular online casino games will also be provided. But the experience might not necessarily be perfect.
The positive thing about these casinos, as shown in the chart above, includes the possibility to pay with digital currencies without passing KYC verification. This is extremely useful for users that do not want to share their private information.
Nowadays, regulated casinos (those casinos with a license) might request additional information if you gambled a certain amount of funds. The additional information that you might have to share in licensed casinos includes bank statements, a valid ID photo, and more.
📝 How to start playing at Bitcoin casinos in the UK?
If you have found a crypto casino that would let you play from the United Kingdom, the process becomes is quite simple. The first thing that you will have to do is buy cryptocurrencies.
Most Bitcoin and crypto users know how to buy digital assets. That means that it shouldn’t be a problem for you. However, if you want to buy Bitcoin and other digital currencies, you can do so using a cryptocurrency exchange or a wallet that supports fiat payments (using debit or credit cards).
If you already have crypto, then you should only deposit the funds to the casino platform. This is a process that will take just a few minutes, depending on whether you have to create a casino account or not. As soon as you register on the gambling platform, you will be able to deposit funds.
In the deposit section, you should select the payment type. Make sure that if you want to send Bitcoin, you select Bitcoin as a deposit method. Sending Ethereum (ETH) or any other virtual currency to a Bitcoin address or vice-versa could result in your funds getting lost forever.
You should copy the Bitcoin address shared by the online casino and you should paste it into your wallet or cryptocurrency exchange. Basically, you are going to be sending funds (BTC) to this wallet. As soon as the transaction gets confirmed by the network, your account will reflect the funds that you have added.
Another thing that you should take into consideration is that you can also withdraw your funds in the same way as you deposited them. After playing different online casino games, you will be able to request a withdrawal. It is worth mentioning that there might be some wagering requirements applied to your deposit. Make sure that you follow them before requesting a withdrawal or you might end up paying additional fees.
When you withdraw the funds from the online Bitcoin casino, you will be able to convert them back to your local fiat currency using a local cryptocurrency exchange. In some cases, some crypto wallets would also offer you similar services.
Nonetheless, cryptocurrency exchanges should also let you get your funds back to your bank account. In this way, even if the casino does not let you deposit fiduciary money, you will be able to play different casino games and get your funds back to your bank account.
🎲 What games UK players can play in Bitcoin casinos?
This section is quite important for cryptocurrency online gamblers that want to get play at unlicensed cryptocurrency casinos. As we mentioned before, there is a smaller number of games that users can get access to. This is due to the fact that game providers are not going to be making partnerships with casinos that do not have a valid license (such as the Curacao license or a license from the United Kingdom).
Despite that, you should be able to play some of the most popular games that you can find at online casinos: slots, table games, live casino games, card games, and many others. The only issue that you might face is related to the variety and quality of games that you are going to be playing.
Indeed, the quality of the games at unlicensed cryptocurrency casinos tends to be lower than licensed platforms. This is why you should search for a crypto or Bitcoin casino that would offer you the games that you want to play. It is always good to search for different reviews and online comments from players to understand the quality of the games offered by some of these online casinos.
If you are a lover of live games, there might be a lack of options for you. Despite that, as a player from the United Kingdom, you will be able to use your digital currencies in order to play some of the most popular live dealer casino games available (despite the smaller variety).
Some of the live games that you might be able to play at these online casino platforms using Bitcoin include Blackjack, Poker, Roulette (European and American styles), Baccarat, and many others.
👛 What Crypto besides Bitcoin UK players can use for gambling?
As you might already know, there are different cryptocurrencies in the market that you can use besides Bitcoin to play at online casinos. Gamblers might also own several virtual currencies, including Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Tether (USDT), and Monero (XMR), among others.
Ethereum was usually one of the best alternatives to Bitcoin in the early days of this virtual currency. Transactions were quite fast thanks to very short block times and fees were low. However, with the growth and expansion of blockchain networks, Ethereum is now congested and transactions might take several minutes or even hours to be processed.
Litecoin is another digital currency that users can rely on to play at online crypto casinos from the United Kingdom. This virtual currency is usually faster and cheaper to send than both Bitcoin and Ethereum, which makes it an ideal option for those users that want to pay low fees and start playing as soon as possible.
Bitcoin Cash is an alternative option to Bitcoin. This cryptocurrency has faster transactions than Bitcoin and it is also cheaper. It is very similar to Liteocin as transaction times and fees are usually very similar. This could be a good option for players that want to avoid paying high fees.
Dogecoin is known for being a meme coin. That means that this virtual currency has been used as a meme cryptocurrency in recent years. However, due to Elon Musk’s endorsement, this digital asset became one of the top 10 largest in the world. Nowadays, several cryptocurrency online casinos are relying on DOGE to process payments. Additionally, thanks to its low fees and fast transaction times, DOGE becomes a great option for crypto users.
Monero is a different type of virtual currency. This is a privacy coin, which means that it does not share information with third parties. If we use any of the digital currencies mentioned above, we will realize that all the information about each transaction is publicly available. This is why Monero is a great digital asset for those users who value privacy.
We finally have Tether. Tether is a stablecoin, which means that its value is tied to a fiat currency, in this case, the U.S. dollar (USD). In this way, users can have access to a stable currency with the benefits that only digital currencies can provide to users.
👉 How to pick the best Bitcoin casino in the United Kingdom?
If you want to select the best Bitcoin casino in the UK there are some things that you can do. The first thing that you should do is check and make sure that you read the Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) of the platform.
It is strictly necessary for users to make sure that the casino is available to players from the United Kingdom. A good idea would be to talk to customer support agents and confirm it twice. If the platform does not support UK players, you could get banned and your account could be frozen. This is why it is quite important to check this information out.
Furthermore, considering the smaller variety of games, you should analyze different cryptocurrency online casinos and try to find the one that offers you the games that at least you want to play. Another thing that you can do is check the number of games available. This would let you know whether the casino has been able to create partnerships with different game providers or not.
Some casinos might also have additional withdrawal fees. This is something that you want to avoid. The casino is already profitable, you want to make sure that you play at a website that does not have additional withdrawal fees.
When playing at unregulated online Bitcoin casinos is extremely important to make sure that they have a good reputation. The fact that they are not licensed does not mean that they would not offer good services to players. However, there might be some sites that try to scam users.
You should stay far from online cryptocurrency casinos that have bad reviews on the internet. In addition, if you see that users are having problems with their withdrawals, you should make sure that you don’t deposit funds to this platform.
Indeed, you might not be able to withdraw your funds. If you pay attention to these things, it would be possible for you to play at different Bitcoin online casinos from the United Kingdom.