Bitcoin Betting Guide

Making your first Bitcoin payment at an online sportsbook

It’s so easy to make a Bitcoin deposit at an online sportsbook. The good news is that you can also repeat this process at the best Bitcoin casino. Here’s what you need to do:

• Sign up to your chosen betting site: You’ll normally have to provide some personal information when you sign up to an online sportsbook. This should include your name, address, email and date of birth. Remember to only use those online sportsbooks featured here for a safe way to enjoy Bitcoin betting.
• Set up your Bitcoin wallet: Your wallet is where you store the private keys of all of your Bitcoin transactions. You can get a Bitcoin wallet either as downloadable software, a browser-based wallet, or even a ‘cold’ wallet, which is a physical device kept separate from the internet.
• Get a crypto exchange account: Once you have your wallet set up, you can go to one of the many crypto exchanges and purchase Bitcoin. This can usually be done with a regular card or another cryptocurrency.
• Send Bitcoin to your wallet: The crypto exchange should give you simple steps where you can transfer to your wallet. You should just be asked how much you want to transfer and then submit your request.
• Deposit Bitcoin into your betting account: Once you have the Bitcoin in your wallet, you can make a payment to the betting site. Here you normally have to enter in the sportsbook’s deposit address to your clipboard, then paste it into the send field of your Bitcoin wallet. Now, just decide how much you want to send and make your payment.
• Start betting: The Bitcoin deposit should land in your account in less than 10 minutes and then you can use the funds to start betting on whatever sport you want. Easy!

Average timescales for making Bitcoin sportsbook deposits and withdrawals

One of the big reasons why so many sports betting fans are switching to using Bitcoin is that your crypto payments are usually lightning fast. This means that you can make a speedy Bitcoin deposit and once you’ve made some winnings, you’ll find that Bitcoin withdrawals are routinely faster to process than most other payment methods.

While Bitcoin deposits should be nearly instant, network activity usually reduces processing times to around five minutes. You should never have to wait longer than one hour for your Bitcoin deposits to go through.

When it comes to making withdrawals via Bitcoin, you may find that things take a bit longer. This is largely due to the processing checks required, but still, most Bitcoin withdrawals should be carried out within four hours, and it’s rare to have to wait any longer than 48 hours.

The big thing to remember here is that the timescale of all of your Bitcoin payments will be dependent on the sportsbook you are using, as well as the level of network activity. Thankfully, if you stick with any of our recommended online sportsbooks, you should be pretty much guaranteed the fastest Bitcoin payment processing times around.

How to verify your payments at a Bitcoin sportsbook

Blockchain technology is at the core of what Bitcoin is all about, as it is the digitally distributed ledger that contains every transaction made with the cryptocurrency. So if you used Bitcoin to make a sportsbook deposit used on a $10 bet on the Maple Leafs, that deposit will be recorded on the blockchain.

This is good news as the fact that the transaction has been verified on the blockchain gives you the proof of your payment. As such, Bitcoin provides you with an unparalleled level of security and trustworthiness, particularly as the blockchain technology is a public record that can be viewed by anyone.

You don’t have to do anything to verify a Bitcoin transaction at an online sportsbook. All of this is done by Bitcoin ‘miners’ who possess the high-powered computer equipment necessary to crunch the numbers of the crypto transaction.

Instead, you will simply be given a unique private key that is generated for each transaction, and there will be a Bitcoin transaction ID that you can use to monitor the progress of the payment. This can be done at the blockchain information site and you’ll see how many confirmations the transaction has received on its way to the ledger.

Top Bitcoin sports betting providers

A brief history of Bitcoin betting

Bitcoin is the revolutionary digital currency that was created anonymously in 2009. The cryptocurrency allows you to buy goods and services online, and you can use the Bitcoin network to receive funds too. All transactions made using Bitcoin will be recorded on a public ledger called a blockchain.

A big part of Bitcoin’s appeal is the fact that it operates outside of any regular currency, and as such, isn’t overseen by governments, banks and financial institutions. This means that you can use Bitcoin however you want to make payments across borders.

As such, Bitcoin is very useful for playing at sports betting sites. This is because you will be able to use Bitcoin to make deposits to fund your bets, no matter where in the world you are playing from – very useful if your chosen bank prohibits you from making payments to online gambling sites.

There would be no costly currency conversion fees from your deposits and withdrawals, and you may also benefit from not having the payments show up on a bank account.

The first sportsbooks that accepted Bitcoin payments started popping up around 2013, and things have snowballed from here. Now you’ll get dozens of online sportsbooks which take payments in Bitcoin as well as many other cryptocurrencies. So whether you’re using Bitcoin to bet on the NHL or are enjoying esports betting with Dogecoin, you’ll enjoy all of the benefits of the crypto revolution.

How does Bitcoin compare to other sportsbook payment methods?

While Bitcoin offers many advantages to regular payment methods, it’s important to note that you won’t just find this crypto at all good sportsbooks. This is because most sportsbooks will feature old-fashioned payment providers and even a variety of other cryptocurrencies. So here’s a quick look at some of the reasons why you might want to consider another betting payment method over Bitcoin:

• Debit and credit cards: You’ll see debit and credit card brands featured at most decent online sportsbooks. These have an advantage over Bitcoin in that they often feature more flexible limits and the deposits will show up instantly. However, your card payments will show up on your account statement and withdrawal times can be slow when compared to Bitcoin.
• Bank transfers: All sports betting sites will let you make payments via bank transfer. Plus we’ve seen that lots of sportsbooks allow you to use Canada-friendly interbank networks such as Interac, Instadebit and iDebit. The good thing about these kinds of bank transfers is that your deposits will let you qualify for welcome bonuses and you’ll get massive maximum deposit thresholds. The bad news is that bank transfer withdrawals can be notoriously slow and you might face a high minimum withdrawal amount.
• Ewallets: You may see a variety of ewallet brands like EcoPayz, Neteller and Skrill when you use an online sportsbook in Canada, and more betting sites are starting to take PayPal too. Ewallets offer you some of the fastest deposit and withdrawal processing times, but this is offset by the fact that your deposits might not always qualify for deposit bonuses and your maximum limits might be relatively small.
• Prepaid cards: Neosurf and Paysafecard are just some of the prepaid cards that you may see at online sportsbooks in Canada. These offer a big advantage in terms of security as your funds will be kept separate from your regular account. However, there’s the obvious disadvantage in the fact that you can rarely make a withdrawal back to a prepaid card.
• Other cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency that is starting to be accepted at Canadian betting sites. We’re starting to see many more coins being accepted that range from Ethereum to Cardano. Obviously each coin will have its own pros and cons, so if the relatively slow processing times of Bitcoin are getting you down, why not try an altcoin like Litecoin or Bitcoin Cash?

Three facts to consider when betting with Bitcoin

Conclusion – Check back with our Bitcoin betting guide

Now you know how to use Bitcoin for sports betting, you’ll realize that it offers you a fast, secure and fun way to fund your bets. Plus it looks like there are more and more online sportsbooks which are starting to accept this revolutionary cryptocurrency.

However, it’s important to note that things move fast in the crypto world and so we’ll be updating this resource with the latest facts about everything to do with Bitcoin betting. So make sure that you bookmark this page and you’ll know that you’re always playing with the best Bitcoin sportsbooks!

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How to use Bitcoin for sports betting FAQ