Best and Worst Places to Provide a Bitcoin Casino Solution

A bitcoin casino solution has become a popular way to start an online gambling business nowadays. The benefits of starting a bitcoin gaming site are enormous, and we can say that the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies will soon help bitcoin casinos compete with real-money gaming sites.

By using bitcoins or other virtual currencies as payment solutions, you do not have to obtain a gambling license from a licensing authority, since these operations are usually not considered real gambling activities. More than that, the anonymity of the transactions that take place between you and your customers, anywhere across the globe, makes bitcoin perfect for online gaming operations.

If you are interested in a bitcoin casino solution, it would be useful to be aware of the most bitcoin-friendly countries, in order to know which audience you should target to maximize your profits. On the other hand, it is also important to know which countries have banned bitcoin, so that you can run your operations without any legal issues.

The most bitcoin-friendly countries

Japan

Japan is known for some of the largest bitcoin operations in the world, with one of the biggest bitcoin exchanges in the world, Mt. Gox. This company managed to handle no less than 70% of bitcoin transactions around the world, and its collapse in 2014 led to significant changes on the bitcoin market. Even so, Japan remains a pioneer on the online virtual currencies scene, with multiple currency exchanges being opened in the past years. More than that, it has been reported that over 20,000 companies in Japan now accept bitcoin as payment method.

At this point in time, opening a real-money gaming website is not legal in Japan. Operators can’t offer any types of gambling games that will result in a real-money transaction between your casino and the players. Like so, a Bitcoin casino solution would be an interesting choice for players from Japan who want to access casino games. In order to reach players from Japan, it would be a good option to have your games and website information translated in Japanese, so you can be sure that your customers will be able to easily understand everything that your website can offer.

Canada

Bitcoin transactions are allowed in Canada, this country offering the first bitcoin ATM that allows people to trade between Canadian dollars and bitcoin. There are several bitcoin exchanges in Canada, and companies such as Dell already introduced the option to pay with bitcoin in this country. More than that, an university in Canada now accepts bitcoins for book purchases.

When it comes to online gambling in Canada, internet casino operations are not prohibited in the country, and there are a multitude of offshore websites that offer gaming services to Canadians. The Canadian government does not issue licenses for companies who want to operate online casinos. Many Canadians gamble at offshore websites, and there is a large number of them, too. Even so, the growing popularity of bitcoin in this country shows that a bitcoin casino solution would be a fruitful business idea for operators looking to start a gaming business that will cater to Canada residents.

Australia

Bitcoin is recognized in Australia as a barter arrangement subject to several taxes, with no significant restrictions regarding its use. Even so, the Australian government has issued a special policy for companies who receive bitcoin as payment for goods and services.

Like so, if you are looking to receive Bitcoin as part of your operations, you are required to record the value in Australian dollars as part of your ordinary income, at fair market value. If you want to make transactions with bitcoins in Australia, you will have to provide information such as what the transaction was for, who the other party was (their Bitcoin address), the amount is Australian dollars and the date of transactions.

All this information will probably reduce some of the benefits that Bitcoin offers, such as complete anonymity. Even so, the fact that bitcoin is lightly regulated in Australia means that people have more trust in the bitcoin transactions system, and would not draw back from exchanging their Australian dollars into bitcoins.

Countries that are against bitcoin

China

China, besides being completely against internet gambling, decided to prohibit any transactions made by payment processors. On the other hand, individuals can trade bitcoins with themselves, fact which made China one of the largest market for bitcoin transactions at this point in time. Even so, there are several operators who offer bitcoin casino solutions to China residents, by offering versions of their websites translated in Chinese.

Russia

Russia is very strict when it comes to online gaming. Russia’s state agency has already blocked a large number of unauthorized gaming sites belonging to both Russian and foreign operators. More than that, Russian gamblers were blocked while trying to access gambling sites. On top of that, there have been several discussions last year regarding the complete ban of bitcoin across the country. Recently, the chairman of Russia’s Investigative Committee explained that money substitutes, such as bitcoin, should be banned before they reach widespread use in Russia.

Iceland

After the economic crisis in 2008, Iceland adopted a series of measures that would protect the outflow of Icelandic currency from the country. Like so, bitcoin foreign exchanges were banned, as a result of not being compatible with the country’s Foreign Exchange Act. Since bitcoin is completely banned in this country, a bitcoin casino solution would not reach players from Iceland.