Is it legal to gamble with bitcoin in the USA?

Discussion in 'General Bitcoin Gambling Discussion' started by Hernia, Jun 14, 2016.

  1. Hernia

    Hernia Member

    Does the United States government looks at betting with bitcoin in the same way as betting with monopoly money? Is bitcoin an officially recognised currency in the US?
     
  2. Humble Servant

    Humble Servant Active Member Staff Member

    I don't think there are any specific laws prohibiting bitcoin gambling in the United States although it probably falls under existing laws for fiat currency gambling. Most of the anti-gambling laws introduced in the United States have been aimed at stopping US banks and credit card companies from processing payments to and from gambling sites rather than at individual citizens so I don't think you have much to worry about right now.
     
  3. uglymug

    uglymug Member

    Don't forget that the founder of Seals With Clubs, Bryan Micon, had his house raided by armed police.
     
  4. Lance

    Lance Member

    i think there is a bit difference between an individual playing poker in their home and someone setting up an online gambling site. if he was operating seals with clubs from the usa then of course they were going to arrest him.
     
  5. 4TheWin

    4TheWin Member

    This is a non-issue because I can't think of a single instance from the last few years where the U.S. government prosecuted an individual for online gambling. Since most poker players and sports bettors in the US have been using their credit cards to fund their accounts, it would have been relatively easy for the authorities to prove people were online gambling and prosecute them if they wanted to. Proving that a US citizen is gambling with bitcoin is a thousand times harder so I really don't think it is anything to worry about.
     
  6. NKOTB

    NKOTB Member

    Do you think it's possible that one day crypto-currencies will be made illegal in the USA if they cause too much disruption?
     
  7. Terry

    Terry Member

    I hope that most law-makers are smart enough to know that the cat is out of the bag now and banning it will only make it go more underground. Making crypto illegal will work out as well as prohibition.
     
  8. Humble Servant

    Humble Servant Active Member Staff Member

    If you are worried about the legal ramifications of gambling at sportsbooks or casinos in the USA, use BTC-only gambling sites that facilitate anonymous betting accounts like Nitrogen Sports or FortuneJack. Avoid any bitcoin friendly operators that force you into a KYC or AML process to withdraw your bitcoin.
     
  9. EthHead

    EthHead Member

    If you are really, really paranoid you would probably use Monero for online gambling. Monero offers better privacy and anonymity than btc.
     
  10. Kaboom

    Kaboom Member

    yeah but do any gambling sites accept monero or even zcash? most altcoins are nice ideas but they aren't used in the real world.
     
  11. Humble Servant

    Humble Servant Active Member Staff Member

    The only gambling site that I'm aware of that accepts Monero is Fortune Jack http://www.bitcoingambling.io/fortune-jack.html

    I think you're right about altcoins in general, they mainly just used for speculation at the minute. Bitwala added support for altcoins last year but they announced recently that they were returning to focus primarily on bitcoin because nobody was using altcoins.
     
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2016
  12. Kaboom

    Kaboom Member

    any time there is a bitcoin price rally, you see the price of all the alt coins drop dramatically as money pours back into btc.
     
  13. Gooch

    Gooch Member

    I don't care if it's legal or not to gamble in the United States. I'm not going to allow the US government to dictate what I can and can't do. I'm so glad bitcoin is wrestling control back from a nanny state.
     
  14. Umair

    Umair Member

    if you use bitcoin to gamble at fanduel or draftkings then i guess it would be legal.
     
  15. Spud

    Spud Member

    i don't think either of those companies accept btc yet.
     
  16. Pony

    Pony Member

    It will be interesting to see what a Donald Trump presidency will mean for the legal status of online gambling in the USA. Since Trump owns bricks-and-mortar casinos, I can't see him being pro online gambling. Especially given that Sheldon Adelson is such a big GOP donor.
     
  17. Wonka

    Wonka Member

    Before the internet, many countries enforced a ban on pornography. This became so pointless once people had the internet in their houses that governments just gave up. I predict the same thing will happen with BTC and gambling. Governments will soon realize that it is pointless trying to ban gambling in a world where BTC exists.
     
  18. uglymug

    uglymug Member

    I have never heard of anyone getting prosecuted for placing a sports bet with the mighty dollar so I expect betting with bitcoin will be similarly harmless.
     
  19. Humble Servant

    Humble Servant Active Member Staff Member

  20. EvilK

    EvilK Member

    I thought that bitcoin and crypto-currencies in general were regarded as commodities so they should be exempt. If the U.S. government wants me to pay capital gains tax then surely it's not a regular currency.
     

Share This Page