As early as the 19th century, American citizens have enjoyed the game of poker as both a social event and an opportunity to make some cash. Of course, winning money this way isn’t easy, which is why the pros need to spend a lot of time learning and practicing the craft. Even though poker is essentially a game of strategy, it encountered a lot of legal issues in the past.
These pertained to the online varieties of the game. Fortunately, the emergence of cryptocurrency has brought a viable solution for this issue along with it. Now, many argue that Bitcoin poker is the future of online gambling and casino games. Let’s find out why.
UIGEA and Online Poker
Poker is a card game with a rich history in the United States of America. Although it is enjoyed today by players from all over the world, the U.S. holds it dear to its heart. And why shouldn’t it? After all, it requires complex strategies and tactics, as well as good money management skills that prevent running out of cash.
Due to its immense popularity, it has successfully made its way on the World Wide Web as well. Plenty of virtual rooms offer conditions similar to those in real life, where people can meet up and play a heart game of poker with actual cash bets involved. Unfortunately, this has proved to be problematic in the past.
Anyone who’s passionate about online poker or other forms of virtually gambling real money is familiar with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. It is a regulation that prohibits people and businesses from accepting financial transactions that support the activity, and it came in the wake of heavy money laundering suspicions surrounding the industry.
Simply put, banks and other reputable financial institutions are not allowed to process transactions pertaining to online poker and casinos. This led to several major virtual establishments being shut down on what is now known as Black Friday, which created an unsafe environment for online gambling.
Bitcoin Is the Future
People from all over the world greatly enjoy online poker in all its forms, such as the famous Texas Hold’em, as well as other varieties like Caribbean Stud Poker or Omaha Hi. Regardless of whether you want to do it professionally or just as a hobby, you’ll be happy to hear that Bitcoin is here to save the day.
Blockchain cryptocurrency is the future of online gambling because it swiftly eliminates the problem of transaction mediation. The concept of ‘restricted transactions’ proposed by UIGEA no longer stands in this case because Bitcoin is not a fiat currency. This means that financial institutions do not regulate it, and thus the act has no agency over it.
In order to understand the situation, a brief discussion about cryptos and the blockchain algorithm that makes them possible is in order. Bitcoin, as well as Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin and so on, are a decentralized type of currency underpinned by nodes consisting of every single person who is moving money on the market.
Due to this unique manner of functioning, they remain independent from any major governmental regulators. Even though this might change sooner or later, for the time being, Bitcoin casinos seem to be a viable option in a market that has received serious backlash from the state in the past.
Final Thoughts
If there’s one thing that online poker and Bitcoin have in common, it’s the government’s proclivity to interfere with them. Nevertheless, once brought together, they provide the world of virtual gambling with a much-awaited answer to dilemmas that are older than a decade. And now, all signs point towards Bitcoin poker as being the future of casino games.
