We post frequent news updates in the world of Bitcoin sportsbetting and sportsbook. Find the latest news posts below:
A while ago, we wrote about Watford FC’s new mega-deal with Bitcoin sports betting site Sportsbet.io. The Hornets agreed on a record multi-million deal to sport the Sportsbet logo on...
The cryptocurrency craze has its fair share of supporters and opponents among sport superstars and organizations. Add the Dallas Mavericks to the first group. With the NBA season to start...
In this month of Bitcoin sports betting news, popular BTC sportsbook and Casino Sportsbet announces a new special promotion for members of the platform that will end up giving away...
While Bitcoin betting platforms have definitely come a long way, there are still sites out there trying to scam users out of their money. One such platform was recently spotted...
Fantasy sports betting has just gotten better thanks to a new partnership between player favorite sportsbook Sportsbet and the people behind Moneyball Fantasy. If you’re a fan of fantasy sports,...
Former Bitcoin sportsbook and casino BetKing has guaranteed its return on the scene after successfully gathering enough funds to re-instate its gambling business through the ICO campaign that begun this July 2017. Thus far, the BetKing team has raised a total of $5.5 million in various cryptocurrencies during both the pre-sale and the main sale that was launched on August 7th.
A Successful New Beginning
Prior to July, BetKing announced they will be launching an ICO crowd-funding campaign that was to run until September 4th and give investors a chance to buy some of the 100 million Bankroll tokens, in order to raise funds for the platform and set up its bankroll. During the pre-sale alone the sportsbook managed to raise $1.2 million while the total amount of money raised is close to $5.5 million.
The majority of the funds were raised in Bitcoins with a total of 785 BTC collected, or approximately half of the total funds considering how much the price of Bitcoin changed during the campaign’s run. The remaining funds were raised with the help of 4,415 Ethereum coins and around 819 Litecoin coins. During the first two weeks of the campaign, the tokens were available with a discount of up to 15%.
At least half of the raised money will be used by BetKing to fund the house bankroll, from where winnings will be paid, while the rest of the funds will be used for promotional purposes, legal and server expenses, as well as optimizing, designing, and developing the platform. The sportsbook will then use profits made from the bankrolled games to buy back tokens from the holders while the full profits will be made available to all holders, just like it has been during the site’s original crowd-funding campaign.
To get players propped up for the re-launch, the site released a preview Bitcoin betting round during the McGreggor/Mayweather fight that has been the hot topic for the past month. Bitcoin bets were available prior to the fight with a 1BTC limit, while Mayweather was understandably picked as the favorite. However, as of now, there is only a demo version of the platform available at BetKing’s website with information about the campaign.
An Old Name in the Business
The BetKing brand was initially launched around April of 2013 under a different name. By 2015, the site became one of the most popular crowd-funded Bitcoin sites with a wagering volume of 400,000 BTC. It was kick-started by a fund of 6,000 BTC, all of which were later returned to the investors when BetKing shut down in September 2016 and made room for other Bitcoin sportsbetting providers like Sporstbet.io to enter the scene and grow.
BetKing’s owner proudly speaks of the sportsbook’s history, saying that it was “easily verifiable”. He believes there was no need for additional assurance during the campaign as most token buyers were either previous buyers or have talked to the former investors. He believes the fact that BetKing was run for 3.5 years without any problems and that the investment was returned is the only needed testimony about the credibility of the project.
If you’re interested in BetKing, you’ll have to wait until 2018 at least to be able to use the Bitcoin-friendly sportsbook as the operator is launching its casino segment first. For the time being, you can visit Sportsbet.io or try CloudBet for your Bitcoin betting needs.
Bitcoin sportsbetting providers Sportsbet.io have recently announced that they’ve become the proud sponsor of the HellRaisers – a European eSports team that regularly competes in CS:GO (Counter Strike: Global Offensive) tournaments. Per the freshly penned agreement, Sportsbet.io will be sponsoring the team during the next 12 months during which custom promotions will be featured on the Sportsbet.io platform like bet boost or competitions.
A Mutually Beneficial Partnership
Head of eSports at Coingaming (Sportsbet’s parent company), Dias Ismailov, welcomed the new sponsorship agreement with the HellRaisers in an interview with gaming news portal TotallyGaming.com, by saying it will allow the Bitcoin bookmaker to add support to the eSports sector.
According to Ismailov, Sportsbet.io and HellRaisers share a mutual objective – growing the profile of the eSports industry on a global scale. He believes that by investing in the eSports sector Sportsbet will be able to help the industry achieve mainstream success, and hopes that this sponsorship would open the door to sponsoring other teams, competitions, and supporting fans of eSports.
HellRaisers are currently one of the top global eSports teams, and they are composed of players from Slovakia, Hungary, and Ukraine. The team is ranked as 11th in Europe and 22nd in the world in CS:GO at the eSports media outlet GosuGamers, with recent months being highlighted as the period of their peak performance. Sponsoring the team, apart from helping Sportsbet.io get more exposure in the global eSports community, is also expected to draw in players from countries the team members come from.
According to Aleksey Kucherov, “CEO” of HellRaisers, choosing Sportsbet.io was a conscious decision from the team’s side. The team head says that their sponsor would have had to share the HellRaisers’ vision of helping the eSports industry grow to be chosen, which the bookmaker apparently did. He also added that by supporting their new sponsors, bettors would also be supporting the team and the industry as well.
Moves in the Right Direction
Sportsbet.io is a rare case of a Bitcoin sportsbetting platform that invests plenty into marketing and growing the brand name. From launching Twitter campaigns to offering custom betting options to their users, the sportsbook has been putting in a lot of effort into establishing a strong presence on the Bitcoin gambling community, especially when it comes to player promotions.
The site is running on the Coingaming.io platform, a modern gaming platform designed and offered by Sportsbet’s operators. The site exclusively works with Bitcoin only and offers a variety of sports to its users, the most prominent being NBA, football, NFL, EPL, and eSports. Bitcoin live betting is also offered at the platform as well as a new Player Props feature that lets you build your own prop bets right from scratch.
Apart from sports, the Sportsbet.io site also offers a casino section where you can find games from a number of popular casino software providers like BetSoft, Play N’Go and Live Dealer games from Evolution Gaming. If you want to check out the offer for yourself and see what they have in store for sports bettors and eSports fans, you can visit Sportsbeti.io by clicking this link.
B
itcoin is one of the most common solutions to bypass regulatory and financial policies for many bettors living in countries like the US, Australia, Russia, or even European countries where offshore sportsbetting is prohibited, taxed, or penalized. Although it’s also used as a faster and more profitable betting method, Bitcoin’s main attraction still lies within the anonymity it provides.
However, due to its rapidly growing acceptance within both the offline and online world, Bitcoin has been catching the eye of regulatory bodies more frequently, especially within the last year, during which its price kept breaking record after record. The latest countries to join the expanding group of nations that regulate Bitcoin are Australia and Russia, both of which are prepping up for passing legislations that can make a big difference to sport bettors living in the countries.
Russia Central Bank Moves Closer to Legislation
The Russian government was known for its fierce stance on Bitcoin, since officials have been vocally criticizing the cryptocurrency. But that stance changed drastically over the course of the last month-two as Alexei Moiseev, Deputy Finance Minister of Russia, publicly disclosed last month that the Russian Federation is to draft a new bill that would define and legalize Bitcoin in an effort to battle money laundering and strengthen the local economy.
Moiseev, at the end of April 2017, told media outlets that the legislation is likely to be ready by 2018 and that they will be working with the central bank to determine a mutual position. But several days ago representatives from the Central Bank or Russia (CBR) already announced that the legislation will be revealed in one month, most likely towards the end of June.
According to Olga Skorobogatova, CBR Deputy Governor, Bitcoin, along with any other cryptocurrency not issued by the state, will be classified as “digital goods” and consequently be subject to the provisions in the corresponding legislation. The central bank is planning to use several amendments from the digital currency laws for cryptocurrencies, including ones that apply to control, record-keeping, and taxes. Thus, Bitcoin bettors in Russia might face more control through the upcoming legislation.
Double Tax on Bitcoin to be Gone in Australia
At the beginning of May, the Australian government also announced plans to change the current anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) legislation to incorporate more oversight over Bitcoin. In an official document, which was released at the beginning of the month, the Government stated its support for the recommendations given by the Productivity Commission which called for changes to the AML and CTF Act that would incorporate digital currency businesses.
The AML/CTF Act, among other things, obligates businesses to verify the identity of their customers and record their transfers and transactions. Per the proposed changes, businesses working with digital currencies, which include exchanges, will also have to comply with the Act’s provisions. The government also proposed to remove the Goods and Service Tax on Bitcoin to avoid the current double taxation, with the final goal being to stimulate the FinTech industry.
Malta is keen on keeping its status and reputation as Europe’s leading destination for online casino and sports betting operators. Multiple sportsbooks and casinos are already based in Malta, and we can expect that number to grow in the upcoming years.
One of the main institutions behind this is the Malta Gaming Authority, which is in charge of licencing and regulating online betting operators. Earlier this year, Malta’s Prime Minister stated that Europe should become a ‘Bitcoin Continent’, which indicated that this country is more than willing to make the use of Bitcoins easier for individuals and companies. That is guaranteed to have a tremendous effect on Bitcoin sports betting, considering that a lot of punters these days favour Bitcoin over other betting options.
MGA Dedicated to Modernise and Work on a Bitcoin Strategy
The Chairman of the Malta Gaming Authority spoke on the organisation’s strategy regarding remote betting and gaming, stating that it one of the main aims is to give the country additional leverage. The conference was organised by the country’s Parliamentary Committee which deals with issues regarding financial affairs.
The MGA Chairman, Joseph Cuschieri went on with his speech, accenting the huge importance of the betting industry for the country’s economy and budget. Namely, more than €56m in tax was collected from betting and gaming operators in 2016, and betting related activities accounted for about €120m of the total revenues. More than 3,000 people in Malta are employed in the gaming and betting industry.
Cuschieri added that the organisation has to adopt a more active approach and deal with the threats and issues that appear globally. The further strategy, he argued, should be based on three key tenets.
The first tenet includes a more serious approach in developing B2B products and services, due to the fact that the B2B market is less prone to risks, financial crimes and other unbeneficial external factors. The second tenet involves reducing of the bureaucratic elements in the process of regulation and the last one is concerned with the employment of a more flexible approach which will enable the MGA to respond to market demands more accurately.
Malta to Develop a Revolutionary National Strategy, Claims PM
Cuschieri expressed the readiness of the MGA to expand in other areas, saying that they are currently considering all options regarding new types of betting like eSports skins betting, and betting products with a VR element. Crypto-currency, and especially Bitcoin betting will be a key priority in the future.
The MGA recognises that online Bitcoin betting will become even more prominent in the future and that the country should employ a national approach regarding crypto-currency regulations. Cuschieri clearly had in mind the recent statement by the Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat that Malta will adopt a revolutionary strategy.
The Prime Minister also added that other European nations are more reluctant to acknowledge the role of new payment technology, but he urged them to accept the new reality. Malta will be on the frontline when it comes to crypto-currency innovations, Muscat concluded.
Online Bitcoin betting platform SportsBet.io is launching a new promotion this March to promote and increase their Twitter presence but also reward their loyal followers. Namely, the sportsbook is launching a Twitter promotion that is to run for an unspecified time and give away various sports memorabilia to any random Twitter fan of their profile.
The Twitter promotion comes shortly after the sportsbook introduced a new Player Prop feature and is aimed at stimulating regular and new users to “Bet Big Win Big” via their prop betting or regular services. The competition was already kicked off and the first prize is a FC Barcelona shirt, with many more similar rewards to come in the upcoming weeks.
A Chance to Win Sports Memorabilia
This year’s promotion is yet another creative giveaway for Bitcoin sports bettors from the sportsbook, after last year’s ticket giveaway for the Euro 2016 semi-finals. To get a chance to win any of the prizes, Twitter uses have to follow the sportsbook and re-tweet their competition tweets on their own profiles. More information can be found by visiting their Twitter profile or their website.
The first prize in the Twitter giveaway is a FC Barcelona football shirt signed by no other than Lionel Messi himself, after which the sportsbook announced they will give other memorabilia from NHL, NFL, tennis and basketball during this month. There is also a special prize announced for the end of the promotion which is yet to be revealed to their loyal followers.
SportBet.io’s Sportsbook Director, Chris Uren, commented on the promotion by saying that they can’t wait to give away the prizes as a sign of gratitude towards their followers. He says that Lionel Messi’s football shirt was a great starting point for the promotion because his goals have helped many of their users to score some “impressive wins” during the past months.
Uren believes the first prize was an appropriate choice, considering the circumstances, and they have plenty of similar surprises lined up, including a grand prize that will definitely be worth the win.
Working at Full Steam
The sportsbook is launching a competition not long after becoming the first Bitcoin sportsbook to introduce a proprietary prop bets feature from Digital Sports Tech and is likely hoping to increase the exposure to this feature and their social media presence with it.
The Player Props is an advanced prop betting tool that allows any users to create fully customized prop bets instead of having to choose between pre-selected ones, like with most sportsbooks. The way the tool works is that users can combine bets across multiple events and players to create new bets, the odds of which are automatically calculated by the betting tool.
Thus, users of SportsBet.io are now able to enjoy a diversity of betting markets which can’t be found anywhere else and don’t have to wait for approval from the operator. The Player Prop tool also comes with social media integration features which allow users to share their customized bets on their social media profiles. If you want to check out how it works, you can visit SportsBet.io and give it a try.
