Is Cryptocurrencies within Gambling becoming a system to be concerned about?. There is a fair amount of concern that seems to be building up and certainly creating interest.
One can ask – Was Cryptocurrencies invented because of or in spite of online gambling becaming a huge No No across the Globe. Major Online Casinos found themselves up the creek without a paddle when Online Gambling was banned. In particular, Online Poker felt the pinch more so than anything else.
Cryptocurrencies have over the past few years enabled gamblers to once again participate in online gambling. This however has not been well accepted by the different States/Countries that have tried to stop money from going out.
One such company that has come to mind is Augur. This is a market prediction platform that uses cryptocurrencies and also runs on blockchain technology. Some may ask what is Blockchain?. This allows digital information to be distributed but not copied. Blockchain technology created the backbone of a new type of internet communication. Originally devised for digital currency, Bitcoin, the tech community is now finding other potential uses for this technology.
What this ultimately means is that users can place bets on an infinite range of outcomes. So much so that they can effectively be limited only by their own imaginations. Unlike other forms of online gaming, there are no geographical restrictions, and crypto allows users to benefit from a certain level of anonymity.
As with most forms of new technology, crypto-gambling has raised a range of legislative questions about how governments can regulate the market adequately. The main legal issue with Augur is that the platform blends gambling and prediction markets. The latter of this is banned in many countries as it is deemed to open doors to criminal activities.
This leaves legislators with a big question as to whom they should negotiate with about legality. Developers have also stated that they have no control over the peer-to-peer platform and do not have access to user private keys or personal information. This makes the platform a potential hotbed of money laundering through anonymous transactions. In the United States, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating whether transactions carried out on the platform fall under its jurisdiction.
Crypto-gambling, however has proved to be particularly popular in countries where other forms of gambling have been banned. In Mid 2018, the numbers of participants in crypto-gambling rose sharply. One can argue the toss, but it certainly appears to have picked up possibly in part due to sporting fixtures that took place during the period.