Las Vegas facing bitcoin boom?

Bitcoin has been the talk of the town, and not just since its steep rise over the past few days. The casino and entertainment industry in Las Vegas has also recognized the trend and is adapting to the booming cryptocurrency. Online casinos like Bitstarz accept BTC for a long time already.

It is now possible for residents and tourists to pay with Bitcoins in many stores and hotels. But the casino industry is also following the development with great interest, according to financial experts.

Casino pioneers in Las Vegas

Casino pioneers in Las VegasPioneers of the development are The D Casino and the Golden Gate Hotel. The two gambling and entertainment companies began accepting Bitcoins as an optional payment method in individual business areas back in 2014. However, the casino area has been exempt from crypto payments. Instead, guests can pay their bills with Bitcoins at the hotel, restaurants, cafes and bars, as well as at the reception desk.

The gaming industry is currently working on solutions to integrate cryptocurrencies. In early January, International Game Technology, the world’s largest gaming machine manufacturer, said it was developing techniques to integrate cryptocurrencies into gaming machines as a virtual payment option.

  • To be able to pay with cryptocurrency, the Golden Gate recommends its guests to use special Bitcoin ATMs in addition to the virtual payment process.
  • At which they could conveniently exchange the digital money for real dollars.
  • The growing popularity of this offer is now literally visible on every street corner in Las Vegas.
  • For example, there are now 149 machines for exchanging a wide variety of cryptocurrencies for cash spread across the gambling city.

High volatility a problem

However, according to observers, it could be some time before the acceptance of bitcoins in casinos finally takes hold. The main problem, they say, is the high volatility of the currencies. If the exchange rate fluctuates in the double-digit percentage range on individual days, this makes it difficult for casinos to control their revenues. Speaking to news channel KNTV Las Vegas, Jackie Morck, CEO of cryptocurrency trading platform Totem, illustrated the problem:

Let’s say someone gambles with a dollar and loses that dollar. Now the casino has that dollar and the next day the value of Bitcoin drops and the dollar is only worth $0.30. The next day after that, the bitcoin goes up and the value is possibly 2 dollars. Casinos would thus have to decide whether to always exchange the cryptocurrency for dollars immediately after payment. The other option would be to hold the amount to speculate on price gains.