Gambling is legal in the United Kingdom. The UK’s rules allow any adult to visit a casino to enjoy any of several games played for real money in the country’s large and growing gambling industry. Great Britain’s gross gambling yield (GGY) climbed more than 492% between April 2021 and March 2022, compared to April 2020 to March 2021. Online gambling is also quite popular, as reports state that UK gambling sites earned about £3.1 billion from October 2018 to September 2019.
How crypto gambling is regulated in the UK
As the market grows, there are several factors every UK gambler should consider, especially with regulation. Firstly, all players should know that the Gambling Commission is the agency responsible for licensing, regulating, advising, and providing guidance to businesses and individuals interested in gambling. As with many other countries, the UK’s Gambling Act prohibits persons under 18 years from gambling or entering gambling premises. Violators, including establishments that allow underage persons, may be forced to pay heavy fines.
Players must consider how regulations may affect crypto gambling. While they may not be the most popular option, the volume of crypto gambling transactions is on the rise. In the first quarter of 2021, global crypto gamblers placed bets worth over $2.9 trillion (£2.3 trillion), rising by more than 117% to $6.34 trillion (over £5 trillion) in Q1 of 2022. By volume, crypto contributed to 36% of all bets placed in Q1 2022, rising from 26% in Q1 2021.
Why Bitcoin gambling is so popular
An increasing number of gamblers now prefer to play at a BTC casino in the UK for different reasons. Firstly, crypto eliminates several obstacles plaguing the traditional gambling market. For instance, users can visit a crypto casino to deposit funds and place crypto wagers while enjoying protection provided by blockchain technology. Users also enjoy privacy and anonymity because crypto payments are not as easy to track, unlike fiat money transactions.
What’s more, many crypto casinos operate outside of the regulations set out by the UKGC – they have licences from overseas since the UKGC doesn’t currently licence crypto platforms. That means these sites also don’t have to be part of the UK’s self-exlusion programme, GamStop. So, crypto casinos like those on this guide that compares non GamStop options can accept players who are signed up for the scheme, allowing them to play again when they have their gaming habits back under control.
Another advantage of crypto casinos is the security and speed of transactions. Players can quickly deposit funds to play individual games or join tournaments, and also speedily process withdrawals to their wallets after winning. Furthermore, players enjoy global access to worldwide casinos since middlemen or traditional fiat transfer regulations do not limit crypto payments.
The FCA’s involvement
As popular as they are gradually becoming, crypto casinos are generally at the mercy of agencies like the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Since it is the country’s apex regulator and authority for financial services firms and markets, its laws and enforcement action on issues like payments and taxes may stifle transactions at crypto casinos if they are not supportive. For instance, the FCA banned crypto ATMs last year, and closed 26 of them a few months ago.
There also is the issue of crypto scams and related fraudulent activity. Consequently, gamblers in the UK must adopt a safety culture to ensure that all wallet addresses and crypto accounts they interact with are legitimate. Unfortunately, wrongful deposits, including honest mistakes, may lead to permanent loss of funds as concluded crypto transactions cannot be reversed.
Dispute resolution can be difficult at crypto casinos
Finally, users must pay attention to the fine print in the UK’s gambling laws and consider how they may affect crypto gambling. The Gambling Commission recently modified some of its rules and introduced new limits and updates for casino gameplay. For instance, the Commission created a new ombudsman to handle all disputes between service providers and players in the UK. However, with crypto gambling, dispute resolution may be tricky because of the market’s general instability.
This is a submitted article.
