Cryptocurrency Bets Surge at Kentucky Derby

Betting with cryptocurrencies has grown significantly, including at the most famous US horse race, the Kentucky Derby. Using them to place bets on some of the web’s largest sportsbooks yields a number of benefits such as no fees and more frequent withdrawals.

Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space

Rising Trend of Crypto Bets

International online horse racing news service US Racing recently reported “a non-insignificant trend in cryptocurrency being used to place wagers on the Kentucky Derby,” which is taking place at Churchill Downs on May 5.

The Kentucky Derby is the most famous horse race in the US, held annually in Louisville, the largest city in the State of Kentucky. It is often referred to as “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” or “The Run for the Roses.” CBS Sports described, “There will be 20 horses in this year’s race, with $2 million as the prize.”

“Over $100 million dollars was wagered on last year’s Kentucky Derby race (setting a new record) and many expect to see the overall volume increase in 2018,” US Racing wrote and quoted its operations director, Tim Maxwell, explaining:

Right now, while punters are limited to a handful of private international gaming companies that will accept deposits with cryptocurrency, players with crypto wallets can use bitcoin, bitcoin cash or litecoin to make a deposit and bet on the Kentucky Derby.

Further Adoption Expected

Maxwell believes that the legality and risks associated with accepting cryptocurrencies need further clarification before widespread adoption can occur in the gaming and racing industry as a whole. Nonetheless, he said:

We expect a handful of publicly traded UK, Maltese and Canadian gaming companies to accept bitcoin deposits on a trial basis by early to mid-2019 followed by land-based race books and casinos in late 2019 and early 2020.

Many large online sportsbooks already accept bitcoin including Bovada, Bookmaker, 5dime, Topbet, and Betonline. Most of them do not charge any fees for bitcoin deposits and often offer bonuses when using the digital currency.

Bovada, for example, charges no deposit fee for bitcoin compared to 5.9% for Visa and Mastercard, and 9.9% for American Express. Bitcoin withdrawals are also free of charge whereas other methods cost between $25 and $100, the company’s website details. Furthermore, wagers using bitcoin can deposit as often as they like and withdraw every three days. Those using other methods, however, can only deposit 10 times per day and withdraw every seven days.

What do you think of the rising trend of crypto bets? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Bovada.

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