Are you still using the dollar to gamble online? That’s so 2012.

Seriously – you’re not doing yourself any favors using fiat currencies to bet on sports, play poker or slot machines online. There are many, many reasons why you’d be better off switching to Bitcoin. Would you like to know the top 5? Here they are (in no particular order).

1. No Transaction Costs

Most of the time. I have seen a couple Bitcoin sites charge a fee on withdrawals, but they were so small. You can hardly call them a fee. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the 5% you’ll pay using your credit card or money transfer at a fiat-only casino.

It’s nothing compared to the $50 to $75 you’ll pay for that wire transfer or paper check. Most online casinos – especially U.S. accepting, offshore casinos – charge you a fee to collect your winnings. So you’ll save money using Bitcoin.

2. No USD, No UIGEA

The UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) passed in 2006. It prohibits 3rd party processors from completing transactions to/from US banks and offshore gambling sites. Even if gambling in your state isn’t ‘illegal,’ this bill makes it darn-near impossible to make a deposit. But that’s not the case for Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is not regulated or backed. The government doesn’t own it. So most governments don’t tell you what you can or cannot do with it (yet). That means you can fund whatever poker room or casino you want… at your own risk, of course.

3. Cost Effective = You Save

Since there aren’t (banking) transaction costs, the only costs to running a casino are the servers, software and support. Very little in the grand scheme of things.

You’ll notice that most Bitcoin sites pass these savings on to you. Some might offer bonuses or free bitcoin to play with. Most, however, reduce their house edges to 1-3 percent, sometimes even less.

And… at some sites you can even play against other players (peer-to-peer) without having to pay vig to the hosting site.

4. Instant Payouts

How long do you wait for a withdrawal from a fiat-only poker site or casino? 1 week? 1 month? How about all the above?

Not with Bitcoin. Even with a multi-verification system, you’ll have money in your wallet within 24 hours. Often it’s even faster than that – sometimes as fast as 1 hour.

5. Provably Fair

Some of the biggest news to escape the poker community – even make it to mainstream media – comes from scandals. Players getting scammed. Sometimes from the poker site itself, just google ‘Ultimate Bet Scandal.’ But that’s all but impossible with bitcoin. Everything is verifiable on the blockchain.

Some sites go as far as to use a special daily code. When you go back to verify the hands/games you played, you can see that the code played a role in the (unique and fair) outcome. You’re not going to get that with a fiat casino or poker site. No way.

Summary – There’s Plenty More

Those are our top 5 reasons to using Bitcoin over the dollar to gamble online. But that’s not all – far from it. Do you want to know what the other reasons are? If yes, check out this awesome infographic created by our friends at BitcoinSportsbooks.com and then go to get yourself some bitcoins.