Cryptocurrency gambling is traditionally thought of as a marginal industry; in fact, it has earned 3.7 million BTC in less than three years.
16,000 BTC Profits and Counting
The astronomical figure is the result of data collected since December 2014 by umbrella resource The Bitcoin Strip.
While by no means all of the 66 casinos covered were in operation at the time, the statistics provide further concrete evidence of a sector which is both rapidly expanding and maturing.
In March, one site Cloudbet recorded the industry’s biggest single win to date – 160 BTC in a session worth at the time approximately $255,000 USD.
“…This is the biggest single round win we’ve ever seen in over four years of operation,” owner Marco Rossi commented at the time. “For us, this signifies a new era in the relentless growth of bitcoin gambling.”
The numbers do not stop there. Last month alone, casinos took in 130,000 BTC in plays, profiting just over 300 BTC. Total profits for the sites listed on Bitcoin Strip for all time currently stand at just over 16,000 BTC, or $19.3 million.
Early Bird Investors’ Cryptoworms
Looking at profits alone, the numbers may only scratch the surface of the vast sums accumulated by fiat casinos both on and offline every day. Nonetheless, revenue from cryptocurrency’s top operators makes the industry and increasingly interesting proposition for both large and small-scale investors.
According to Bitcoin Strip, the number one earner for the past 30 days was Bustabit, which hauled in over $67 million in bets. Primedice, a longtime industry name, came second at $49 million.
In total, the top ten earners generated just shy of $150 million in one month.
It is worth noting that not all cryptocurrency gambling sites are designed to appeal to technically-minded players. Concepts which originally sold the industry to its select target market, such as “provably fair” games and other cryptography-centric features, are no longer a necessity.
Bitcoin Strip now includes three categories in its listings: provably fair, fair and not provably fair, helping identify the priorities held by each resource.
Meanwhile, gambling, just like in Vegas, is a world that never sleeps. March saw an average 360 bets per second, Bitcoin Strip statistics report, with just under 3 bitcoins wagered every minute.
Microbetting meanwhile – a key feature of the crypto industry proving popular – is as evident a ever, with an average bet size in March of 0.00013547BTC ($0.16).
What do you think is the future of Bitcoin gambling? Are you surprised by the statistics? Let us know in the comments below!
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