What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency to hit the financial world, and it is designed to act as a form of payment without any person, group or financial authority controlling it. For that reason, all transactions made with Bitcoin at betting sites are instant, anonymous and free of charge.
- Bitcoin was launched in 2009;
- It is the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization;
- The main difference between Bitcoin and fiat currencies is that it is traded and stored on a blockchain – a decentralized ledger system;
- You can purchase Bitcoin at various crypto exchange sites
- Bitcoin is a volatile payment method – it has undergone several boom and bust cycles.
How Does Bitcoin Work?
Before you start trading Bitcoin, you need to understand how it works exactly. Well, Bitcoin is a decentralized currency that is not controlled by any government authority.
It uses peer-to-peer transfers on a network that records all transactions, and that network is powered by blockchain – an open-source code that locks transactions to prevent scams.
As all transfers are confirmed between users and stored on a shared public ledger, there is no need for another third-party to verify transactions.
So, there are three main terms that you need to be familiar with when using Bitcoin:
- Blockchain – a shared public ledger for the Bitcoin network, and a place for all confirmed transactions. Thanks to it, transactions are verified and confirmed for being owned by the spender.
- Transactions – as the name suggests, this is a transfer of value in the blockchain. All Bitcoin wallets have a secret data called a Private Key which “signs off” on all transactions. This signature prevents someone else from altering the transaction.
- Mining – a very complex process of creating new Bitcoins by solving complicated math problems that will verify transactions on the blockchain. When someone mines a Bitcoin, they get a certain amount of it.
History of Bitcoin
Bitcoin has a long history dating back to August 2008, when the bitcoin.org domain name surfaced. Later that year, Satoshi Nakamoto emerged as the author of a paper that had the name Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.
That paper detailed the methods of using the peer-to-peer network to create a new system for transactions without relying on trust. Then, in 2009, the Bitcoin network started working, with one of its early supporters being Hal Finney, a programmer.
He received 10 Bitcoins from Nakamoto in the world’s first Bitcoin transactions. Speaking of Nakamoto, plenty consider that name to be a pseudonym for a group of people or a computer collective that created the original Bitcoin protocol.
Besides the first transaction between Nakamoto and Finney, did you know that the first retail transaction with Bitcoin was made for pizzas? Well, in 2010, a person paid 10,000 mined BTC for pizzas from a local restaurant in Florida, so that is a transaction that person might regret now!
As a result of Bitcoin’s popularity, it didn’t take long for new cryptocurrencies to hit the financial world, but neither of them managed to reach the heights Bitcoin got to.
Bitcoin in Nigeria
Nigeria has the strongest economy in the whole African continent, but the recent inflation and sliding purchasing power of the national currency has led to a Bitcoin surge in the country.
Nowadays, we speak about all-time highs in Nigeria as far as Bitcoin trading is concerned, despite the fact that the cryptocurrency trades 50% below its peak in USD terms.
A study back in 2020 showed that around 32% of Nigerians used cryptocurrencies, which is an astonishing number. However, recent estimates show that the number is much higher now, so you can imagine how highly sought-after Bitcoin betting sites are.
The Nigerian Central Bank controls the exchange rate from Naira to foreign currencies and it tends to devalue it. This is why Nigerians look for alternatives to preserve the value of their money, so cryptocurrencies have been more than helpful with that.
If you want to transfer money from and to Nigeria with Naira, then it is a very costly process. Bitcoin is a great alternative to high fees, hence the surge of BTC online bookies.
Bitcoin for Sports Betting
Since there are no restrictions for Nigerians when placing bets online at offshore operators, more and more Bitcoin betting sites seek to enter that market. A good way for Nigerian residents to earn more of their favourite cryptocurrency is to place wagers on their favourite sports.
So, with that in mind, there are tons of reasons why we would suggest you at least consider Bitcoin betting sites. Let’s take a look.
Complete Anonymity
As you may have known, regular sports betting sites in Nigeria have tons of fiat payment options such as credit/debit cards. They are not anonymous, as they require you to provide personal and financial information with the bookie for you to make any sort of payment.
However, that is a worry you simply won’t have with Bitcoin. All transactions with this cryptocurrency are anonymous and they don’t require you to share any information – be it personal or financial.
Your bets and your payments cannot be traced, so plenty consider anonymity to be the biggest Bitcoin advantage.
Note that the only time you will have to provide some sort of personal information is when you buy Bitcoin, but that has nothing to do with the bookie.
- A large number of betting markets
- Betting with cryptocurrencies
- In-play betting and live-streaming
Rewarding Bonuses And Promotions
Since Bitcoin betting sites are relatively new in the Nigerian online gambling world, they will inevitably seek to attract more players to register.
One great way to do so is to offer them handsome bonuses and promotions with fair terms and conditions. You can take advantage of tons of offers, including welcome bonuses, reload bonuses, free bets, enhanced odds, and so on.
Generally, these offers are much better and more user-friendly than what you can find at traditional fiat books in the world.
Fast Transactions
Every experienced punter will tell you that one of the most annoying features of a traditional bookie is the sluggish and slow withdrawals. Most payment methods will make you wait up to 5-7 business days for your withdrawal request to be completed.
On the other hand, since Bitcoin is completely based on a decentralized blockchain system, all transactions take no more than 10 minutes to process.
Cryptocurrencies in general seen great growth and evolvement, so sports betting platforms seek to reap the benefits.
Decentralized Payments
We briefly mentioned the decentralized system of Bitcoin, which means that no central regulatory authority such as the Nigerian Central Bank controls or regulates it. You as a user have complete ownership of your digital assets.
Since Bitcoin is not associated with any central authority, you won’t have to worry about any fees, economic crashes, pandemics, or government regulations.
How to Deposit and Withdraw With Bitcoin
Making deposits and withdrawals at Bitcoin betting sites is a straightforward process, so even if you are a newbie in the betting world, you won’t experience any difficulties. For your deposits, you can follow the next few steps:
- Set up a Bitcoin wallet
- Buy Bitcoin at exchange sites such as Coinbase or Binance
- Choose one of our recommended BTC betting sites and register
- Go to the Cashier section of the site and click on Deposit
- Share your Bitcoin wallet address and enter the deposit amount
- Confirm the transaction and you are all done!
When it comes to withdrawals, the general guideline you need to follow is straightforward as well:
- Log in to your sports betting account and head to the Cashier section
- Choose Withdraw (remember to check Bitcoin’s value before withdrawing funds, as it is a volatile cryptocurrency)
- Enter your Bitcoin wallet address
- Click the Confirm button and you can expect the funds to arrive in your Bitcoin wallet near-instantly!
How Secure is it to Use Bitcoin for Sports Betting?
Bitcoin is one of the safest payment methods you can use for online sports betting in the world, and there are four factors that contribute towards that:
- Hashing – when you send Bitcoin over the network, the transaction is completely encrypted with a string of random letters and numbers. We call that string a hash, so all your sensitive details are completely encrypted.
- Mining and Proof of Work – when you send Bitcoin from one wallet to another, the blockchain shows that the receiving wallet owns the coin. This happens during the mining process – which is essentially a confirmation of the transaction. Your transaction is in a group of around 2,000 other transactions, and that “block” is locked with a puzzle, which miners complete. We call the process of completing that puzzle Proof of Work (PoW). The first miner to “confirm the transaction” that way and solve it gets bitcoins.
- Additional Transaction Block Confirmations – if any hacker wants to reverse your transaction, they will need a lot of computing power to out-muscle the miners. Of course, as you can imagine, this is only possible in theory.
- Game theory – well, due to the insanely difficult process of hacking a Bitcoin transaction, the game theory says that hackers are better off mining themselves, rather than trying to hack their way into your transaction.
In addition to Bitcoin utilizing these security features, Bitcoin betting sites also use advanced mechanisms to protect your transactions – namely SSL encryption protocols.
How to Open An Account at Bitcoin Betting Sites
Now that you know nearly all about how Bitcoin works, you might be pondering your next crypto-betting adventure. Well, Bitcoin betting sites have the great advantage of not having excessive registration procedures compared to traditional betting sites.
The personal information you will need to share is limited, to say the least, and once you choose a bookie from our list above, you can follow the next few steps:
- Open the website and click on the Register button
- Provide a bit of personal information such as name and email address
- Choose Bitcoin as your payment method, make your first deposit and your account is all set!
Fees at Bitcoin Betting Sites
Transaction fees are something that you will always encounter with whichever payment method you choose at online bookies.
Bitcoin is no exception here, as all transactions take place on the blockchain, so there will inevitably be the need for a processing fee. Yet even so, these transaction fees are always much lower than what you can encounter with other payment methods, such as bank transfers, for example.
Bitcoin Alternatives
Just because we value Bitcoin betting sites so much doesn’t mean that we turn a blind eye to other, popular payment methods among Nigerians. Thankfully, there are tons of options that can serve as great alternatives to Bitcoin, with arguably the most common ones being:
- Other cryptocurrencies – we have to mention other cryptocurrencies, such as Litecoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum and Tether. They work very similarly to Bitcoin and you can enjoy nearly the same advantages!
- E-wallets – we cannot neglect e-wallets such as PayPal, Neteller and Skrill when talking about banking methods. You can connect your credit/debit card with them and make seamless transactions at any Nigerian online sports betting site. They also come close with cryptocurrencies when the payout speed is in question.
- Credit/debit cards – Visa and MasterCard are the most frequent cards that you will encounter at bookmakers. Their safety as second-to-none, but they tend to be quite slower with processing payouts.
Tips
First off, you need to know that there is no winning strategy that will help you secure winning betslips at Bitcoin betting sites. Anyhow, that doesn’t mean you should place bets blindfolded thinking that luck will always serve you. There are some tips we can recommend for you to have a more enjoyable betting adventure:
- Take your time when choosing the best payment method – Bitcoin is our number one pick for Nigerians at the moment, but that doesn’t mean everyone will agree. Closely study its benefits and its downsides and decide whether you are okay with it being your payment option.
- Be aware of any fees that may occur – there are some transaction fees that you need to be aware of, so you have to be well-informed before you start betting.
- Make sure that your betting site accepts your preferred payment method – not every operator has the same payment methods, so you need to do a bit of research here. If you are serious about wagering with Bitcoin, then our recommended betting sites will do the work!
- Know the transaction limits – bookies will always impose certain deposit and withdrawal limits as tools to protect themselves. Check the general terms and conditions of the site to see these limits and decide whether you are fine with those.
FAQ
Of course, Bitcoin is a 100% secure payment method for online sports betting. Due to the hashing process, all your Bitcoin transactions are encrypted and completely secure.
You can buy and sell Bitcoin with tons of payment options, including credit/debit cards, bank transfers and e-wallets such as Skrill. Just make sure to create a Bitcoin wallet first at crypto exchange sites.
Exchange sites such as Binance will require you to verify your account to increase your safety. As for BTC betting sites, it is unusual for operators to not ask punters to go through these procedures.
Sure, there are some transaction fees that you might encounter when using Bitcoin for online gambling. However, note that those fees are quite lower than what you get with other payment methods.
If you have difficulties with making a Bitcoin deposit at BTC betting sites, then there are a couple of solutions. First off, check whether you have enough BTC funds in your account or whether you wager at least the minimum sum allowed. If none of this is the problem, then feel free to contact the support team on the site.
All deposits at Bitcoin betting sites are instant, so you will see your funds arrive in no time. Then, you can start placing all sorts of wagers on your favourite teams and sports!
One of the biggest advantages Bitcoin betting sites hold is that they offer super-fast withdrawals. In most cases, you will get your money in less than 10 minutes.
Summary: Best Bitcoin Betting Sites in Nigeria
All in all, Bitcoin has tons of benefits that you can unlock simply by choosing it as your preferred payment method at Nigerian sports betting sites. Top-notch security, fast transactions, anonymous payments and low-fee withdrawals are the main talking points that come to mind when speaking of Bitcoin.
So, now that you have all this knowledge, nothing should stop you from choosing one of our suggested Bitcoin betting sites! Register an account, make your first deposit and voila, your betting journey can begin!