Is it 2021 again? Well, if you follow the financial and investment news, it’s starting to feel like it. In the absence of Elon Musk tweeting relentlessly about Dogecoin, many investment banks and venture capitalists are talking about and investing in cryptocurrency projects again. With a Bitcoin halving on the way later this year, there are plenty of reasons for folks to be optimistic in the crypto space. This event has traditionally caused the asset’s price to increase, and more people are beginning to keep an eye out for this to happen again.
Ultimately, like any investment, anything that starts to generate profits and shows signs of promise will bring in the average investor. In this case, cryptocurrency is now branching further into real-world utility. The gambling sector is becoming the unlikely benefactor of the increasing convenience and minimal costs that blockchain technology offers.
Since football betting is a multibillion-pound market in the UK, there’s an untapped potential for these companies to hook into. Below, we’ve put together a guide to help you navigate this new market and see whether it’s something you might be interested in.
Wallets you can use to bet on football
There are several popular wallets in cryptocurrency outside of centralised exchanges. If you trade through a centralised exchange such as Coinbase, you’ll have a centralised wallet. However, using a decentralised wallet means there’s no central control. Top examples of decentralised wallets include MetaMask, Trust Wallet and Phantom Wallet. The latter is a Solana wallet that is beginning to find a large audience among the football crypto-betting community in the UK.
MetaMask remains the most popular of the wallets you can find in the cryptocurrency space, but the truth is that all these wallets will be able to do the job. No start-up costs are involved when you set up a cryptocurrency wallet, and no maintenance costs are involved either. You can literally download any of these apps and have a wallet within seconds.
Two of the main positives are low fees and quick transaction times. If you have sent cryptocurrency via your wallet to an exchange or directly to somebody else’s wallet, you’ll know how seamless it is and, depending on your network, how low the fees can be.
Despite Ethereum’s dominance, it still struggles with the systemic gas fee issue, which can be exceptionally high when the network is experiencing a high volume of activity. This has led to Solana wallets trying to bridge that gap in both cost and convenience, which can be a driving force behind which wallets bettors settle for.
Understanding the basics
Just as you wouldn’t gamble on a sport you don’t watch or understand, you shouldn’t gamble using cryptocurrency if you don’t at least understand the basics of what it is. You should be able to answer questions such as:
- What is Bitcoin?
- What does decentralised mean?
- How do the basics of blockchain work?
- What is a gas fee?
We strongly recommend you do your research before opening a wallet, purchasing crypto and deciding to place a football wager with it. There are plenty of resources online; YouTube is a good source to learn about the basics of crypto and crypto wallets.
When I first started investing and trading cryptocurrency, I ensured I got my head around it and knew the risks. The same applies when you place a bet with it. Cryptocurrency can sometimes be so volatile that by the time you place your bet, the cryptocurrency you use may have increased or decreased rapidly, significantly impacting the overall value of your payout. This is just one of many vital things to note before you use cryptocurrency to bet on football.
Football betting markets to explore with crypto
Just because there’s a smaller amount of crypto football betting platforms doesn’t mean that the overall scope of markets is less. While there might be a little bit more range in the actual value of the odds you receive, you can find all the same markets when you bet using crypto as you would at the leading football betting platforms.
A few years ago, Chelsea was considered one of the top teams for the title. Many betting platforms would have them in and around the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City. If you want to bet on an outright market, Premier League winners are among the most popular.
Accumulator betting, correct scores, first goal scorers and a whole litany of other popular football betting markets are accessible via crypto too.
Responsible gambling
Ensuring that you only use crypto you can afford to lose is vital. All the safe gambling measures that apply to traditional sports betting are also applicable to crypto football betting. Gamble within your means, and if you feel like you’re developing an issue with your football betting or you’re trading cryptocurrency recklessly, this is often a red flag that shouldn’t be ignored.
You can use various tools to help curb any problem gambling issues. Both cryptocurrency and traditional betting platforms offer the option to set up time constraints or limit how much you can deposit to their platform. If you feel like gambling is becoming an issue, then it’s highly likely it is. Speaking to somebody about it can help you curb the disastrous consequences that can lie ahead for those who believe they don’t have an issue.
The crypto renaissance of 2024
Crypto betting is becoming a larger portion of the market because cryptocurrency is seeing a lot of positive price action again in the investment world. A combination of factors have helped to propel it back into the mainstream.
Alongside the Bitcoin halving, which is set to take place next month, several other substantial criteria have helped drive the price action. For years, Blackrock’s Bitcoin ETF was subject to intense scrutiny by the SEC in America. Despite multiple attempts to get it pushed through, many were denied until earlier this year.
Not only does this help legitimise Bitcoin further in the eyes of many investors, but it encourages companies to look at it as a viable payment option. Once companies start to look at it through this lens, it becomes inevitable that this will be passed down to customers. Ultimately, this is helping to drive the interest and increased demand for crypto football betting.
Summary
In conclusion, we would say the most crucial elements of football crypto betting revolve around knowledge. Firstly, you must know how cryptocurrency works, and have a strong basic understanding. This ensures you can navigate any potential issues you have when using digital assets to place your football bet.
In addition to crypto knowledge, it’s vital to understand your football bet too. Sticking to leagues and games you have a good grasp of is essential. Cryptocurrency football betting is one of the fastest growing elements of the gambling industry anywhere in the UK. With crypto’s market cap and overall price action set to continue spiralling toward the $2 trillion mark, there will be a host of football betting companies looking to utilise the payment method to get in on the action.
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