Licenses are the ticket of any gambling site to legally operate. Without these, online gambling operators will fail to set up a bank account for their business and be prevented from opening merchant and payment processing accounts, which are needed to receive payments from customers.
In short, licenses are of prime importance for new and old brands in the real-money-dominated iGaming market. The same, however, cannot be said about Bitcoin gambling.
With Bitcoin on board, the need to set up bank and merchant accounts is simply unnecessary. After all, cryptocurrency-operated gambling sites do not need to rely on any financial institution, even more so in tapping licenses to receive payments from credit cards and other conventional methods.
Bitcoin is decentralized and it uses the blockchain network to transfer funds from one address to another, regardless of the source, recipient, and amount among others. This explains the zero role licenses have for any Bitcoin gambling site to run.
However, despite such fact, online gambling licenses have assumed a new function in the Bit coin casino market, thereby becoming a significant tool that dictates the future of the brands in the business.
Role of licenses in Bitcoin gambling market
One of the benefits of acquiring the appropriate licenses is the legal use of the games and solutions provided by top-tier and well-known gaming content developers.
In the Bitcoin setting, however, the casinos for instance host these games and products through the licensed Bitcoin casino software providers like SoftSwiss and CoinGaming.io. Hence, this eliminates the need for the casinos per se to get licensed.
Without these licenses, Bitcoin casinos can still operate and offer the in-demand games and services to their customers, provided that they legally do this through reputable providers in the Bitcoin casino market.
But being tagged as licensed proves to be an advantage for any brand. Licensed Bitcoin casinos do not only offer a secure online betting environment, but they also strengthen the site’s reputation that earns the trust of more followers and players.
Acquiring licenses in online gambling
Granted such effects, Bitcoin gambling operators must consider certain points before availing their businesses of the legal and financial advantages of being licensed.
For one, acquiring either a full license or a sub-license comes with a price, and this is a factor some Bitcoin-only casinos choose to remain unlicensed.
A full license entails higher costs, and the amount depends on the jurisdiction the application for a license is made. According to reports, the master Curacao eGaming license, which is more of a business license, has a setup fee of about $34,000. This comes with a monthly fee of $5,600 for two years.
Similarly, other jurisdictions offer licenses, but these may come at a much higher price, especially those provided by the UK Gambling Commission, the Isle of Man Supervision Commission, and the Alderney Gambling Control to name a few.
Will licenses be mandatory for Bitcoin casinos?
If a Bitcoin casino plans to focus on proprietary software and stand-alone scripts, getting a gaming license is not advised. However, those that eye partnerships with a variety of software and game content providers while building a stronger reputation should consider applying for the license.
The question now is if licenses will ever be regarded as a mandatory requirement for Bitcoin casinos to legally operate in the market. This holds true since different business sectors perceive Bitcoin to be more than just a digital currency. Case in point: Spain’s recent ruling for Bitcoin gambling sites to have a license in order to operate in the country.
Unfortunately, if this happen, Bitcoin wins will then be subject to tax as is the case in the payouts in fiat-operated online casinos. Likewise, operators must dedicate a portion of their capital to the fees incurred in the application for the licensees.