The State of New Jersey has long been the hub for gambling in the United States, dating back to the 1930s when the state legalized racetrack betting and paved the way for other forms of legalized gambling. In the internet era, New Jersey embraced online casinos as early as 2013 and was the first state to allow legalized online sports betting in 2018. As part of the state’s progressive agenda, they have launched a development plan named “The State of Innovation,” which includes the integration of crypto and blockchain technology into the fabric of the state’s economy and services. This includes legal crypto online gambling services, which are currently unavailable in the United States except for offshore operators offering crypto as a payment method to US residents through a gray area of laws and regulations. Both crypto assets as a means to carry out transactions and blockchain technology to drive innovation are two concepts that can help push online gambling further in the US and, most importantly, legalize it and minimize the risks associated with offshore gambling.
Where is Crypto Gambling Legal in the US?
Despite New Jersey’s technical prowess in the past decade, the less coveted state of Wyoming has surprisingly taken the lead in driving innovation. Wyoming is the answer to the question of where is crypto gambling legal in the US. The Equality State passed a law as early as 2021 that allows sports betting using cryptocurrency as long as the digital assets are converted into USD when depositing funds for online wagering. Besides House Bill 013, referenced above, Wyoming has recently introduced several crypto-friendly bills to attract crypto businesses.
Allowing deposits with crypto isn’t as innovative as it sounds, considering the aspects of converting the crypto to real cash. However, the act sends a strong signal that the state is adopting crypto like no other state has. The bill also allows legal online gambling operators to ease into the relatively new concept of cryptocurrencies and the underlying blockchain technology.
First, Legal Sports Betting and Then Legal Crypto Casinos
While Wyoming has embraced online sports betting and allows operators to accept digital currencies, crypto online casinos have yet to be legalized. Currently, only offshore crypto casinos are available to residents alongside social casinos that accept cryptocurrencies as a payment option. However, Wyoming is inching closer to legalizing online casinos, likely resulting in the first crypto gambling regulation in the US. In February earlier this year, House Representative Bob Davis introduced Bill 0120 to introduce interactive gaming and allow five online gaming licenses covering online casino gaming and poker.
Considering that crypto has already been adapted to betting, Wyoming will likely legalize crypto casinos shortly after the state launch of the first real-money online casinos. This should occur before New Jersey or any other state has introduced adequate legislation for cryptocurrencies, which puts Wyoming at an advantage in attracting new businesses and laying the blueprint for the rest of the United States to follow.
Crypto Gambling Sites Leveraging Blockchain Technology
Allowing crypto transactions but requiring the exchange to fiat currency isn’t revolutionary. What blockchain technology has revolutionized in payments is fast and safe transfer while sidestepping traditional payment processing fees. Even in Wyoming, those fees would be in effect if a player deposits using Bitcoin or other allowed cryptocurrencies.
Real innovation cannot happen until the requirement to change crypto to fiat is removed. This can lead to lower operating costs, allowing the operators to earn more taxable revenue with crypto gambling taxes, which benefits the state and country. These cost savings could lead to advantages for players; wagering lines could have lower margins to allow for higher payouts, and casino games can be programmed to have higher returns than today’s gambling industry averages. This would benefit consumers and potentially give higher crypto gambling winnings. This basic development should be realized when the United States reaches the next step in online crypto gambling. Once legislation is in place, companies can further invest in and explore blockchain technology for legal crypto online gambling.
