Stefan Mileschin

Bitcoin casinos seem to be making a killing. SatoshiDice and BitZino recently released their earnings reports and they suggest that we are in the wrong business.

SatoshiDice is an elaborate online dice game, based on a pseudo-random number generator. The house has a 1.9 percent edge built into the system, so it is bound to do quite well. The outfit made ฿33,310 during 2012, the equivalent of $596,231 and players put down a total of 2,349,882 bets.

BitZino is an online casino. It offers a wider choice of entertainment, including poker, blackjack, craps and roulette, but it did not disclose its earnings. However, the company claims it paid out $495,000 in winnings and that 3.2 million bets were made in the second half of 2012.

In an email exchange with Ars Technica, BitZino founder Larry Taad praised Bitcoin, saying that most users don’t keep a balance on the site and that such behavior would be impossible with any other kind of payment.

“Users don't have to trust us with their funds any longer than necessary,” he wrote. “If you compare this to traditional online casinos, which can take weeks to send you your winnings, the benefit is obvious.”

However, Taad was quick to point out that the company was not profitable in 2012, but should be in the black this year.

The advantages of Bitcoin are becoming more appreciated across the industry, and some companies are starting to accept Bitcoin despite its rather shady legal status. The digital currency probably won’t go mainstream until its legal status is sorted out and until it’s properly regulated. On the other hand, keeping it unregulated might not be such a bad idea. The US banking sector isn’t exactly struggling, yet it’s practically unregulated.

http://news.techeye.net/internet/bit...-in-six-months