3 ms·

These huge jumps (and crashes) in bitcoin valuation are precisely why gambling sites can't use them as proxies for cash... there's just no guarantee of parity b

These huge jumps (and crashes) in bitcoin valuation are precisely why gambling sites can't use them as proxies for cash... there's just no guarantee of parity between what a dollar is worth and what a bitcoin is going to be worth tomorrow. Some sites try this schtick from time to time using things like long distance minutes on calling cards, but even those seem to fail fairly quickly because as soon as there is a major price disruption in whatever proxy you're using, you get screwed hard.

ewillbefull 14y ago
> why gambling sites can't use them as proxies for cash Wrong, it's the users who can't use them as proxies for cash. A bitcoin casino is currency agnostic. It deals exclusively with bitcoins. There are things like SatoshiDice which allow you to gamble with no possible cheating, with tangible probabilities etc., and these effectively _must_ operate currency agnostic. It's up to the user to decide how the exchange spread effects his/her bet.
- pavel_lishin 14y ago
  Does that casino also pay its hosting costs, its developers, its customer service agents, etc with bitcoin as well?
  - ewillbefull 14y ago
    http://www.satoshidice.com/ http://www.satoshidice.com/ * They can run their website with very few computers. It runs completely over Bitcoin, which is decentralized. * The owners do not need to provide customer service, it's verifiable and they can't screw people over without everybody instantly knowing. * This could be developed by a single person and never need to expand or compete. As long as the service is always running, he can take a _predictable and transparent_ commission out of losing bets. Hell, you'd even know exactly how much money the operator is making, and perhaps what they're earning against the exchange rate. And this bitcoin casino is partly responsible for the immense jump in the number of transactions over Bitcoin in the last few months: https://blockchain.info/charts/n-transactions https://blockchain.info/charts/n-transactions
    - pavel_lishin 14y ago
      I know that millions of people sitting at penny slots prove me wrong every year, but what fun is inserting a digital coin and waiting for a yay/nay response from a server?

ewillbefull 14y ago

> why gambling sites can't use them as proxies for cash Wrong, it's the users who can't use them as proxies for cash. A bitcoin casino is currency agnostic. It deals exclusively with bitcoins. There are things like SatoshiDice which allow you to gamble with no possible cheating, with tangible probabilities etc., and these effectively _must_ operate currency agnostic. It's up to the user to decide how the exchange spread effects his/her bet.

pavel_lishin 14y ago
Does that casino also pay its hosting costs, its developers, its customer service agents, etc with bitcoin as well?
- ewillbefull 14y ago
  http://www.satoshidice.com/ http://www.satoshidice.com/ * They can run their website with very few computers. It runs completely over Bitcoin, which is decentralized. * The owners do not need to provide customer service, it's verifiable and they can't screw people over without everybody instantly knowing. * This could be developed by a single person and never need to expand or compete. As long as the service is always running, he can take a _predictable and transparent_ commission out of losing bets. Hell, you'd even know exactly how much money the operator is making, and perhaps what they're earning against the exchange rate. And this bitcoin casino is partly responsible for the immense jump in the number of transactions over Bitcoin in the last few months: https://blockchain.info/charts/n-transactions https://blockchain.info/charts/n-transactions
  - pavel_lishin 14y ago
    I know that millions of people sitting at penny slots prove me wrong every year, but what fun is inserting a digital coin and waiting for a yay/nay response from a server?