Asia is a continent with many tourist attractions that have been able to adapt to the demands of tourism in recent years. Among its most requested destinations in the tourist offer of Japan. One of the phenomena appreciated in Asia is its ability to respond to a growing fondness for gambling. The public there is very prone to dedicate part of their leisure time to the different forms of online gambling, such as sports betting or virtual casinos, where they find many machines.
Top 3 Asian Countries by number of Bitcoin Casinos
Is it legal?
As in Europe, countries in Asia are individually responsible for passing their own gaming laws. There is no uniform approach across the entire continent, and laws can be vastly different from country to country. All forms of land-based gambling are completely legal in some areas, while illegal in others. There are even some countries that only allow specific kinds of games in physical locations. Here are some places and their policies:
CHINA
While gambling is fairly common in China, much of the activity is prohibited and most legal gambling is controlled by the state. Although many Chinese are engaged in online gambling, the practice is mostly prohibited with many players using international operators to facilitate their betting.
MACAU
This phenomenon can be seen in the Chinese city of Macau. It is a great city that aims to unseat Las Vegas as the world capital of gambling. A utopia more than a possibility, since the town of Nevada has a history that no other can reach in the world; But efforts are focused on resembling the “Yankee” city. Located 65 kilometers west of Hong Kong, in one of the most prosperous areas of the country, Macao is one of the few areas where gambling is legally permitted in China. It has more than 35 casinos and numerous hotels, some of them luxurious. To this is added a great leisure offer in a city that, like Las Vegas, never sleeps. It is a tourist destination that has a lot of room for growth thanks to the rise of gambling in Asia. A recent study indicates that more than 44,000 million dollars are moved each year in Macau. Here, Internet gambling is unregulated, but there are no laws prohibiting the activity. This means that players can play online without fear of legal consequences, but the lack of regulation means that there is no government oversight to ensure fairness.
JAPAN
The government does allow some forms of online sports betting and access to online lottery. However, services such as casino games and poker are prohibited.
Other countries where online gambling is allowed are the Philippines and India. The rest of the asian countries have prohibited online gambling. Although in countries like China online gambling is totally prohibited, this is a very usual practice, as people use international online gambling platforms.
The legal landscape for online gambling at home is highly diverse, with some nations being very liberal and accepting of the industry, and others prohibiting the practice and applying severe penalties for violators.
Top Asian Countries with Bitcoin
What regulations are there?
As said, the regulations from country to country vary on the laws that are imposed. But as Asia is growing in terms of gambling and online gambling these restrictions aren’t permanent, gambling laws in Asia are changing in recent years and will continue to change.
Cryptocurrencies in Asia
Japan was the cradle of Bitcoin and the first nation to accept cryptocurrency transactions. So we could say that Asia was the first continent making use of them. Since their apparition a lot of things have happened. Ranging from more regulations to protect their users to banning them.
ARE THEY POPULAR?
East Asia is the leader in the global cryptocurrency market. East Asia, led by China, has arguably been the hub of the global cryptocurrency market.
The East Asia region has recorded trading volumes 78% higher than the next closest region: Western Europe.
In terms of the number of cryptocurrencies moving, East Asia is the most active region in the world in 2020. While two years ago, at the boom of cryptocurrencies, China launched a law to prohibit its commercialization, today the Chinese government embraces blockchain technology and experts assure that the central bank of the Asian giant will soon present its own digital currency.
So, yes. We can assume from this that the popularity of the cryptocurrencies in Asia is huge, and bearing in mind that these are relatively new, their popularity can skyrocket. This can be an indication of the power that cryptocurrencies could have in the asian industry of online gambling, and why their use in these platforms are at the moment growing loads.
ARE THEY LEGAL?
Some countries have become global advocates, while others have actively banned cryptocurrencies altogether.
The most notable disruptor is Japan, which passed a law that accepts Bitcoin as legal tender.
At the other end of the spectrum, Bangladesh passed a law in 2014 that states that anyone caught using virtual currency could be incarcerated under the country’s strict anti-money laundering laws.
Others, on the other hand, have preferred to opt for intermediate shades.
Gambling with Bitcoin in Asian online casinos
As mentioned before, gambling is mostly prohibited all over Asia, making this and especially online gambling difficult to make their way in the Asian industry. In addition, Asian banks don’t usually accept transactions where gambling companies are involved. So in the attempt of avoiding these prohibitions, Asians make use of Bitcoin to enter money in online casinos and other online gambling websites. This is due to the fact that Bitcoins are anonymous.
Although Asian online casinos using bitcoin as a payment method make up a very small percentage of the total online casinos, this is a sector that is exponentially growing and improving. It’s just a matter of time that all casinos establish this new type of currency as a payment method together with the other currencies we all know. Moreover, who knows if Bitcoin will revolutionize the online gambling industry as we know it.
