Namecoin Gambling
Namecoin was the first altcoin. It pioneered taking the Bitcoin protocol and creating a new use for this – in domain name registration. In addition to the new properties, Namecoin behaves exactly like Bitcoin. It can be mined, plus it’s decentralised and kept in special wallets, with each transaction recorded in a ledger that’s available to all users. While this is a popular cryptocurrency with multiple uses, the opportunities to gamble directly in Namecoin are sparse. There are a couple of casinos which take this currency directly, although your best bet is to exchange it for either BTC or Litecoin and gamble that way instead.
This page gives you a complete overview of gambling with Namecoin. First is an explanation of how this works – including the major differences with Bitcoin, followed by a rundown of the gambling opportunities available with this coin. Finally, the pros and cons of Namecoin gambling are compared with both mainstream currencies and other cryptocurrencies.
How Does Namecoin Work?
What the developers of this coin did is take the Bitcoin protocol, replicate it, and build some additional functions on top. For the purposes of most gamblers, you can think of this as a very cheap Bitcoin (currently in March 2018, the US dollar price is just over $1.10).
The innovation came with the public ledger functionality. Since this can hold a whole lot of verified data, the people behind Namecoin came up with the idea of using it to hold domain name ownership information. Today the mainstream DNS information is held in a central registry controlled by ICANN and accessed through DNS servers. With Namecoin, anyone with access to the ledgers can ascertain ownership of a .bit domain. This keeps domains in the public space, taking them out of the control of any central authority.
While this does not affect gamblers directly, anyone with memories of “Black Friday” will know that domain name seizures are a weapon of the US government in its gambling crackdowns. By ensuring domains (as well as currencies) are free, this system gives the power back to the people.
At the same time as including this domain resolution function, Namecoin retains the main advantages of Bitcoin. Games can be provably fair and transactions are anonymous, free and instant.
Gambling With Namecoin
There are only a few opportunities to gamble directly in this cryptocurrency. For a better choice of gambling games, ranging from the basic provably fair games to amazing 3D slots games, you’ll need to switch over to either Bitcoin or Litecoin.
The biggest Namecoin casino is the Bit777 casino, which accepts a wide range of altcoins in addition to the main Bitcoin-accepting games. This casino comes with provably fair games and a wide choice of other games – including five different roulette games and several table games. BTC gambling purists will be pleased to know that basic dice and wheel games can also be found here.
PeerBet is a sister site of the Bit777 casino. Here you will find some basic games including 0% edge raffles, dice and a wheel of fortune. If you click “Casino” from the header menu, you will find yourself at the Bit777 lobby. You can use a range of altcoins here, including Litecoin and Dogecoin.
Pros and Cons of Gambling With Namecoin
Thanks to the information storage capability, this coin is the subject of a lot of interest and development from the tech community. This means it’s more likely to last than some of the more speculative currencies. In fact, the main function of this coin could be the DNS and information sharing part – with the value of the coins being secondary.
You can play using Namecoin with total privacy thanks to the anonymous registration process. The transaction charges for casino deposits and withdrawals are zero – another huge plus.
The obvious downside is the lack of opportunities to directly gamble in this currency, with only a handful of casinos accepting it. You can easily use an exchange to buy Bitcoin with your Namecoin and gamble with that. But if you’re going to go to all this trouble every time you want to deposit at a casino, then why not just hold BTC instead?
Questions & Answers