Bitcoin: addresses, confirmations and a price that does not wait for you
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and is still the one most people mean when they say “crypto”. For gambling payments it has two features worth understanding before you use it: its price can move noticeably while a transfer is being confirmed, and a confirmed payment cannot be reversed. This page explains how a Bitcoin payment to a gambling operator generally works. Whether a given operator, Optibet included, accepts Bitcoin and with which limits is shown only in its cashier; we do not state it.
The set of methods and limits depends on the operator and your account — check the cashier.
Availability
Depends on the operator
Reversible?
No, once confirmed
Network fee
Paid to the network, varies
Check first
Company in the terms
How a Bitcoin deposit generally works
If the cashier offers Bitcoin, it shows a deposit address and often a QR code. You send the amount from your own wallet or exchange account, choosing a network fee. The transfer is broadcast, picked up into a block and then confirmed by further blocks; the operator credits your balance once the number of confirmations it requires is reached. Bitcoin addresses usually start with “1”, “3” or “bc1”. If the address in the cashier looks different, or the cashier asks you to send Bitcoin on another network, stop and ask support in writing before sending anything.
Withdrawals in Bitcoin
Where an operator pays out in Bitcoin, you enter your own wallet address and the operator sends the coins after its usual checks, including identity verification. The amount you receive depends on the rate the operator applies and on network fees. Double-check the address you paste: a payout sent to a mistyped address is gone. Our page on withdrawals and identity checks covers what the operator may ask for first.
If a transfer gets stuck
The most common reason a Bitcoin payment seems to vanish is a low fee during a busy period: the transaction waits unconfirmed until the network has room for it. Look up the transaction hash in a block explorer. If it shows as unconfirmed, the operator cannot see it yet either; some wallets let you raise the fee to speed it up. If it is confirmed but your balance has not changed, send the hash, amount and time to the operator's support in writing. Without the hash, nobody can trace anything.
What is on your side
There is no bank to call if a Bitcoin payment goes to the wrong place, so the checks happen before you press send. Open the site's terms and note the company; if you are in Latvia, look it up in VID's list of licensed gambling organisers, and elsewhere use your regulator's register. Copy the address with the copy button and compare the first and last characters. Never send coins to an address that reached you by chat or email instead of through the cashier.
Why some players choose Bitcoin — and the trade-offs
Players who already hold Bitcoin like not having to move money through a bank, and some prefer not to share card details with a gambling site. The trade-offs are real: no recipient name, no dispute procedure, network fees that vary, and a price that moves. Crypto also does not remove identity checks at a licensed operator. If the main reason for choosing Bitcoin is to avoid verification, the site that allows it deserves more suspicion, not less.
Paying from a phone
On a phone, the convenient route is scanning the cashier's QR code with a wallet app. Before confirming, compare the address the wallet filled in with the one on the cashier screen, and check the amount: QR codes can carry an amount field, and a mistake there is just as final as a wrong address. Keep the wallet app itself locked with a PIN or biometrics, because a phone that is lost unlocked is a wallet that is lost too.
Price moves while you wait
Because the Bitcoin price changes constantly, the value credited to a euro account depends on the rate at the moment of crediting, not the moment you sent. For example, if you sent coins worth €100 and the price fell by 3% before the deposit was credited, you would see roughly €97 on your balance, before fees. The same happens in reverse on withdrawal. In many countries spending or selling crypto can also have tax consequences — check the rules where you live. For a coin designed to hold a steady value, compare our USDT page.