Shift Card Opens Regulated Online Gambling to Bitcoin Players

Shift Card is a new Bitcoin-based debit card that’s looking to bring digital currency to regulated gaming markets.
On its own, the card isn’t really different from a pre-paid Visa card you can currently buy at just about any convenience store on the planet. But the cash you’ll be spending with it is is all Bitcoin, and that’s a very big deal.
Even better, for residents of US States that allow online gambling, the card can be used to fund accounts on online gaming sites.
It’s an intriguing idea that looks great on paper, but will the notoriously privacy-focused BTC crowd embrace this concept? After all, one of Bitcoin’s biggest selling points is anonymity.
It doesn’t seem like too big a stretch to think that Bitcoin’s biggest supporters will be very hesitant to use a Visa-based card for anything, especially for gambling. But it’s possible that hardcore Bitcoin users aren’t the Shift Card’s target market.
One thing that the Shift Card does that no other product has been able to do is lower the barrier-to-entry for actually using Bitcoin. As it stands today, acquiring and spending Bitcoin is a pretty difficult process.
If Shift Card proves to be reliable, it could find plenty of appeal among players who aren’t particularly tech savvy, but still want a discrete method of funding their gambling habits.
The Shift Card is currently available to residents of 24 US States and players in states with legalized online gambling can use the card to fund up to $1,000 worth of play.