Unlike other countries in Europe, the UK doesn’t recognize cryptocurrency as a legal tender, which means gambling with crypto in the UK is a grey topic. At the very least, cryptocurrencies in the UK can be recognized as assets, which the owner can later sell or trade. However, the country’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires that all cryptocurrency exchanges must be registered with the FCA.

Moreover, cryptocurrency trading should not include financial derivatives, such as offering propositions on the future market price of a specific digital money.
Except for the FCA rulings, the UK government has no definitive legislation about cryptocurrency as a form of real property, if for purposes of protecting consumers. That being the case, it simply denotes that the British government cannot offer protection to those who insist on exchanging their hard-earned pound sterling for a specific sum of intangible crypto money.

Actually, there have been arguments against recognizing cryptocurrency as a form of real property. Experts in English law contend that there are two distinguishing factors that determine a property.The first is physical possession while the other is capability to enforce ownership over the property.
In 2019, the UK Jurisdictional Taskforce (UKJT) issued a statement that argues against applying strict interpretation of the definition of property. The task force argued that it is not suitable as there are strong grounds supporting the recognition of cryptocurrency as a legitimate property.

The UKJT concluded the tribunal on cryptocurrency by declaring the latter as a new class of asset, which professional financial advisors and litigators may include in determining a person’s overall wealth and asset portfolio, In addition measures mut be taken to protect such assets, or when taking action to seize them — being subject to the same treatment and enforcement rights on property. That being the case, several UK courts have issued freeze orders and temporary injunctions to preserve the value of cryptocurrency asset under litigation, prior to the issuance of a judgement.

Are UK Online Casinos Prohibited from Accepting Cryptocurrencies?

The UK specifically prohibits online casinos and sports betting sites to accept wagers derived through the use of credit card facilities. The ban was imposed ahead of the GamStop requirement, in order to stop the practice of borrowing money to place as wagers on online casino games or betting products.

As far as the acceptance of cryptocurrencies is concerned, the UK Gambling Commission states that the decision to do so is at the discretion of the online casino or sports book operator. While there are UK licensed online casinos that accept bitcoins or ethereum as deposit, such sites usually accept only those serviced by Paypal.

Still these UK casinos even if accepting cryptocurrencies are GamStop affiliated, which means one cannot gamble freely and without limit, lest he or she attracts attention as potential problem gambling behaviour.

Nevertheless, looking for the best uk casinos not with gamstop option, is the best alternative but have awareness that their online gambling platforms are licensed and regulated by offshore gaming regulators located in Gibraltar, Malta, Isle of Man, Curacao, Antigua or Barbados, which is just to name a few.