We're excited to announce a major new step for BitPay and bitcoin payments in Europe. This week NetBet became the first UK-licensed gambling merchant to begin accepting bitcoin for bets in its online sports betting platform and casino.

NetBet is a leading gambling operator in the United Kingdom. They decided to start accepting bitcoin to reach the growing digital currency user base in the UK (the United States and other restricted countries are not included). Since bitcoin is new to the regulated gambling industry in Europe, we've worked closely with NetBet to ensure that the addition of this new payment method meets their existing UK Gambling Commission regulatory requirements.

NetBet customers will now have the option to use bitcoin to load their online account funds in seconds. This bitcoin checkout option will allow more NetBet users to get back to playing and placing bets with the peace of mind that their transactions won't expose them to the risk of online payment fraud.

We look forward to bringing bitcoin payment processing to more licensed online gaming merchants. If you are a licensed gambling business, email sales@bitpay.com to learn more about accepting bitcoin.