Two Las Vegas, Nevada casinos are slated to become the first businesses of their kind to accept the Bitcoins as a form of payment, the news website RT reported. The D and the Golden Gate casinos will begin to accept the digital currency to pay for goods and services starting on Wednesday, January 22, 2013.
Both casinos will not allow bets to be made in the cryptcurrency but will permit visitors to make transactions in Bitcoin at specific businesses run by the casinos on site. There will be five establishments where the digital currency will be accepted. These include the front desks of both The D and Golden Gate casinos and shops and restaurants in the buildings, the report said.
In a statement, Derek Stevens said he thought about allowing the use of Bitcoin after a number of clients asked about it. Stevens is a co-owner of the two casinos. He said, "I'm proud that the D and Golden Gate will be the first casino properties to accept bitcoin. We're located in the growing high-tech sector of downtown Las Vegas, and like all things downtown, we're quickly adaptive to new technology. The timing is right for us to launch this initiative, and I'm happy to be able to offer this to our customers."
Stevens said they will be using BitPay to process Bitcoin transactions through the tablets and other mobile devices found on each cashier station. As of November, 6% of all worldwide Bitcoin transactions have been handled by BitPay. Internet businesses found in over 200 countries use the BitPay system to process transactions, RT reported.
Earlier this month, online retailer Overstock.com and the professional basketball team Sacramento Kings said they would be accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment. The report said the digital currency can also be used to pay for tuition in college and in the case of one town, give the salary for its chief of police.
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