Australian online bookie Neds launch Bitcoin betting platform

Australia’s newest online bookmaker Neds is braving new ground by launching the country’s first Bitcoin-based betting platform.

On Thursday, Neds CEO Paul Cherry announced that the operator would launch its new in-house developed cryptocurrency-based betting site on Friday. Initially, the site will be limited to Bitcoin betting only, but plans are to add other cryptocurrencies later this year should sufficient demand arise.

Cherry (pictured) told the Australian Associated Press that the platform would accept deposits and pay out winnings in Bitcoin, with no option to convert deposits to fiat. Odds will appear identical to those on Neds’ main betting site, but wagers will be handled in milli-Bitcoins (one-thousandth of a Bitcoin).

Cherry explained that the recent Bitcoin buying frenzy provided at least some of the impetus behind the new crypto-betting platform, suggesting that many of the “non-sophisticated investors” who bought Bitcoins “are probably wondering what to do with them.”