Bitcoin has potential for the gaming industry, expert says

Bobby Lee

The founder of a Chinese transaction company defended the “bitcoin” in Macau, suggesting the virtual currency has potential for use in the territory and its gaming industry.
“Macau is an international gaming destination. The pataca is not widely recognized, not very popular outside Macau. The Hong Kong Dollar [currency used in casinos] has more influence. It is therefore very simple: bitcoin may allow travelers to Macau and visitors, especially for the gaming industry, a means of transferring funds, regardless of their countries of origin, to come play in casinos,” said Bobby Lee, founder of BTC China during a France Macau Business Association breakfast meeting event last week, where he shared his view on the topic “Will Bitcoin Revolutionize the World?”
Lee spoke to reporters on the sidelines of his presentation, where he defended the gains of digital currency created six years ago. He suggested that gamblers coming to Macau can bring  bitcoins instead of converting to local currencies, noting that the system follows the same procedure for Chinese, Filipino or Thai customers.
In June last year, local press reported the opening of the first vending machine for virtual currency, installed in Sands China, but the gaming operator has denied knowledge of the kiosk’s existence, according to Radio Macau.
Asked about the gaming industry’s possible fear of bitcoins, Bobby Lee said that could be justified by the possibility of pressure from regulators. “All transactions with bitcoins are very transparent,” he said during the FMBA breakfast meeting.
As for the association between bitcoin, money laundering and terrorist financing – which have been reported by central banks and monetary authorities of some countries and territories, including Macau – Bobby Lee said that these problems happen “with or without” bitcoins.
“To solve this problem you need to catch criminals. The bitcoin already exists. (…) Blaming something that was already invented is not useful. I think we should better our efforts to provide better regulation. Obviously financing terrorism is bad, but how do we stop it? The way to stop is to catch the terrorists, not shut down the online payment network.” MDT/Lusa