BitVegas.net Review: Hacked Website Closes Its Doors
In February 2013, a minecraft-style site, BitVegas.net, was created for Bitcoin enthusiasts wanting to place wagers on various styles of casino games. BitVegas.net also provided games of chance that were unique to the site, such as a virtual pig racing game, a bar where you could win money by purchasing a virtual drink, and a minefield game of chance. It was a virtual multi-floor set up, with certain games being on certain floors. Higher floors had higher limits for players that had more than one Bitcoin in their account. The very top floor was a non-wagering floor for players to play games of skill against other players, without betting on the particular game. When BitVegas.net first opened, players who were familiar with Minecraft were the first to start bringing traffic to the site. As BitVegas.net’s popularity grew, so did its reach to players that were unfamiliar with what Minecraft was. It’s rise in popularity was, in turn, its biggest downfall in the long run and led to its eventual closure.
When BitVegas.net first opened its virtual doors to the Bitcoin community, it seemed to be directly targeting players who were familiar with Minecraft, due to its unique design in how it was set up. Players unfamiliar with the graphic design of Minecraft seemed to not understand that although it did not look like a conventional Bitcoin casino, it’s functionality was just the same. The first floor only contained a lottery game and a virtual bar and to the average player, did not resemble a very trustworthy place to wager, so they quickly moved on. At the time, BitVegas was giving away 2mBTC an hour, which got more players interested in seeing all that they had to offer. The regular slots, blackjack, roulette, and Texas Hold ‘Em tables were on the second and third floors, while the higher limit tables were on the fourth and fifth floors. BitVegas.net also had a virtual pig racing game, in which pigs were given pre-race odds that players could wager on. Each floor also had a virtual bar that players could “buy” virtual drinks from and have a 48% chance of getting double what they “bought” their drink for. Bitvegas also featured a minefield game, in which players would place a starting bet and as they advanced without hitting a mine, their payout would increase until they cashed out. The very top floor had various games of skill, which were excluded from wagering on, for players wanting to go head to head with other players. While the design seemed to be a turn off at first, as more players got familiar with it, the amount of daily players were increasing significantly.
