Bitcoin Accepted At Two Las Vegas Casinos

Two Las Vegas casinos have begun accepting the cyber-currency Bitcoin at shops, restaurants and hotels.

The D Las Vegas Casino Hotel and the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino, which are owned by the same company, began processing transactions through BitPay today.

The US dollar remains the only currency accepted on the gambling floor.

"For us, it's going to be somewhat exciting to see what kind of impact it'll have," Derek Stevens, the co-owner of the casinos, told the AP news agency.

He said he had been intrigued by Bitcoin for years, and talked about the currency with customers who also seemed interested.

The Golden Gate, built in 1906, is the oldest casino in Vegas, and has a history of pioneering new technology. It was the city's first to instal a telephone in 1907, according to Mr Stevens.

Bitcoin was created four years ago, in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Unlike other currencies, it does not have the backing of a central bank or government.

Since making its debut it has been approaching the mainstream.

But state regulators are unlikely to allow casinos to exchange chips for the cyber-coins any time soon.

The industry has not even approached regulators about approving the currency for gambling.

"We would have to have an extremely high level of comfort with virtual currency of this kind in order for that to ever occur," said AG Burnett, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

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