In 2013, Nitrogen Sports was founded in San Jose, Costa Rica and is licensed in Costa Rica. However, this appears to be a license in name only as there is no actual legislation that has been developed in relation to online gambling.
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past decade you may have heard of Bitcoin. Nitrogen Sports is unique as they only accept deposits in Bitcoin and your bets are placed in Bitcoin rather than then being converted into a traditional currency once deposited.
There are many pros and cons to this depending on your mindset. Bitcoin is currently unregulated meaning that if something goes wrong you do not have the benefit of raising a chargeback or claiming fraud like you would if depositing through VISA or Mastercard.
However, a pro to using Bitcoin is that your transactions are anonymous, any deposits you make won’t show up on your bank account. There are no affordability checks for online gambling such as those recently introduced by the United Kingdom’s Gambling Commission. You can open an account anonymously without even providing as much as your name.
The volatility of Bitcoin could be seen as both a pro and a con depending on how much you know about the Bitcoin market. As the value of Bitcoin can fluctuate by literally thousands of dollars daily, you could potentially place a bet and by the time the bet has settled end up worse off even if you won. On the same token, if you are betting during a time when the Bitcoin value rises, this could lead to you making a lot of money off a relatively small bet.
Nitrogen Sports has an online affiliate program where for each bet placed by someone you have referred you get 0.3% back from either the amount wagered or the amount of the payout – whichever is the lesser of the two. For the Casino, the same terms apply except it is 0.1% back. They also have an affiliate program for Poker as well which they are fine-tuning. More information can be found at www.nitrogensports.eu.
Nitrogen Sports doesn’t list any restricted countries, however, they state within their Terms and Conditions that you must abide by the laws which are applicable to you where you live. If you live somewhere where online gaming or the use of Bitcoin is prohibited Nitrogen Sports ask that you do not bet with them.
Design
The design of Nitrogen Sports’ website is attractive and mostly straightforward. There is no unnecessary clutter. The Sportsbook, Poker and Casino subcategories are easy to find, they have the list of sports they accept bets on down the left of the screen, and you can even create your own favourites sub-section to make it easier to find the sports you want to bet on. The list of sports doesn’t appear to be in any logical order so the favourites tab will likely prove helpful if looking to place bets quickly.
The betslip is down the right-hand side of the screen and you can bet in singles, parlay bets or teaser bets.
Nitrogen Sports also has a mobile version of their site though this is not as user friendly as the full website version. Due to the restricted space on the mobile browser, they have the sports categorised with icons going across the screen rather than down the side. As an example of how this can confuse mobile phone customers, there are two Rugby balls, one for Rugby League and one for Rugby Union, without these being differentiated you may need to click both to find what you are specifically looking for.
There is also a chat function across the top of the screen where you can chat to other gamblers online if you want, giving a bit more of a social feel to Nitrogen Sports. Occasionally Nitrogen Sports’ staff will be on there, but they do advise for any specific customer service queries to use their online ticketing platform, email or look at the FAQ’s.
Services
Nitrogen Sports offers a Sportsbook as well as Casino games and Poker.
In the Poker section of Nitrogen Sports’ Casino, you can play different variations of poker such as Omaha, Hold’em and Crazy Hold’em and there are specific Poker tables for specific areas of the United States. If you are a hardcore Poker player then Nitrogen Sports may suit you as you are able to play multiple tables at once in the Poker Pro Table Mode.
You can play either cash games or tournaments in the Poker section. All of Nitrogen Sports’ Poker games are computerised so there are no live dealers.
In Nitrogen Sports’ Casino, there are 40 games available to play. You can play table games online such as Craps, Blackjack, Baccarat, Dice, Three Card Poker and European Roulette as well as a multitude of slots games.
There are three variations of Blackjack in the Nitrogen Sports Casino to choose from, there is One Deck Blackjack, Two Deck Blackjack and Eight Deck Blackjack.
There are two versions of Baccarat also, giving you the option of playing Baccarat on your own or against other players.
In the sportsbook, you can bet on a broad range of sports from Football, Basketball, Darts to Futsal and Floorball.
Nitrogen Sports also has a results section within the list of sports down the left-hand side of the screen making it easy to check whether your bets have won or lost.
In a couple of recent Premier League games, Everton versus Crystal Palace and Wolves versus West Ham United, while Nitrogen Sports were fairly competitive in pricing, they only came out with the best odds when comparing to Skybet and Bet365 about a West Ham victory.
However, Nitrogen Sports, when checking various markets had a very consistent margin of around 7%. This of course doesn’t mean that all of their markets will be priced in this way but when some other gambling sites can fluctuate between 6%-10%, at least you can have faith that Nitrogen Sports will more likely than not provide a competitive margin.
Live
Nitrogen Sports provides in-play betting on almost any sport you can think of. From Chinese Basketball games to Handball and Football of course is available and they also offer in-play betting on eSports.
Live Streaming is not widely available, unfortunately. Nitrogen Sports says that sometimes major events will be streamed but this is mainly eSports.
Freebies, Bonuses and Promotions
Unfortunately, Nitrogen Sports do not offer any form of welcome bonus to entice new customers into gambling with them on either the Sportsbook or the Casino, possibly believing that being able to create an account anonymously while also being able to bet with Bitcoin is reason enough to join.
On the Sportsbook, there is a loyalty program of sorts with the Nitrogen Sports Monthly Parlay Jackpot. If betting on parlay bets – also known as accumulators – depending on how good at betting you are within the calendar month, you can have a chance to win a share of the prize pool which is paid to you in Bitcoin.
There are three different weight classes for the promotion depending on what your minimum and maximum stakes are. If betting a minimum of 0.0001 up to 0.0099 Bitcoin, you will go in the Featherweight Jackpot, 0.01 to 0.0999 Bitcoin is the Middleweight Jackpot and 0.1 Bitcoin with no maximum bet limit will put you in the Heavyweight Jackpot.
There is also a rewards program for Poker players. The more you play the more you can benefit, there are five categories, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond. Within these categories you can earn Nitro points and depending on which category you are in your Nitro points will be worth more.
You can then exchange your Nitro points at the Nitrogen Sports rewards store to buy Bitcoin.
Customer Care
If you have any issues with bets, withdrawals or anything of that sort, Nitrogen Sports are available via their Ticketing System or email. There is no phone number to be able to reach Nitrogen Sports verbally.
Although there is also no live chat option, Nitrogen Sports are very quick to respond via their ticketing system. If you send a ticket during business hours in most instances, it takes just a few minutes to respond. However, if sending a ticket outside of business hours Nitrogen Sports say they will strive to answer all queries within 24 hours.
Registration
The registration for an account with Nitrogen Sports could not be simpler. When you first go online, a pop-up comes up asking you to confirm you are over 18, that Bitcoin gambling is legal in your jurisdiction and that you agree to their Terms and Conditions. From there you click the “I agree, create my anonymous account” button and that is it, your account is created.
You will be given a specific account number, but you can create a username and password known to yourself so you can log in at any time with ease.
You do not even have to provide your name, never mind any official documents such as a Passport, Driving License or Utility Bill due to the anonymous nature of Bitcoin. Nevertheless, this brings to the question of whether this is legal?
Nitrogen Sports’ Terms and Conditions state that the customer agrees not to use their service anywhere where the use of Bitcoin or online gaming is prohibited. Both are legal in the United Kingdom.
The fact Nitrogen Sports makes no attempt to verify customers would concern the Gambling Commission, but for many gambling players, this is a massive positive. Opening an active account with Nitrogen Sports literally takes two minutes and as long as you know how to buy, and use Bitcoin, you can gamble without having to provide any documentation and gambling will not show up on your bank statements.
Financial Information
As stated throughout this review the only currency accepted with Nitrogen Sports is Bitcoin. Unlike with some other sites where Bitcoin is accepted this does not then get converted to a traditional currency such as the US Dollar or British Pound once deposited. Your account balance is in Bitcoin, you bet in Bitcoin and if you win you can withdraw in Bitcoin.
Due to this, we would advise that you should know how Bitcoin works before opening an account with Nitrogen Sports, and at least have some sort of knowledge around which Cryptocurrency exchanges are safe to buy from as with Bitcoin being unregulated there are lots of scam companies out there that will defraud you.
The minimum bet accepted by Nitrogen Sports is 0.0001 Bitcoin which at the time of writing works out as approximately £4. Due to the volatile nature of Bitcoin, it is worth checking the exchange rate on a search engine regularly, especially if betting big.
The minimum withdrawal of winnings is 0.001 Bitcoin.
The maximum bet accepted varies depending on the sport, but Nitrogen Sports makes it easy for you to find out how much they will accept as there is a “Max Bet” button on the betslip once you have made your selection.
Reliability, Integrity and Safety
Nitrogen Sports has been around for a long time and is established as one of the best Bitcoin gaming sites. The website itself looks safe to use and the complete anonymity you hold in gambling with Nitrogen Sports means there is literally no chance of anyone getting a hold of your personal data.
You can also apply two-factor authentication to your account so that as well as using a username and password you must also type in a one-time password from the likes of Google Authenticator to be able to log in. As Bitcoin is becoming more and more valuable some customers will appreciate the two-factor authentication in place, giving additional security to their account.
Customer reviews on Trustpilot for Nitrogen Sports are mixed with 18% of reviews rating them excellent, 18% good, 18% average and 45% bad.
The favourable reviews for Nitrogen Sports mentioned the anonymity, good betting odds, prompt payouts, reliability, good customer service and that it is easy for beginners to use.
Some points raised which may put some customers off are that the funds deposited do not always arrive straight away, meaning if you are looking to deposit and bet quickly you may need to think about depositing a little bit earlier than normal. This is due to the nature of how Bitcoin works as transactions are added to the Blockchain and those transactions with higher fees attached to them are prioritized by Bitcoin miners.
Some customers also complained that payouts are not as quick as some other bookmakers.
Other negative reviews state that when depositing Bitcoin, it doesn’t show up at all. As Bitcoin addresses are a complex series of letters and numbers which must be typed in exactly as stated, there is a high possibility of human error when making deposits. It is possible this is what happened to these certain reviewers.
A lot of reviews say that Nitrogen Sports are bad but then provide a link to somewhere else that works much better. However, it is likely that these other sites could be scam sites as there are a lot of Bitcoin scams out there due to how valuable Bitcoin currently is and the anonymity surrounding it.
What’s missing?
There is no Horse Racing available on Nitrogen Sports so this might be a problem for some players. There is no cashout option with Nitrogen Sports meaning once you commit to your bet you have to see it through.
Bets are not always settled immediately, depending on how obscure the bet is, some wagers can take up to 12 hours to settle, so this may not suit someone who wants to bet their winnings right away. However, if you can plan for these potential delays, the other upsides to using Nitrogen Sports makes up for this.
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