IMHO this could go a long way to making or breaking BTC. The US casino lobby will probably not like development on this front.
However, without global regulation, I would think the only chance for the US to get out ahead of this and hurt BTC is to make exchanges illegal. Still, I doubt that would be enough in the end.
I'm curious why you don't think it is viable. It's my impression that the creator(s) intended for it to continue to be used. I am surprised that there hasn't been more effort to create alternates. I did post an article about Ripple the other day, which is a kind of alternate digital currency. However, one thing I do like about bitcoin is that it has lead to a lot of interesting debates about the nature of currency. It is an experiment, for sure.
I was under the impression that bitcoin was designed to inflate indefinitely...but I did some research and it appears that I'm wrong. https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Myths#Bitcoin_can.27t_work_becaus...
Yeah, that problem is it will deflate, as there is a planned limited number of them to go into circulation. So as the usage picks up, each bitcoin will be worth more and more, which will result in people hoarding them early, and adopting to use them later would be difficult and cost prohibitive for anyone looking to start using them. Plus, if you were to have any debts based in BTC, they would only become more difficult to pay. Deflation is what caused the great depression, and it's what Japan is still struggling with economically. Inflation, in small and controlled amounts is a good and necessary thing. Deflation, however, is bad news for any currency. And Bitcoins are bound to inflate simply by design.
I see. I'm not sure if I agree with that assessment. However, IMO the real question isn't whether or not bitcoin can be a successful currency in a traditional sense. It interacts with currencies, but I think most important is the question of whether or not it is a valuable tool. I would have serious doubts that any country could use btc instead of an issued currency, but IMO that doesn't prevent btc from being useful, and thus valuable.
With numbers like that you can bet that someone will pursue it over here. I mean 300000 Euros in six months? That's a great return when the casinos themselves have only a 1.3% advantage over the user. I will bet that within the next year you will see something like this quickly catching on.