Our little hobby project has actually been live for a few months now, but we have never introduced ourselves to the Bitcointalk community...so here we are!
We are proud to introduce you to
BETTA - a peer-to-peer ETH-based, smart contract controlled sports betting platform that has, we think, some very unique features that sets us apart from the rest.
First, it is important to note that
BETTA is not, primarily, a commercial venture. It was created by a small group of friends and sports/crypto enthusiasts as a better means for us to bet on sporting events between each other using only ETH. We were bored of seeing wave after wave of sports betting ICOs creating completely meaningless tokens that require you to not only gamble on the outcome of a sporting event, but also on the underlying value of the token itself.
Second, we are not interested in becoming a bookmaker, or running any kind of sports book, we do not want to have to obtain licences or bow to regulators - we are hobbyists after all! As such, it was also of the utmost importance to us that
BETTA be, as much as possible, a trustless system the operation of which was determined by the actions of its users. Accordingly, events on the
BETTA platform are
not established or promoted by us, but rather by the event participants themselves. To reflect this, the first user to stake ETH on an event (and thus create the event), is referred to as the event "
Sponsor" - the first user to stake ETH on an outcome contrary to the event Sponsor (and thus establish a contest) is referred to as the "
First Challenger"; Sponsors receive
1% of all ETH staked on an event, while First Challengers receive
0.5% of all ETH staked on an event, completely regardless and independent of the event outcome. This is an awesome way for our users to, potentially, generate additional revenue streams for themselves, whilst incentivising them to promote the events that they are participating in. You can read more about these incentives via our
Medium channel.
Third, as we are not bookmakers, we are not interested in creating or curating odds for sporting events, so we knew we would have to come up with a betting system that reflected this but still, somehow, facilitated those aspects of traditional fixed odds betting that we all enjoy - primarily the thrill of in-play betting. In response, we have created a unique, risk-enhanced pooled bets model. Each event has three possible outcomes: a home win, an away win, or a draw - with winnings being distributed to those that correctly predicted the outcome from the "losing" pots. There is nothing new here, this is a simple "parimutuel" pooled bets system and is very easy to establish and control via smart contract; however, it is
not suitable for in-play betting as there is no mechanism to prevent players from waiting until the last possible moment to "scalp" a result when the outcome seems almost ensured. We knew we would need to reinvent the pooled bets model to make it work, and so we did! Every stake placed on a BETTA event is "risk-enhanced" to reflect the amount of risk that a user, staking ETH at a given point during an event, is assumed to be taking on, knowing what they know as to how the event is unfolding. In this way, a user staking 1 ETH before an event has commenced is seen to be assuming a significantly greater amount of risk than a user that is staking 1 ETH at the last possible moment, when an event outcome is much more easily predicted, if not assured. This permits the creation of natural markets between participating users and, also, some very interesting hedging and arbitrage opportunities as events run their course. Winnings are still distributed proportionately, but according to each participating user's
risk-enhanced stakes, not just their bare stakes. You can read more about our risk-enhanced system via
Medium.
So now on to the standard FAQs...
1. What happens if I sponsor an event, but it does not receive a First Challenger?You will be able to withdraw the entirety of your stake once the event has commenced.2. What happens if I want to support the same outcome as an event Sponsor before an event has received its First Challenger?You are entirely free to do so, but the event itself will not be considered contested until such time as First Challenger backs an opposing outcome and, as such, there is a risk that the event may be cancelled. Should this be the case, you will be able to withdraw the entirety of your stake.3. Can the same user be an event's Sponsor and First Challenger?The Sponsor and First Challenger must be two entirely separate and unique ETH addresses. In theory though, both of these could belong to the same physical user, yes. We do not require our users to register, set up accounts and/or establish their identity - anyone with access to a Web3-enabled browser and an ETH wallet can interact with BETTA's code.4. What happens if an event concludes with no user having backed the eventual outcome?If a result is declared, fees will be deducted from the pooled stakes, prior to the balance being made available for participating players to withdraw. In real terms, this will see each participating player being able to withdraw 95% of their stake(s) - not bad when predicting the wrong outcome!5. What does it cost to participate in BETTA events?There is no cost for interacting with BETTA's smart contracts and participating in events. As with any interaction with the Ethereum network, a user will need to pay gas when transacting with BETTA's contracts. For an event that proceeds to conclusion, with a result being declared, fees for Sponsors, First Challengers and BETTA are deducted from the winning pool, prior to those funds being made available for distribution.6. Who determines event outcomes and how are outcomes declared?In the absence of a reliable and trustworthy external oracle which we could plug into our smart contracts, the determination and declaration of results is the one aspect of BETTA events that remains centralised. We will declare the result of each event, per the official body sanctioning each event (e.g. Premier League results are determined by the official Premier League results service).7. What sports/events are available via BETTA?At this time, only English Premier League matches are supported. We will add other sports and/or events, according to demand, over the coming months. In theory, any event that is able to have a definitive outcome is able to be represented by BETTA.8. Can I use BETTA on my mobile phone?Hmmm, yes and no. If you have a Web3-enabled mobile browser, you are certainly welcome to try to use the platform, but please be aware that we have not focused any effort on mobile design just yet (due to the vastly differing amount of devices and resolutions available), instead we always intended for BETTA to be a desktop experience, and even that is very much considered a work in progress.9. Do I need to create an account and/or send you my personal information?No, 100% not. We have created a piece of software that already exists on the Ethereum network and that any Ethereum wallet is free to interact with - it will exist for as long as the Ethereum network itself. All stakes are held within our smart contracts, and winnings made available for distribution via our smart contracts. We do not wish to hold or control any funds belonging to others centrally and, as such, we really do not care who you are! If you are able to send ETH via a Web3-enabled browser, then you are already able to use BETTA.10. My country restricts sports betting, can I use BETTA?You should always make yourself comfortable that anything you are doing on your computer will not cause the authorities to come knocking! That being said, BETTA imposes no restrictions on who may, or may not, be able to access its website and software - if you can access BETTA and if you are able to stake ETH on an event then, congratulations, you are already using BETTA!We are more than happy to answer any additional questions you might have, or to chat about pretty much anything. We would love for you to check out
our website, perhaps participate in an event or two, and we are always open to feedback. Also, please feel free to join our brand new
Telegram group, follow us on
Twitter and/or join our
official sub-reddit.
Above all else, remember...it's not betting, it's
BETTA!
