The bets and payouts will be conducted here on the forum because we want 100% transparency. No website.
It is too bad that his type of betting category is so time-critical, as a blockchain-based betting approach would otherwise work so well (transparent, real-time visibility).
I didnt quite understand your comment.. Thanks?!
PLACE YOUR BETS NOW!!
I see, you are using the blockchain, but are accepting all wagers, not just those that have at least one confirmation.
There's a problem with that, but I suppose there are ways to mitigate the problem.
You are accepting wagers on 0/unconfirmed where there is a requirement of a corresponding receipt added here in the forum (by pasting the transaction ID/hash, I presume).
Posting here in the forum helps to eliminate the question as to when the wager was actually placed. As long as posts can be edited, this isn't foolproof. The auctions board has a no-editing restriction, which is one approach to resolving this risk, I suppose.
The other problem I was suspecting with using the blockchain is that there is the risk of a double spend, such as the Finney attack.
This matters a lot because if lots of wagers are placed on the favorite, for instance, I might be tempted to wager on the longshot. If those odds were false due to invalid wagers (that were canceled after the race from a double spend), then I got cheated.
This risk is mitigated though by having a relatively low maximum (10 BTC) and by requiring the verification in the forum. But that isn't ideal as with pseudonymity, one party can place multiple bets under multiple identities, and double spend the losing wagers.
Presumably the payout wouldn't occur until after all wagers have confirmed (e.g.., three confirmations or more) so the biggest risk is that a bet was made solely due to odds being favorable at the time the bet was placed but those odds were false. If the odds skew highly from those at the track though then you can probably know to be cautious with the betting for that race.
But this is really minutia compared to the risk, as Dargo points out, that you'll disappear with all the wagers. Perhaps to get past that concern you'll send a certain amount to a trusted escrow, which would help ensure that at least that amount of payouts is guaranteed?