This is an idea that has been going on my mind for some time.I wrote this now,and it is still very ambiguous,as i only want to bring the idea to see if its viable or brings interest.I could develop it more if it gets interest.Note that i am not a programmer or anything similar,so i didnt get deep in this first version with the technical side.I am just passionate about Nxt and read all i can about it and know what kind of things could be done.
Ive made a living from poker since i was 17(26 now) and I know gambling is not nice for many of you and wouldnt like Nxt related with it,and i am against gambling too in any kind of casino games,or in any way it could be consider hustling. But i think there is nothing wrong if 2 persons want to bet on a fair event.
Gambling is something done worldwide and a new environment for it, fast,private and secure on Internet ,would bring HUGE interest on Nxt
NxtBet
1-Introduction
2-Betting process
3-How can Nxt make this better
4-How it works
5-Risks
6-Conclusion
1-Introduction.Betting is something that will always exist,it is part of our nature.But betting nowadays is a monopoly of some companies or states(if regulated),which result in abusing odds for everyone,making betting a shell game where only the companies win.
Nxt was born with the idea of bringing a decentralized environment for every kind of exchange,and could perfectly be used to offer a platform where people could exchange “action”.
Online sportsbetting is a huge market that moves billionaire amounts of money.It is possible to bet on many websites,betting against the site,or in an exchange betting against other people.
The objective of this project is not to win money from the bettors,but to give them a place where they can bet fairly with their own conditions,without losing a lot of value.
Normal sites,charge from 10 to 20% for betting in simple events.E.g.: you want to bet on who will start having possession in a football game,which is decided on a coinflip.This should be paid 2 to 1(decimal odds) as there is a 50% chance of guessing,but you often find that you are paid somewhere from 1.80 to 1.95.This EV (expected value) lost,where sportbooks get their margin from,is used to pay taxes,licenses,operation costs and HUGE BENEFITS.
2-Betting processThe idea is to simplify all the betting procedure.
Nowadays to bet you need to create an account on a betting site,give all your personal details and verify ID.In regulated countries governments may have all the information of how much did you bet,and won/lost.
Then you need to deposit money (credit card,bank transfer or online wallet),and verify the depositing method.They may not credit your deposit until its verified,and then you will have a balance that lets you place a bet.
Once you place a bet you have to trust the site to pay it correctly,which often is not a problem.Anyway,there are some markets that can bring some trouble,like tennis games,where if someone retires too soon,the bet could be considered void.Nxtbet would have to be careful with this kind of markets,avoiding them,or having 100% clear rules on how they will be treated.
At any time,you can cash out money,up to the amount that appears in your balance.Depositing and cashing out,is putting trust in the site,hoping they will keep safe the deposits,and pay you.In some cases,disasters have happened,like the mtgox case,with sites not paying out.Often the sites also delay the cashouts as much as they can,to keep the money as long as possible and get revenues from it(interests ,
investments,etc.)
3-How can Nxt make this betterThe normal process requires depositing money in a site,and leaving it there for a long time,in case you want to bet.If you suddenly want to bet on something,it would take plenty of time to create an account,verify it and deposit money.
Leaving money in the site is the best way to catch a bet if you suddenly want to place it,or you risk missing it.And in case you wanted to cash out to use that money on anything else,it would also take days or weeks until you receive it.
With Nxt a bet could consist of a single escrowed or multi-signature transaction,where a third-party would verify the result of the event,and decide who receives the whole transaction.This way you dont need to trust a site to keep your money and data.
So when you bet on something,for example 100 Nxt,you would only have those 100 Nxt “stopped” until the result is known,instead of having much more money in the site,and waiting to cash it out.
It also provides 100% privacy.
4-How it worksNxtbet would provide a site similar to
www.betfair.com ,which is a P2P exchange market.And it works the same way as any exchange.People places bids or asks, requesting odds on a single event.
When there is a coincidence on the odds requested(A wants 2 to 1 on something happening,and B wants 2 to 1 on the same event not happening), a transaction is created,where each side would put the amount they risk,and a third-party verifies the result and sends the money to the winner.
All this should be done automatically.An option could be to put all the results of the markets in a blockchain,or any kind of ledger,and make the transaction consult that database to verify the result and decide who receives the transaction.
This way the money is never in others hands,and nobody has the information about your bets.
5-RisksI think all the process could be programmed.But as it happens with P2P decentralized exchanges,there is no way of verifying real life events,so it cant be made 100% decentralized.
There is some centralization required to verify the results.It is the only thing that may need to find a solution.It can still be made working as a company,whose only function would be to offer the exchange platform,the mechanism for transactions, and get the results,and put them in the ledger where transactions will search for the result.
Its not how it would work ideally with Nxt,but it is still much better than traditional betting sites.
The only chance of stealing would be to bet on an event,knowing you will put that same result in the ledger to win the bet.It would require real-life mechanisms to avoid that happening.
6-ConclusionNxtbet goal is to bring a place where people could bet freely,without limits, on a secure way,without paying huge fees.This would let people bet without losing any value,so they would have the best possible odds,and without giving any private information.
It could be 100% decentralized if possible,or as a private company on top of Nxt.
The market is huge and almost everyone is concerned with how much companies/regulations take from their bets(and they keep betting!).
I think it would be great as a killer app to promote Nxt.
Even as a private company,i think this would bring profit not taking anything from bets,and getting donations,educating people on how they are getting 100% value and its worth to give a tip to maintain Nxtbet,similar to Nxt forging philosophy.But if necessary,it could still get a minimal %,as there is so much margin.
If it had success,the trust it requires from people to use it,would have to increase proggressively;this means,not moving millions the first weeks/months,and bring the necessary real life mechanisms working as a company in the things that require trust.This is risky because a scam in this would have a very negative effect.
