XBet.IO– the world's first distributed betting application

[xbet.io]

Announcing XBet.IO– the world's first distributed betting application

For the first time it is now possible to perform Bitcoin-based betting in a decentralized fashion, meaning without the need of entrusting your funds in the hands of a third party – all wagers made using our application are held in escrow by a smart contract until the bet is settled.

Live on XBet.IO

1  minute demonstration:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1yxrn7_xbet-io-how-to-bet-anonymously_sport

Among the benefits:
Secrecy:
Users have complete anonymity when using our services.
 
Security:
Users' funds are kept safe at the protocol level – thanks to the use of Bitcoin 2.0 technologies, the users are not required to transfer their coins into the custody of any application, and there is no centralized party that holds and manages users funds (no Mt.gox etc').
 
Transparency:
Because the application works using the Bitcoin Blockchain, all of its actions are visible to anyone and can be retraced by anyone with great ease.
 
Reliability:
The Counterparty protocol, which is the Bitcoin 2.0 protocol in which XBet.IO is implemented, is based on secured Bitcoin transactions, thus utilizes the Bitcoin network's highly secured and dependable features.
 
General Bitcoin benefits:
The use of Bitcoins holds numerous advantages over fiat currency (such as $, €, etc') - anonymity, independence, no inflation, cryptographic security, instant payments for any amount, and much more. Up until now, Bitcoin did not reach its full potential in existing large scale thriving industries, in which its special attributes gives it a distinctive edge and especially in the field of sport bets. The existence of a distributed and cryptographically secured system in which the operators of a betting application, or anyone else for that matter, have no ability to take / confiscate users funds, but can only decide which one of the participants is the winner of the pot is what distinguishes the XBet.IO application from any and all other sport betting websites, whether Bitcoin-based or Fiat-based. Introducing the sport bets industry into the world of Bitcoin can elevate the Bitcoin economy to great new heights.
 
Better odds:
For any wager, there is a counter wager, commonly referred to as 'The House wager' or 'Lay'. In old fashioned betting websites and casinos, the user bets against the house in the fixed unattractive odds determined by the 'House', and so the 'House' gains if and when the user looses. The XBet.IO application synchronizes users' bets and allows users to choose their own odds and bet directly between users. There is no middleman, thus all arbitrage revenue is there for the users to profit.
* In order to kickstart the application, counter wagers will be made on behalf of the XBet.IO application for bets that are- a. within the odds presented by the website as a non-organic odds (organic, meaning that a verified bet has been placed by a user); b. in lines where no odds-attractive, organic bets exist. This mechanism was set in place for a double purpose – both to allow users to know the real world odds for their wager and to ensure that the first attractive betters of every line will always have their offers matched for at least a portion of their wager.

 
What wagers can I make?


How many times did you get to see a match and said to yourselves "I don't know who will win, but I know there will not be a tie"? In the XBet.IO application you can choose to wager on the option that you think will happen and also for the opposite option, meaning everything but the specified result. For the aforementioned case, it is possible to place a bet that will award you with the pot in case of a draw (placing this kind of bet is called 'back', meaning that you are 'backing' the possibility of a draw),  or alternatively, you could place a bet that will award you with the pot in all cases except the draw, which means that it does not matter which team wins, as long as the result is not a draw, you will take the pot (placing this kind of bet is called 'lay', meaning that you are 'laying' an opposition to the possibility of a draw).
The XBet.IO application currently receives matches from all the major soccer and basketball leagues, including the 2014 world cup in Brazil. At this time the XBet.IO application analyzes results from over 200 different leagues from dozens of countries.
During the summer, the main event will be the 2014 world cup in Brazil, and the NBA finals.
Incorporating additional lines, sports and countries is already in play.
 
How to make a bet?
Check out this one minute tutorial and you will be good to go:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1yxrn7_xbet-io-how-to-bet-anonymously_sport
1.       Browse through the various lines available on the XBet.IO application until you find one that you want your make your bet on.
2.       Insert the details of the bet that you want to make (your betting address, wager amount and your desired odds. All other details are preconfigured to match the bet type which you have selected).
3.       Paste the bet code in your account at Counterwallet.co and hit send.
Done!
Your bet has now been placed and can be matched by other users from the Bitcoin network.
 
Since the XBet.IO application is based on the Bitcoin blockchain, and implemented using the Counterparty protocol, in order to use it, one must acquire some Bitcoins and as many XCP as one would like to place as wagers. All wagers, counter wagers and pots are denominated in the form of XCP, which is the native currency of the Counterparty protocol. It is possible to acquire XCP through a traditional exchange service, such as BTER.COM (http://bter.com/trade/xcp_btc) or POLONIEX.COM (https://www.poloniex.com/exchange/btc_xcp), and it could also be purchased using Counterparty's built-in decentralized exchange.
Placing bets, buy/sell orders on the decentralized exchange, and many other options are made easy through a free service called Counterwallet- a user friendly online wallet, built by the Counterparty protocol original developers.
 
Some of our future plans:
1.       Incorporating additional sports, starting with tennis and horse racing.
2.       Incorporating global events.
3.       Expanding the betting possibilities for each single event.
4.       Binary options.
5.       Issuance of the XBet.IO application on top of the Counterparty protocol.


What is new since the PRE ANN?
As you might have noticed, a test version on testnet was publicly available since may under the name CounterSports.com. Since then, we have made the following enhancements:
Improved UI.
Integrated fully with Counterwallet.
Added the NBA finals and other basketball leagues.
Changed domain, logo and branding.
Completed intense testing on the application.

Live on XBet.IO

1  minute demonstration:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1yxrn7_xbet-io-how-to-bet-anonymously_sport

edit:
Place your bet using Counterwallet - https://counterwallet.co

What does the press has to say?

http://www.bestbitcoincasino.com/xbet-io-enables-sports-bets-using-blockchain-and-counterparty-xcp/


Users' content
http://jpja.net/2014/06/counterparty-adds-betting-to-bitcoin/
http://knircky.blogspot.com/2014/06/peer-to-peer-sportsbetting-in-5-steps.html
Reddit : http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/27u0u7/peer2peer_betting_with_bitcoincounterparty/
Added chinese language support (credit goes to amy_bit)-
counterparty中国志愿者论坛出品：如何使用xcp参与bet
http://8btc.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=5750&page=1&extra=#pid16181

[IamNotSure]

I'll test it today and provide my feedback afterwards.

Brazil to the moon !

[MoneypakTrader.com]

I understand this service is a centralized publisher of the bet feeds/winners so other bettors involved do not need to do that extra work in determining who gets the money. Presumably operators of xbet.io make the feed determinations and place some bets to add liquidity to the betting market.

My question is how variable is the fee you charge for providing that necessary centralized results publishing service? Looking at your site I don't see any fees listed for the various betting feeds you govern and it actually ignores that aspect apparently.
I'm just trying to get a rough % for how this compares to the other centralized bet winner choosing services. Or should we just ignore that and pretend it doesn't exist?

No question you are one of the only sites/services to publish results for people and that is appreciated!

[001sonkit]

I've tried the XBet service with Counterwallet. From my understanding, they charge a 1% fee for the game as the bet issuer. Odd could be determined by anyone as long as someone is willing to fill the order on the network. what i think of is an orderbook for bet.

Will update everyone when there is a release of result (and probably the extra XCP that I would win)

[001sonkit]

I understand this service is a centralized publisher of the bet feeds/winners so other bettors involved do not need to do that extra work in determining who gets the money. Presumably operators of xbet.io make the feed determinations and place some bets to add liquidity to the betting market.

My question is how variable is the fee you charge for providing that necessary centralized results publishing service? Looking at your site I don't see any fees listed for the various betting feeds you govern and it actually ignores that aspect apparently.
I'm just trying to get a rough % for how this compares to the other centralized bet winner choosing services. Or should we just ignore that and pretend it doesn't exist?

No question you are one of the only sites/services to publish results for people and that is appreciated!

In my opinion, this new application of decentralized network really mitigated a hell lotta risk for timed or betting of futures event. Although it is still  a centralized point on data release. But the funds are now held escrowed on the XCP network such that government or hackers cant F the money of the bettor's up

By the time of next year, hope that these type of futures contract will be more popular that it brings ease and security back on us, without using turst

[stamen123]

well how could the feed be "decentralised"
people bet on the basis of someone's feed..

more problematic is the settlement feed - in this case the scores of the matches...
one innovation in this respect is the project RealityKeys...

[tuanvie]

This means that all bets will be seen attached directly without any other party holds funds betting?
see, for example, Brazil vs Germany I bet on brazil, and I bet the funds will be collected on all others who choose brazil?
and if Germany lost, the total funds betting Germany will be divided equally to all who choose brazil?

[001sonkit]

well how could the feed be "decentralised"
people bet on the basis of someone's feed..

more problematic is the settlement feed - in this case the scores of the matches...
one innovation in this respect is the project RealityKeys...

The feed isnt, but the money is. At least you have removed a counterparty by removing one of the trust source...

[xbet.io]

I understand this service is a centralized publisher of the bet feeds/winners so other bettors involved do not need to do that extra work in determining who gets the money. Presumably operators of xbet.io make the feed determinations and place some bets to add liquidity to the betting market.

My question is how variable is the fee you charge for providing that necessary centralized results publishing service? Looking at your site I don't see any fees listed for the various betting feeds you govern and it actually ignores that aspect apparently.
I'm just trying to get a rough % for how this compares to the other centralized bet winner choosing services. Or should we just ignore that and pretend it doesn't exist?

No question you are one of the only sites/services to publish results for people and that is appreciated!

As posted by 001sonkit, our fee is 1% on all bets.

This is not visible on our site and we will make sure to add a section covering it.

Compared to old betting sites, that take 5-25% of every bet, this is a great improvement so there is no attempt of concealing the fee, but more to emphasize other features such as having the option to place both "Back" and "Lay" bets.

[IamNotSure]

This means that all bets will be seen attached directly without any other party holds funds betting?
see, for example, Brazil vs Germany I bet on brazil, and I bet the funds will be collected on all others who choose brazil?
and if Germany lost, the total funds betting Germany will be divided equally to all who choose brazil?

Actually, it doesn't work that way.

(xbet.io, correct me if I'm wrong)

You bet against other betters, for example, you chose to bet for a Brazil win against Croatia, you chose a "back" bet with the odds you want. You funds (in XCP) will be escrowed at that point (by the counterparty network, inside the BTC blockchain, and NOT by xbet. This is the true novelty here)
From that point on, you will have to wait for someone to place a "lay" bet (meaning, Brazil WILL NOT win) that matches (or surpass?) the odds of your bet.

Bets will be matched by the counterparty network and you will then have to wait for xbet.io to publish the result (the feed) after the match

No "pot" is made and if no one matches you bet, your XCP are released from escrowed and you receive them back.

About the 1%, is it taken at the betting moment or at the bet is resolved ? What happen if a bet is not matched, or partially ?

As said before, you don't trust XBet with your money, but you trust them only to publish the correct feeds (results) But that would be silly for them to rig the results because everybody would notice it immediately...

[stamen123]

What I cannot grasp yet is how XBet.IO takes the 1% cut? If they never have access to your "bet". how does the CounterParty network know that it should send 1% of the profit to XBet.IO's address?

[IamNotSure]

What I cannot grasp yet is how XBet.IO takes the 1% cut? If they never have access to your "bet". how does the CounterParty network know that it should send 1% of the profit to XBet.IO's address?

Because the 1% is sent to the feed issuer (xbet in this case) by the counterparty network after the result feed is published.

The % is actually decided by the issuer, so you could eventually publish "free" feeds to bet on...

[Joca97]

are deposits and cashouts instant or how much they take

are there any bonuses when depositing ?

and what are the fees for depositing or cashouts?

[Anotheranonlol]

I came across a helpful introductory guide to using Xbet posted by user knircky over in the counterparty forums

http://knircky.blogspot.com/2014/06/peer-to-peer-sportsbetting-in-5-steps.html

[b!z]

Cool app. GL guys.

[001sonkit]

Eventually the market will have some with lower fee since this model is much easier to do. Wait for the next year, guys.
And eventually, there might be hedge against BTC too. So you can have your bet tagged against BTC while bet on future events. Such that the volitility of XCP won;t be affecting the bet

[percocet]

I have been waiting for something like this for a long time! Looks fantastic, I will check it out now!

[xbet.io]

This means that all bets will be seen attached directly without any other party holds funds betting?
see, for example, Brazil vs Germany I bet on brazil, and I bet the funds will be collected on all others who choose brazil?
and if Germany lost, the total funds betting Germany will be divided equally to all who choose brazil?

Actually, it doesn't work that way.

(xbet.io, correct me if I'm wrong)

You bet against other betters, for example, you chose to bet for a Brazil win against Croatia, you chose a "back" bet with the odds you want. You funds (in XCP) will be escrowed at that point (by the counterparty network, inside the BTC blockchain, and NOT by xbet. This is the true novelty here)
From that point on, you will have to wait for someone to place a "lay" bet (meaning, Brazil WILL NOT win) that matches (or surpass?) the odds of your bet.

Bets will be matched by the counterparty network and you will then have to wait for xbet.io to publish the result (the feed) after the match

No "pot" is made and if no one matches you bet, your XCP are released from escrowed and you receive them back.

About the 1%, is it taken at the betting moment or at the bet is resolved ? What happen if a bet is not matched, or partially ?

As said before, you don't trust XBet with your money, but you trust them only to publish the correct feeds (results) But that would be silly for them to rig the results because everybody would notice it immediately...

This is a fine description of the way XBet.IO works.

Regarding the open questions:

matches (or surpass?)

Matches is enough, if it will surpass it, it will also be matched. In that case, the odds chosen by the first bet, will be the relevant one.

About the 1%, is it taken at the betting moment or at the bet is resolved ?

The fee is taken only when a bet is settled.

What happen if a bet is not matched, or partially ?

The unmatched parts of the bet will return to the user if the bet expires. The expiration is set to happen at the end of each match.

[xbet.io]

are deposits and cashouts instant or how much they take

are there any bonuses when depositing ?

and what are the fees for depositing or cashouts?

This is one of the features XBet.IO is all about-

You control your money. There are no deposits or withdraws made because XBet.IO does not store your coins. We recommend using the open source free wallet called Counterwallet.

Counterwallet integrates smoothly with XBet.IO and makes betting easy and safe.

Of course, there are no deposit / withdraw fees or delays.

[knircky]

What happen if a bet is not matched, or partially ?

The unmatched parts of the bet will return to the user if the bet expires. The expiration is set to happen at the end of each match.

Thx for this explanation. this is important.

So do I understand correctly that whenever i make a bet I will pay a btc fee but when the bet is settled or returned there is no bet fee. (i dont quite understand how the network can return stuff to me) Could you elaborate how that works? So how does the escrow work I guess.