Blockchain Based P2P Betting Platforms : The Future of Online Betting
“Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable circles.” –: Peter L Bernstein
Global online gambling market is now worth around $87 billion! About 85 nations have legalized online gambling and as per a research group Technavio, the industry is expected to grow at a rate of 11% compound annual growth rate.
Size of The Online Gambling Market From 2008 to 2018 : Source mobyaffiliates
How safe is online betting industry?
One would assume that online betting industry is very profitable however it is marred by money laundering, accusations of cheating and fraud. As financial incentives pour in online betting, the desire to cheat or hack increases.
If you google “ How to cheat in online sports betting?” you will be presented with a plethora of “try yourself “ options such as :
How to Cheat Online Sportsbooks
How to hack a sports betting website
5 Brilliant Hacks You Can Use to Cheat the Odds at Gambling
Newbie Sports Betting Cheat sheet
And links to articles like “Sports Bettor Charged with “Cheating” & “Meet the man who beat the bookies and the banks”.
A quarter and half a billion dollars is estimated to be spent annually on development of game cheating software which is a serious threat to integrity of esports and online betting platforms.
Types of Cheating in Online Games : Source Wikipedia
Recently a well-known name in the industry Joseph “Joee” Leigh was found guilty of using a cheat software to win an online game. He very casually quoted “It’s just a game. It was fun and it’s still fun looking at the tweets, no harm done to anyone so what’s the problem?”
Such incidents make the users question the authenticity and integrity of the online betting industry.
Aren’t there any regulations to stop the tampering in the online betting system?
In 2015, e sports Integrity Coalition (ESIC) was formed to tackle issues related to fraud. Federal gambling laws such as Better Online Ticket Sales Act of 2016 were introduced for circumvention of security data in online sports events and betting. They have ability to control the malpractices to a certain extent however the industry is still not immunized from various deceptionary tactics that hackers or third party companies employ.
Other challenges online gaming industry is facing are :
Account creation on every platform: Almost all online betting platforms mandate to create an account for betting and collects user information. This step makes the platform vulnerable to potential breaches of user privacy and funds could be stolen. It also wrecks the user experience.
Transferring funds : Usually online betting platforms are integrated with third party payment processors which act as an intermediary to hold the funds till conditions of bet are fulfilled. This creates a huge risk, the betting platform attracts hackers and customers have to trust the betting platform and the third party to return the profits and the funds if the bet is won. Users are hesitant to risk their funds in a centralized non secure portal and the need of transparency and a decentralized tamper proof technology is rising.
Is there any technology which can make the gambling transactions secure, fast and transparent?
Is there a technology that will enable applications of robust yet scalable solutions for online betting industry without compromising on the ideal betting experience a user should get?
Yes, Blockchain
Blockchain services remove the problem of trust issues by enhancing transparency in online gaming industry. Blockchain uses a decentralized system based on co-ordinated independent nodes network thereby not giving any particular a centralized advantage in the process. Blockchain is used to ensure randomness or rather incapability of knowing the outcome of a bet. Network of nodes verify the bets, ruling out the intervention of a third party authentication. Blockchain allows users to be connected to a global forecasting network thereby boosting the credibility of the gaming industry.
How do I invest in blockchain technology?
Blockchain is a versatile technology and multiple industries are harnessing its potential. Peer to Peer blockchain based sports betting platform is the new trend in the world of online betting.
Blockchain based peer to peer sports betting platform allows bettors to create own betting conditions. Flexibility of creating own odds and participating in a pool if need be is available. In a blockchain based peer to peer sports betting platform one can combining bets with peers thereby making it a “social” experience. Features like instant messaging can also be integrated in blockchain based peer to peer sports betting platform to enable private conversations along with forming “groups” of people interested in a particular event. Forum can be made and moderated.
Blockchain based peer to peer sports betting platforms use smart contracts to execute on peer to peer networks. Once the smart contract is on blockchain, it is implemented by network’s computing power and is immutable thereby maintaining transparency and security of the peer to peer sports betting platform in a decentralized manner.
User expectations from an online sports betting platform
Seamless and consistent user experience in all platforms (Web, mobile, tablet etc) along with transparency and lesser risk of fund transactions is the primary expectation from users. Hence, if you are looking to develop an online betting platform you should focus on making scalable solutions that end user can trust.
Some key features that should be included are :
- Product specific features and auxiliary offerings like social betting, informational content.
- Probable inclusion of feeds from online gaming and betting industry along with few local feeds.
- Operational automation (either full or partial) relevant to specific markets, games or events to increase the appeal of the platform.
- There are few options available in the market that offer one platform for retail and internet channels for betting. A platform which may be able able to support operations without compromising on security hasn’t been developed yet.
- Secure decentralized model which can allow operation and integration of multiple functionalities.
Conclusion
Application of Blockchain on private and public blockchains like peer to peer exchange, smart contracts have led to emergence of blockchain and distributed ledger technology as the biggest evolutionary step in online sports betting industry. Blockchain provides an efficient yet transparent way to improve credibility of online sports betting industry. Blockchain will prevent frauds by astutely assessing patterns and providing audit reports.Tracking of all operations would be easier due to immutable data records. Blockchain will also be a channel of verifiable randomness and will verify the random numbers in gaming service via a public ledger and replace the client side server records.
To sum up to invest in blockchain technology and to integrate it with online gaming would be cost effective and will reduce the risk of hacking considerably. The implications are believed to be substantial in gaming ecosystem. Potential applications of blockchain are increasing the credibility and viability of online betting industry.
It is safe to say that blockchain is an odds-on winner for online betting industry.
BetHite : Changing the gamut of peer to peer sports betting
Techracers is a Blockchain Studio helping industries create sustainable futures. We are committed to scaling blockchain technology towards broader adoption of blockchain systems.
Our team of blockchain experts have come up with a revolutionary smart contract based product “BetHite” which will change the gamut of peer to peer sports betting. BetHite will enable transmission of value without intervention of intermediaries. It is a smart contract based peer to peer sports betting platform which utilizes smart contracts to validate and facilitate betting over a secure decentralized blockchain. BeHite will protect the integrity of your bet and will fortify it against changes by malicious parties.
Contact us to receive whitepaper download link for BetHite at sales@techracers.com
