[Uohz]

I'd like to get some feedback (comments, suggestions, criticism) about a site I am developing for real money esports (sc2, dota, hon, lol, cs, sf, halo, smash) betting. Would any of you bet real money on your favorite pro players? What concerns would the community here at sc2sea have?

I think a professional bookmaking service would be a great asset to the gaming community and I'd like to make this a reality. What do you guys think?

[Next_rim]

Sounds great, I'd definitely put some money into sc2

[TAEdgE]

Let's hope sAviOr doesn't read this..

In all seriousness though it's a good idea you have, just fixing matches could actually become a legit problem, especially when it's easy to hide it online.

[ProAnnn]

GSL finals would be extremely profitable for us since there is no upsets and its normally 1 guy rolling over the other as expected.

[Maynarde]

Originally Posted by iRLProAnnn

GSL finals would be extremely profitable for us since there is no upsets and its normally 1 guy rolling over the other as expected.

GSL betting rule: Bet on the Terran, and if it's TvT, bet on Mvp!

[nirvAnA]

So far http://www.pinnaclesports.com is the only legit eSports betting site (aka won't run off with your money site) that I know off. I know for a fact quite a few sc2sea users use it and talk about their betting strategy in our skype groups (Rule 1: Always bet on Koreans. Rule 2: Always bet on Terran) The site has been around for like 10 years and only just recently added the eSports section so its quite established.

You can bet on MLG / GSL games even but first things first, just make sure its legal to do online betting in your country first.

[TAminimat]

Where are you going to get the money to payout winners? What is the max bet? How will we pay our bets?

[Malik]

had a look at that site nivarna put up was a bit confused by the way the list the bets looked in their help section which just made me more confused anyone know how to explain it in simple terms ^^

[FvRsolis]

*waits for GSL final*
*Bets on whichever member from IM makes it*
*???*
*profit*

[SuperHero]

You would have to have a huge amount of money before starting up one of these websites as in SC2 there is usually one player that easily beats the other player and everyone knows it. im not sure how profitable or maintainable a website like this would be.

[Halstrom]

Slightly OT, but esports betting and it's problems has been around in Korea for a while now:

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/view...opic_id=125601
http://www.gamepron.com/news/2010/04...l-rocks-korea/
http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft...Fixing_Scandal

[TAVoices]

Yea man id love it, i bet on sports weekly and luv 2 e-sport 2.

[Next_rim]

You would have to have a huge amount of money before starting up one of these websites as in SC2 there is usually one player that easily beats the other player and everyone knows it. im not sure how profitable or maintainable a website like this would be.

Bookmakers earn money on transaction fees, not from actual result. They don't care who wins, they just charge you a fixed fee for betting, and charge winner a certain small % of their winnings. The larger the spread (e.x. NesTea over9000:1 Next_rim), the larger the % will be on NesTea. As long as a lot of people keep betting, the business will be profitable.

[nirvAnA]

Malik - I wrote up a piece here for you to read so as to not derail the thread.

Uohz - I think theres definitely a niche waiting to be filled. Alot of people would be interested in this as SC2 has now become such a spectator sport. Probably could get guest pros etc but the #1 factor which would get people betting is if they feel its safe/reliable like if a pro-player endorses it (someone like white_ra statue). And everything has to be legal and meet the regulations so you probably have to relocate to somewhere like Malta / Gibraltar for your business lol. Good luck with it!

[ToR.Arnor]

Originally Posted by nirvAnA

Malik - I wrote up a piece here for you to read so as to not derail the thread.

Uohz - I think theres definitely a niche waiting to be filled. Alot of people would be interested in this as SC2 has now become such a spectator sport. Probably could get guest pros etc but the #1 factor which would get people betting is if they feel its safe/reliable like if a pro-player endorses it (someone like white_ra statue). And everything has to be legal and meet the regulations so you probably have to relocate to somewhere like Malta / Gibraltar for your business lol. Good luck with it!

LOL Nirvana Malta is far from a tax haven props for being the 1st person on sc2sea to actually mention my forefathers nationality

[NvPinder]

Originally Posted by iRLProAnnn

GSL finals would be extremely profitable for us since there is no upsets and its normally 1 guy rolling over the other as expected.

... Have you heard of the concept of "odds"?

[Uohz]

Thanks for all the feedback. It was very helpful.

Regarding legality issues, we plan to incorporate in a country where hosting a betting book is legal. Malta and Gibraltar are under consideration right now.

As for match fixing, I am very concerned about that too. The combination of bet monitoring and bet limits should curb the issue but there isn't yet a good way to solve the issue entirely. I hope that with growing prize money and sponsorship perks at stake in sc2, pros will think twice about risking their career by fixing matches.

I do agree with nirvana that the most important thing to get people betting is by assuring them that their money is safe. I plan to do this by getting pros to endorse it and hopefully work out some partnership agreements with big reputable gaming organizations like MLG and GSL.

[iM yang]

wtf is odds, are you stupid or something jp? you clearly dont know anything about money