It seems that every part of our lives has an online establishment: Shopping, stocks trading, courses and more. But there’s one industry that keeps its dominance at the offline market.
The digital revolution has affected any aspect that we know, but some have managed to stay almost the same. The major one being the Casino industry, that kept its elements over the last few decades.
What makes the casinos serve as a reason for people to physically go and place a bet?
Today, most activities can be done from the convenience of your house, and there’s a good reason for it: The casino experience is something that you can’t get at any other place - Where else can you get the feeling everything around you is luxurious, including the free premium drinks served straight to your glass. And the atmosphere and the setup? A great reason to stay there for a few more minutes, minutes that quickly pass to hours.
The Dark Side of Gambling
But not everything’s perfect: The casinos have a clear objective - Taking as much money as they can, no matter from who or how. The techniques and methods used to do that are constantly researched and improved to further increase the casino’s revenue.
It starts with reducing the chances of winning - When a game like roulette has duplicate cells marked with “0”, the casino is obviously skewing the winning odds in their favor. Another aspect is one of the most known facts about casinos (And even so, no casino ever tried to cancel it) is that the casinos are intentionally built without windows, for the sole purpose of preventing the people there from keeping track of time passed and to isolate him from the world that’s outside.
Some other aspects may seem positive - When someone wins, everyone knows it - Thanks to the special music, sounds effects, lights and messages shown on the various machines and sometimes by the dealers themselves. It seems like a pleasant experience, but when we look at the big picture, we can see that the people who are constantly winning are being followed by special enforcers that are being paid for that exact purpose, sometimes resulting by a permanent ban from the casino. So things may seem bright, but the real deal here is that the casino hates it when others win.
Online Casinos: The New Betting Environment
As stated before, everything gets its own online version, including the casinos themselves - And the bettors have a good reason to check them out: Online casinos provide an easier and accessible gambling environment (i.e. casino games, sports betting, poker etc.) that offers them great features - Better winning rates, the ability to bet from anywhere and anytime (Sometimes without the wife and family knowing) and more. However, the fact that the online casino can ban your account at every given moment (Based on their Terms and Conditions) still serves as a serious issue.Social Betting - Back to the roots
Even though digitalization makes many things easier there are still critical issues yet to overcome. One of the most interesting concepts that evolved in the recent years is social betting, where bettors bet against each other, rather than the house. Bringing back the social interaction, this new concept will create a fresh and new environment even for the most casual bettors out there.One question still remains - can a combination of social betting combined with new technology, revolutionize the betting space?
The Solution: A Great Combination of P2P & Blockchain
The removal of the third-party element (house / bookie) can be achieved using Smart Contracts powered by blockchain technology. Combining a transparent environment with engaging social interactions is just what the betting space needs. The best part is - the freedom of having no limitations of time or winnings. If you want to bet for 10 hours and you’ve won a big sum of money - It’s all good, and no one is going to follow you, mark you as a potential “threat” or ban you.A noteworthy project in this space is Bethereum.
This paragraph was taken from their official website:”Bethereum is an innovative social betting solution built on blockchain technology. Designed to tackle the key challenges of conventional betting, it delivers a host of unique features and improvements. Starting with sport betting, our vision is to develop a wider ecosystem and establish the Bether token as the betting market standard.”
This paragraph actually says everything about the project, but I will also expand on the meaning of it. First, Bethereum doesn’t do out of pure, no-revenue reasons - There are various economic and risk factors behind this idea.
When a casino plays against its customers, there’s always a chance of winning.
Let's say that I want to play the roulette and I have million dollars for this. I decide to make the bet with the best odds for me by putting all the money on the black color. In that case, I have a great chance for winning - A little bit less than 50% (Because of the zero-green, sometimes there are the 2:0 and 0:0 options). If I win and go home, the casino actually lost a million dollars.
Now, it’s clear that not everyone plays like this, or have that sum of money to play with. But let’s think about another option for the same game, an option where all the money on the table belongs to all the customers, and the casino takes commission for every roll. In that case, the only thing that the casino cares about is you (the client) to keep playing and playing. In that case, the casino can’t lose, because he is not exposed to its clientele winnings.
That’s exactly what Bethereum does: They want to make their clients earn and enjoy the game, without making them lose intentionally. Using this method, most customers will benefit at the end of the day and won’t lose their money in desperate attempts to win against the impossible statistics.
How Does it Work?
This idea can also be explained in depth using a paragraph from their official site:“In Bethereum, you bet with friends and other players - Not against a bookmaker. Regardless of who wins, the money stays in your group. Blockchain and Smart Contracts ensure full transparency and security, while innovative social elements make for a truly rewarding experience.”It seems anything has been said: Bethereum’s ability to be a ‘Social House’ is the factor that makes them different. The world is beginning to understand that there is no reason to be a client of someone whose aim is to make you lose, and therefore more and more projects will adapt the logic of keeping the money between the bettors, at the cost of paying a small and fair commission to the service provider.
More information about Bethereum:
- More than 100k bets during the World-Cup period.
- Open for developers (Third party).
- Unique, custom E-wallet.
- An app (Currently on iOs).
- Affiliate and partner programs.
- High rollers.
The digital revolution is here, and one of its most inspiring results resolves in a better betting ecosystem for everyone - And that alone can create a whole different approach towards the gambling industry. With that in mind, we are expected to enter a new era - And that’s something you can bet on.
