Background Image Credit: The Balance. Edited on: Fotor.com
Could we finally have the very first betting website/application developed on the Steem Blockchain?
Yes. We definitely could!
The Gaming/Gambling industry is one of the largest Industries in terms of revenue in the world.
According to Statista: In 2015, the online gaming market had a volume of 37.91 billion U.S. dollars, this figure was forecast to increase to 59.79 billion U.S. dollars in 2020.
This figure continues to grow as new technologies emerge which has made it very easy for people to speculate on different outcomes in their favorite sports and in the process try and double or even triple their wager.
Gambling is a vice just like porn and people the world over have become increasingly addicted to it. Many people have needed counseling to help them overcome that addiction. As with most social vices such as drinking, smoking, and porn, too much of anything is always bad.
With that said ...
What are the advantages of having a Betting Website running on the Steem Blockchain over Bitcoin maybe?
1: No Transaction Fees!
This is probably the most obvious one of them all. Right now Bitcoin transaction fees are extremely high making it almost impossible to make micro-transactions on a daily or regular basis like in most gambling websites.
Right now, I believe, the transaction fees for Bitcoin are about 15-20 Dollars. Profits from a winning bet on a football match, for example, are likely to be eroded significantly by the transaction fees.
In order to actually withdraw any amount of Bitcoin from the gambling website, you will probably need to continue wagering and try to grow the bank increasing the chances of losing it all.
Is it worth it? Most people will probably ask, "Can I just use Steem instead?"
2: Fast Withdrawals and Deposits.
One of the worst thing about most blockchains other that the transaction fees is how long transactions take to be confirmed. This is especially true for Bitcoin where transactions can take anywhere from 30 minutes to a whole 24 hours for them to be confirmed.
Steem, on the other hand, has almost instant transactions that take anywhere from 2-4 seconds to go through. A Steem Betting Application would be very efficient unlike those which accept Bitcoin as a payment method.
3: No minimum Deposits/Low Minimum Deposits.
On most Betting websites that accept Bitcoin as a payment method you will always find a minimum deposit and a minimum stake amount. The minimum deposit amount is mostly informed by transaction fees. It is very possible to deposit Bitcoin into such a site and have the deposit vanish in transaction fees.
It is also possible that the minimum deposit amount can be set for other reasons too such as protecting the business against sharp price changes.
For example, with the current increase in the value of Bitcoin, the common minimum deposit of 0.001BTC [$16 @ 16,000] on most gambling websites suddenly looks like a very large figure for most people.
However, for Steem, due to the fact that there are no transaction fees, Punters can be treated to minimum deposits as low as 0.5 STEEM [$1]. That means many people have the opportunity to wager on their favorite teams and sports without having to worry about deposit limits.
4: More Money and Activity to the Steem Blockchain.
Gambling is guaranteed to bring in massive money and wallet creations into the Steem Blockchain.
Bitcoin currently has over 30 gaming/gambling websites if you consider Sports, Slots and Dice websites that have helped grow the number of users on the Bitcoin Blockchain.
Despite the high transaction fees, delayed transactions, high minimum deposits, these gambling websites still retain a large user base which is mostly encouraged by the high value of Bitcoin.
Steem has incredible advantages over Bitcoin but the infrastructure around it is very limited. Steem 'desperately' needs other supporting infrastructure around it that contribute to an increase in activity within the Blockchain.
Steem needs to become a self-sustaining ecosystem with a host of applications that interact with the Blockchain and meet the many needs, if not all, of Steem users.
Conclusion
This post is just a way of introducing the idea and hopefully sparking a discussion on the same. I am very conscious of the fact that it is not as simple as I have put it here. There are several things to consider.
Some of these are and not limited to -
- Professional iGaming software.
- Customer Support.
- Costs and Taxes.
- A gambling license and legal issues in different jurisdictions.
Despite the challenges, I think this would be a worthwhile project to consider for the Steem Blockchain. This is an idea I believe has a potential in helping promote Steem and also help it grow into a strong Bitcoin competitor.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. Any contributions whether criticism, counter-arguments or supporting arguments are highly welcome.
Finally,
Steem Kenya recently launched a Community Curation Project so as to support minnows from Kenya and Africa so they can find their feet much more easily. If you are out there and would like to work with us in seeing this project succeed and you want to learn more please find me on Steemit.chat 
If you would just like to be an anonymous benefactor and you really like the idea of supporting minnows would you please send STEEM, SBD or DELEGATE STEEM POWER to 
Finally, if you are a Kenyan and you are out there without a place to call home, would you please join the Steem Kenya Discord Channel? We just had an amazing voice chat with a bunch of members where we discussed how we can succeed on Steemit. Come over and join the party.
