A bet can be summarized as a prediction that a sports match or a political election, or any other event, will have a specific result and not another. In general, the online gambling industry was fairly successful; however, it didn't take long for the system to come to a standstill because it was totally unfair to the players. More and more gamblers griped that all the fun was being taken out of betting. Why? Because online gambling games often have totally unfair conditions for the players, the probabilities of the results are usually calculated with data that the participants do not know, and thus the system or "the house" almost always wins. What is Decentralized Betting and How Does it Work? In essence, decentralized bets are those that are executed through smart contracts in a blockchain network, so there is no central authority or entity that controls or manipulates them. Generally, the platforms where decentralized bets are executed are open source, so any user can contribute to improving the base code with which the bets are executed. These platforms comply with the pre-defined parameters of a decentralized process characteristic of Blockchain technology: distributed consensus, validation based on asymmetric cryptography, and the issuance of transactions based on their predefined sequential order on an unmodifiable chain. With the blockchain providing the decentralized architecture, betting platforms can run without the need for central operators to manage the bets, challenging the role of traditional online bookmakers. In decentralized betting, bettors themselves create markets and set odds, so other players decide if they want to bet against the person who acts as the bookmaker. In addition, the transaction fees in this type of platform differentiate them from their centralized peers. In a traditional online betting platform, the vig (the commission charged by the bookmaker) is 5% on average, while decentralized betting platforms take a smaller percentage, generally less than 1% of the betting action. Some Decentralized Betting Options In the crypto ecosystem, the options for online gambling are varied, from casinos to predictive digital asset price platforms. In this section, we will focus on presenting some of the most vibrant options available in the market, describing their improved functionalities with respect to traditional betting market systems. DeRace DeRace is an NFT gaming platform based on the Ethereum Blockchain based on a customizable virtual horse racing universe, where sports bets can be placed. They call themselves the first decentralized blockchain-based racehorse platform, where you can buy and breed NFT horses, bet on races in real-time, and organize races on user-owned racetracks for real profits. DeRace combines genetic algorithms and RNG (Random Number Generator) technology to create unpredictability and endless possibilities of results of player actions, allowing unpredictable and exciting gameplay to keep the player tied to the game. The platform's betting system is carried out on the race tracks owned by users according to the number of NFT tokens they own. Players view all the upcoming races on one board and choose where to participate. They can also filter the races by date, group, and a preliminary coefficient. Bettors can bet on a winning horse, the top 5 horses, the number of horses finishing the race, etc. The betting calculations are fully automated by an algorithm. The coefficient and all payments are also automatic. After the race, the horse owner, the punter, and the owners of a racetrack automatically get a payout from their winnings. For now, the platform is in the process of launching its beta phase, and to participate, users are required to have the platform's native token in their non-custodial wallets. Earnbet Earnbet is a decentralized application originally launched on the EOS blockchain and one of the world's first decentralized casinos. This platform has a very advantageous house edge, one of the lowest on the market, with initial percentages of 1.5% that can be reduced to 0.5% if you bet with the native BET token. The platform tapped into a fairly pristine niche market at the time of its launch, allowing for a decentralized and provably fair gaming experience to reward players for their commitment. One of the great advantages of the platform is that it offers the distribution of 100% of the total profit of the game to the holders of the native token. In addition, the platform maintains the decentralized spirit of blockchain technology by allowing users to bet with cryptocurrencies on its platform guided by auditable smart contracts, even without the need to have an EOS account at all. The funds remain at all times under the control of the users by means of a private key to be able to transmit transactions. All game logic is on the blockchain, and the fairness of the game outcome is guaranteed by the EOS mainnet. The platform offers six games: dice, BlackJack, Baccarat, Crash, THREAD, and JackPot. Each of these options offers a different house edge ranging from 0.5% to 1.5%, which can decrease in the event that users use the BET token to bet. One of the great barriers to entry for the platform is that you must make a deposit in one of the 13 cryptocurrencies it supports, including its native BET token, to start playing. Binary Cat Binary Cat is a decentralized platform run on the Polygon network where users can bet on the price of crypto-assets and the relationship between them. A user can bet on whether the price of Ethereum will rise or fall in a specific time window and earn rewards in the native KATTY token for their hits. Bets occur in cycles. Binary Cat has a simple interface that allows the user to easily understand the operation of the platform without worrying about having advanced technical knowledge about blockchain technology. In each cycle, bets regarding the next time window are opened while the results of the last window are resolved. When a cycle ends, the animated cards move to the left. The "in progress" window is finalized, the "open to bet" window becomes continuous, and finally, the "open to bet" window is created for the new window. This creates dynamism, increasing user excitement and engagement. Among the benefits of the platform is the decentralized spirit of rewarding user engagement. For this, the platform distributes all the income generated by the transaction fees with the native KITTY token, proportionally to token ownership and staking. The above payout takes place whether you win or lose within the platform, rewarding the user for just using the application. In this way, Binary Car incentivizes users to gamble while encouraging early adoption since the first holders of the native token will have a larger ownership stake before the offer increases. The platform plans to expand to Ethereum by using Cartersí technology (Cartesi Machine and Descartes Rollups) to increase its exposure to the market while maintaining the negligible fees of the Polygon network. Additionally, Binary Cat plans to offer advanced options and DeFi derivatives. HandyPick HandyPick is a decentralized application on the FLETA blockchain that generates a series of pools on crypto assets on which the user can predict the future behavior of the prices of the assets at stake. Powered by the Fleta Blockchain company, it is one of the first applications in this ecosystem to use the highly scalable technology on the FLETA blockchain network to generate low-cost transactions during player predictions. For now, the application consists of a native token called Handy that is used as a means of exchange for the points earned by the hits of the predictions made by the users, predictions that are registered on the FLETA blockchain. HandyPick allows users to make predictions in a predetermined time interval on pools of predictive games with rewards to be distributed fairly and equitably among all participants who hit the predictions of the assets in play. Thus, a player on the platform has multiple daily options to try to determine whether an asset will rise, fall or remain within an upward or downward range previously stipulated by the platform. Players do not need to make any investment to start. Gamification functionalities reward user interaction with the platform based on game elements such as challenges, rewards, achievements, etc. Handy Pick plans to support a natural bridge with Polygon to the future through the Fleta Converter product in order to bring the benefits of this important ecosystem built on Ethereum to the wider public. For now, the platform does not have advanced or built-in DeFi features, but those behind its development point to future possibilities to add them. CFL365.Finance CFL365.Finance is a platform aimed at providing the user with a decentralized virtual marketplace for stocks and cryptocurrency trading, where users can participate in skills-based trading contests. The rewards for those skills demonstrated within the platform are payable in the native $CFL token. The objective of the platform is to allow users and newcomers to the crypto world to use its protocol to learn about DeFi investing at the same time as they earn rewards and improve their skills to apply them in a real-world setting without losing money. CFL365.Finance combines some fun ways to earn money by providing users with virtual currencies and allowing them to trade under real market conditions while competing with other users around the world. The price in virtual market CFL365 Finance trading conditions is a bet that a particular asset (crypto or stock) will exert a certain price action movement (long or short). It also represents an estimated value that the person making a bet is assigned to the parameters that are considered in the bet. CFL365.Finance offers referral mining, staking, governance, and NFTfying of the tokens. The hybrid virtual marketplace attempts to bridge the gap between the worlds of traditional equity finance and cryptocurrency alternatives through gamification while also resolving the gaps set by some centralized platforms over strict KYC, country limits, and so on. The platform is integrated with Ethereum, Polygon, and BSC, which makes it ideal for users who love trading the main blockchain protocols of the ecosystem. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the and do not necessarily reflect those of the publication or its editors. This post should not be taken as financial advice. Every investment carries risk; do your own research. author
