FansUnite Lets You Wager Cryptocurrency on Sports
Cryptocurrency is having a moment right now—in Canada, you can invest with it, buy into holdings, and now you can even gamble with it.
Vancouver-based FansUnite is a sports gambling platform built on the cryptocurrency Ethereum, utilizing the peer-to-peer protocol IPFS to operate. Cryptocurrency is becoming immensely popular to both tech-savvy and normal folks alike, so FansUnite felt that introducing the decentralized digital commodity to gambling would provide the betting world the modernizing facelift it desperately needed.
If someone wants to place a bet through normal online means now, they run into several disenfranchising problems that have essentially become industry norms. There may be high fees of up to 10 per cent per bet, a lack of transparency in operations and resolutions, limits on winning gamblers, and entrusting private financial information to occasionally-shady companies.
“With the advent of blockchain technology, and more specifically the smart contracts of Ethereum, these issues are addressable,” wrote Darius Eghdami, CEO and founder of FansUnite in a post. “We believe the next generation of sports bettors should not be plagued by the existing inequitable situation. This is why we are launching FansUnite.”
Putting any kind of moral quandary regarding betting aside, gambling is a massive market that has existed for centuries and will always attract interest and cash flow. The global sports gambling market is estimated to be over a trillion dollars, so it’s easy to see why FansUnite wants to enter this untapped section of the industry.
It is actually illegal to bet on sports in the U.S. (except in Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana) but the act of bookmaking is regulated. The country is pushing towards legalizing sports betting, seen in early September nineteen states joined West Virginia in support of New Jersey’s challenge to the federal sports betting ban. This is why the success of FansUnite in Canada will most likely be scrutinized closely.
The new betting platform allows users to share picks and collaborate with the goal of improving everyone’s profitability. Incentivization will be provided to community members who contribute the most to helping both others and the platform itself grow. If you want to bet, you must purchase tokens made available on the website. You can even earn tokens by spreading awareness of FansUnite on social media or blockchain sites.
“Our team is comprised of experts with years of experience in the sports betting industry, and we have partnered with thought leaders and experts in blockchain, iGaming law, and growth marketing,” writes Eghdami. “We believe we have the blueprint for disrupting the $1 trillion betting industry at a global scale.”
FansUnite was acquired by Fantasy 6 for $2 million in 2016, and was a part of Boulder, Colorado’s Boomtown Accelerator’s Spring 2016 session. If you want to read FansUnite’s whitepaper, you can check it out here.
