How is Bet On Chart going to utilize blockchain?
Tags: Football, Betting, ICO, Betonchart, Blockchain

In our previous article we have attempted to uncover the difficulties of establishing a decentralized crypto bookmaker with the existing technologies. We found that the only probable solution is to set up smart contracts to accept pre-play bets on a limited set of sports events. There’s no sophisticated logic, the speed is subpar, and it’s more like a university project, rather than a full-fledged business plan.

Does it mean that Blockchain and betting don’t mix?

Not necessarily. Blockchain is an advanced technology capable of revolutionizing the world, but it doesn’t work like magic on anything it is applied to. It’s in the early stages now, and implementing it does not not always mean utilizing the technology to the fullest. In many cases it leads to a partial relinquishment of the whole decentralization idea.

As a team behind BetOnChart we’re aiming at delivering a 100% working service, that will be massively popular and financially successful, without changing our imperfect world too drastically. In order for a business to make money, it has to earn client’s trust. A client must be assured that everything is in accordance with the rules: that there is enough filling in the cake, that safety bags would save your life at the right moment, and that an adult channel subscription will be activated strictly at 23:59. With a bookmaker it’s enough to give people choice and pay the winnings in time. Let’s assume that several other bookmakers are already doing that.

How are we going to stick out and conquer our share of the market?

BetOnChart is a unique betting platform with a different approach to the whole concept of sports bets. The centerpiece of our platform is a chart that users place their bets on. Our chart (which will be covered in detail in the next article) is both a blessing and a curse, let us explain why. At regular bookmakers users place bets on undisputable and defined event outcomes, such as a goal, a red card, or a penalty. At BetOnChart all these events are integrated into the chart, and not everyone understands how the system works, attacking the chart in case of a loss. Some are dissatisfied with how the chart can swing at the last moment, or barely reach the bet. As experienced FOREX trading platform developers, we are used to such kind of reaction to the loss of money, people tend to be hostile toward the things they do not fully understand.

That’s the reason why we decided to utilize a decentralized and open blockchain database. We’re solving the issue of transparency of our business and its components by giving the users an opportunity to see things clearly and understand how the game works, openly and honestly. Without this, our concept would be crushed down under the pressure of angry customers, who would just blame everything on the system and abandon the platform. Only by making all the data freely accessible can we earn the users’ trust.

The blockchain implementation will take 3 stages:

Stage 1. Temporary Ethereum blockchain integration

We’re issuing an ERC-20 utility token called CHART, which will serve as an in-game currency. The blockchain involvement will be limited to account replenishments and token withdrawals. In the first case Gas is paid by a user, in the second one, by the system. All the operations within the platform, which include token exchange, bets, payouts, free bets, etc. will not be utilizing blockchain.

Stage 2. Plasma extension incorporation

Plasma technology is an Ethereum network extension, similar to Lightning. It allows to process thousands of transactions simultaneously with minimum delays and nearly free of charge, while maintaining a high level of security. Plasma is basically a blockchain within a blockchain, where transactions are stored and validated on different levels.

In order to store all the chart points and bets in real time, with the help of Plasma technology, we’re going to create our own child chain. The child chain will consist of a masternode, which will be verifying and recording transactions, and at least 2 independent nodes ensuring consensus (PoS) and checking the transaction log.

With that kind of architecture we’ll achieve instant blockchain recording, which will solve the bookmaker transparency problem. Everyone will be able to see in real time what the one and only version of truth looks like.

This child blockchain runs on top of a root blockchain (e.g. Ethereum) and from the root blockchain’s perspective, is only seeing periodic commitments with the tokens bonded in the contract for enforcement of the Proof-of-Stake consensus rules and business logic of the blockchain.

The independent node owners will be awarded CHARTs for their services.

What will be stored in the child chain?

Information on all the points of all the charts. <point hash, game ID, value> Information on all the bets in the singleplayer mode.<bet hash, game ID, bet parameters (direction, size, currency, timeframe, payout> Information on all the bets in the multiplayer mode.<bet hash, game ID, bet parameters (direction, size, currency, timeframe> Information on all the payouts. <bet hash, currency, payout> Information on all the bets that are cancelled, faulty or closed prematurely.

The user ID disclosure is not implied, but users will be able to see bet history in their accounts. The blockchain recording will be carried out only through the back end of the platform \ masternode and all the messages will be signed with our private key. This will eliminate the threat of certain attacks, such as front running as no mempool is involved. Everyone will be able to freely review the data stored in the blockchain.

At this stage we will create a partly decentralized blockchain structure with further decentralization according to our future plans.

Stage 3. Utilizing our own EVM within the child chain.

Inside the Masternode we will run our own EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) for the smart contracts with almost zero Gas costs, Gas will be paid only for the top-level Ethereum blockchain validation. This will allow us to exchange data between 3rd party sources and blockchain instantly (ex. read \ write external odds) as well as to execute smart contracts’ logic of any complexity. It is planned to develop chief smart contracts for every type of sports (football, basketball, rugby, etc.) as well as subsidiary contracts for the multiplayer games. Singleplayer games smart contracts is the next step.

Summing up, we’d like to affirm our stand once more. We are going to utilize blockchain to the fullest in order to store and validate the entire betting history, while providing transparency and public availability. We believe that this will become a solution to one of the most important challenges for any business venturing into the open market, which is earning the client’s trust.