London based Gottabet is a social network that handles the logistics on small, friendly bets. Users set up bets, either for actual money or for the Gottabet currency, called “peanuts,” which have no cash value but give bragging rights.
An example bet is “How Many People Will Jack Bauer Kill in Season 6?” Participating costs 30 peanuts, and the winner takes the entire pot. For cash based bets, Gottabet takes a 5% fee of the pot. Odds can be set, and a portion of the proceeds can be donated to charity. An example - two women are betting any Gottabet members that they can lose weight by a certain date. Bets can also be kept private or by invitation only. Settlement of cash bets is done via credit and debit cards.
Gottabet is also a social network - all users have a profile page where they can add friends. And users are rated not only by how many peanuts they gather but also on their reputation.
Gottabet says they’re working on a mobile version of the product. I assume they’ll also be creating widgets for people to promote their bets on other websites. Currently, they have a tool to add a link to the bet from Facebook.
Since gambling is illegal in many countries, Gottabet will be trying to keep under the radar by requiring cash bets be only of “limited value.”
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I bet this ends up in the deadpool within 9 months.
Bonus points if you went to the site and know why that was funny.
nice looking site - go UK crew
So when is Skype going to sue over the logo design?
heh, I don’t think a law suit is possible in that case
It seems inspired by Skype for sure, but they don’t own a patent on that style of logo design.
(or do they? dun dun dun….)
I like the idea and I actually think cash bets are the least interesting thing. The social networking widget/friendly bet thing could make this go and it could be an interesting place to tie in corporate sponsorship - like the weight bet with Weight Watchers or the 24 bet with Fox, etc…
I love this idea seems cool and could keep you coming back to the site for more and more
Interesting, they might look to the online casinos methods of circumventing the laws for guidance. One word will save you many hours of stress and legal bills: “Sweepstakes”
On another note:
Is there some “Start-up Web 2.0 Site Builder” (Repleat with a Weby 2.0 Logo Builder!) in a box I’m not aware of?
“Is there some “Start-up Web 2.0 Site Builder” (Repleat with a Weby 2.0 Logo Builder!) in a box I’m not aware of?”
No, but I can get a website out pretty quickly to let you select from a variety of Web 2.0 designs. It’ll, of course, be web 2.0
Sorry that last line was snarky, and I didnt mean it as a slam against gottabet, it is an interesting model and the site was pretty well optimized, I think I just have a headache from looking at to many 2.0 sites in one day….
@Erick
Sorry Eric, I have a web design co-founder already, but thanks for the offer
I always wonder, for this peer 2 peer betting style, how to justify the result of a bet???? to be fair, who will be determining the end result, who will win the jackpot.
cool idea!
Michael,
You are missing a great opportunity here. Every new startup you review, open a betting page on GottaBet as to how long the company will last before it hits the deadpool. At the end of the post link to it and give some odds or something. It’s gold man !!
BTW, New York is working on allowing bets on horse races form your cell phone now …
Great Now We Can Gamble On Our CrackBerry
Now We Have A Social Network For Betters
“So when is Skype going to sue over the logo design?”
I thought their logo looked familiar…
They’re in the UK, but anybody who invests has probably noticed that the US crackdown on gaming services and the money transfer services that assist them has destroyed the market capitalization of most of the publicly-traded companies in London in this sector, so it’s probably not the greatest area to go into. Obviously they’re not a serious player at this point, but if they ever want to travel to or through the US, it’s probably best to stay out of this industry or to make sure all US citizens are blocked from using the service. I don’t agree with the US government stance on online gambling and betting, but a number of executives from online gaming companies have been arrested while in the US so it’s really a matter of pragmatism. The idea that keeping bets to “limited value” will keep them from the wrath of the US government if this takes off and has participation from US citizens is not going to work as all online betting like this is illegal in the US regardless of the amount of money being wagered.
Michael Hoffman: it is extremely unlikely that there will be corporate sponsorships here. Most major corporations, especially those based in the United States, stay away from anything related to betting and gambling. Any value derived from a Weight Watchers sponsorship, for instance, would be easily offset by the legal questions and the potential bad publicity if a “moral values” group caught wind of it and made a stink about Weight Watchers being involved in something they believe victimizes people.
> I always wonder, for this peer 2 peer betting style, how to justify the
> result of a bet???? to be fair, who will be determining the end result,
> who will win the jackpot.
It looks like they have adopted a community-driven referee system, one that allows people to rate the bet creator and bet referee (not unlike eBay’s self-regulating rating system).
P
I think they nicked the logo off http://www.gpokr.com/ :o)
Like the concept. Just noticed that you cannot upload money if you’re a US citizen, probably their way to escape jail
You can play for their peanuts currency though..
Drama 2.0 — that is why I said they should stay away from the money bets. If they did, the whole thing is above-board, legal and more interesting if it is for fun/corporate sponsorship. I agree with you that the money bets basically kill it. No sane person would invest in this unless they take the money away and stay legal. I think at the level of “who will end up in the dead pool” the bragging rights are much more important than the money.
i like this idea. Its pretty solid.
If anybody really wants some on the 24/Jack Bauer season 6 bet http://bauercount.com may really help you out.
cool idea… like your rabbits…
cricket is not a big sport in America but in many countries its like a religion
there is a Pickspal like site for cricket at http://cric.13links.com
Slot in your coin in the Skype One Armed Bandit : http://webtown.typepad.com/web....._mach.html
if u haven’t check the news,an other company have brough it and change the naem into bragster which it much better than ever,i been there for a year now and it goign great,u could find me as this user name,check m,e outt here ok.
ps;i won more than 200$ there,no it doesn’t use money but prize.
this is nice site about social networking
Loving the website, it dedicates something special to betting professional, i’ll be using the peanuts, speaking of peanuts.
Anyone want bingo for peanuts, check us out
http://bingoboots.com/