SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
2023 proceedings reflect the growing dominance of Tier-1 sportsbooks on their respective markets across Europe and North America.
Whilst many believe this to be the reality of competing in consolidated markets, Varun Sudhakar CEO and Co-Founder of the BetDEX Labs, states that a decentralised sportsbook model offers challengers the best opportunity to disrupt a conservative status quo, which stifles true innovation and customer value
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Hi Varun… thanks for this interview. Based in New York, what are your observations of the current sports betting marketplace? Its make-up, its prospects, and its engagement with customers?
Varun Sudhakar: While I’m based in New York, BetDEX is focused on international markets and indeed most of the team is located outside of the U.S. In mature markets, you typically see a few larger players dominating the industry with little product innovation.
Contrast that to newer markets, such as the decentralised model employed by BetDEX, where there is more innovation across the board – even areas like customer service where users in Asia often have their queries answered directly in WhatsApp or WeChat by the operator and feel as if they have a direct line of communication to the operator.
SBC: Can you explain the principal benefits and utilities of a decentralised sportsbook infrastructure over existing platforms offered by sportsbooks and exchanges?
VS: BetDEX has an open-sourced back-end which is now a community owned and operated project called the Monaco Protocol. The Monaco Protocol is a decentralised, permissionless and open-sourced liquidity network for exchange-based applications built on the Solana blockchain. The Monaco Protocol has a number of unique benefits and utilities including:
- High liquidity and great prices: Liquidity is pooled across the Monaco Protocol. Furthermore, being a permissionless network,anyone is able to access the protocol and provide liquidity (or even build their own applications) as they see fit. This allows users to get access to high liquidity and great odds.
- Non-custodial: All bets on the Monaco Protocol are held on transparent and publicly available smart contracts. This means that operators such as BetDEX never touch or hold your money. A user never needs to fight with the operator to get their money back. Furthermore once the bet settles, the money goes back directly and immediately into the user’s wallet.
- No account limiting or premium charges: As the network is permissionless, users do not face any discriminatory account limitations or arbitrary premium charges for being a winner.
- Scalability and speed: Users can experience fast and seamless transactions on the platform, thanks to the scalability and performance of the Solana blockchain, which can process over 50,000 transactions per second at a cost of less than $0.01 per transaction.
SBC: Critics of decentralised platforms state that any form of sports betting markets requires an intermediary since it’s essentially risk management. What is your response to this opinion?
VS: The statement assumes that a) users only use traditional sportsbook platform to bet against the operator, i.e. ‘the house’ and b) the operator is trustworthy and offers the user a fair deal. In reality neither of these are true – bettors can use exchanges to bet against other users, and many operators are not completely trustworthy.
Operators of centralised sportsbooks regularly discriminate against users, especially those who are winning players by limiting their activity on the platform, or charging them exceptionally high fees (up to 50%).
Decentralised, permissionless and open-sourced platforms have the ability to provide a secure, transparent and fair environment for sports betting markets. They do this by a) providing users an exceptional product with high liquidity and great odds, b) increasing trust, b) and eliminating discriminatory practices within the industry. There is no need for an intermediary when transactions are publicly available and verifiable.
SBC: In its development is BetDEX a challenger platform, and what is it trying to prove to sportsbook audiences?
VS: Yes, BetDEX is a challenger platform that proves to bettors that there is a better way to wager on sports using the advantages of decentralisation and blockchain. BetDEX is disrupting the sports betting industry by offering a platform that is more accessible, affordable, reliable, and user-friendly than existing platforms. BetDEX is also demonstrating that decentralisation can enhance the customer experience and satisfaction, by providing more choice, control, and convenience to the users.
SBC: Has betting embraced web-3 innovations or developments? Has sports betting become too conservative in its approach to technology?
VS: The sports betting industry is just beginning to scratch the surface of web3 innovation. While flashy phone applications may seem like a technological improvement, the majority of sports betting platforms are still operating on the web-2 model, which is based on centralisation.
Sports betting has become too conservative in its approach to adopting cutting edge technology, likely because it is not in their best financial interest to do so. Web3 platforms like BetDEX offer a new paradigm for sports betting, where users can access more markets, with better odds, at a lower price.
SBC: How can you build user trust in a decentralised environment… is this not a real-life concern for users? (i.e.,)
VS: From a platform perspective, in one such as ours which is transparent, users don’t need to blindly accept or believe whatever we say. As with all transactions on the blockchain, all data is publicly available and transparent – any ‘lies’ will be quickly called out.
From a product perspective, the best way to overcome any user fears/hesitation over using a decentralised platform is to provide an easy to use, great product that actually lives up to and proves its stated values. Users need to be provided with the same if not better experience that they are used to in traditional platforms enhanced by the unique benefits that a decentralised platform and the blockchain can provide.
SBC: What is your advice to regulatory authorities evaluating new blockchain and DeFi innovations within gambling?
VS: My advice is to adopt a balanced and flexible approach that fosters innovation and growth, while also protecting the interests and rights of the users. Regulatory authorities should recognize the potential and the benefits of blockchain and DeFi innovations within gambling, such as the increased efficiency, transparency, security, and inclusion, and should support and encourage their development and adoption.
Regulatory authorities should be open to collaborating and cooperating with the industry players and technology providers to fully understand these new product models and create a conducive environment for blockchain and DeFi innovations within gambling, that can benefit all the parties involved.
SBC: Finally, what does 2024 have in store for BetDEX?
VS: 2024 will be a year of growth for BetDEX. We expect to continue expanding our geographic footprint and onboard thousands of new users. We will offer our users a product that is easy to use and has great prices, while providing the unique benefits that the blockchain can offer in terms of security, transparency and trust.
Additionally, BetDEX will be abstracting the intricacies blockchain from the product so that users who aren’t familiar with the blockchain will be able to easily interact with our product.
