Online gambling has been growing tremendously in recent years. With what started as a modest beginning on horse betting, the betting industry has evolved into a complex industry. Though the number of sites has risen, one thing has remained constant: the spread (or betting vig or the commission) that a betting site makes on each transaction.
Unlike traditional bookmakers, who take a spread on each bet made, I would like to make a site that takes only 50-pence transaction fee on each bet made between users (punters). Rather than being the “bookie” and having a potential exposure on the outcome of events, my website would provide a “market-place” for online gamblers to set their own odds or accept odds offered by others. In doing so, I aim to provide the lowest transaction fees, encouraging users to make my website their primary betting site. By coupling lowest cost transaction fees with ease of use, I will also provide a secure, low-risk environment that will encourage new users to gamble online by choosing the category of their choice such as sports, financial and special interest (e.g. politics).
Now you would argue that by charging just 50-pence, I am leaving money on the table. That’s where the second part of the website kicks in. The website will provide users the ability to follow specific players that have shown success in order to gain valuable insight and tag-along their bets to increase their chances of winning. Thus, even though I will be charging a very small amount to get the big fishes hooked to my website, amateurs and newbies would flock as well to have more chances of winning by following other punters, i.e., by using “Copy ME”. There will be other features as well that are not currently on other betting websites such as having private bets with your friends and getting social recognition for top bets made.
The market research encourages me to target United Kingdom as the primary market. This market has a historical cultural background in gambling and a combined online gambling industry of over GBP 2.5 billion which represents a small segment of the total gambling industry (GBP 75.4 billion is spent annually). Despite being a small segment it has experienced significant growth rates in previous years. Because of these factors I believe that my website will be well positioned to exploit the low cost gambling model across a range of technology including mobile platforms.
About SeedCon: Hosted by the Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital student group and the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth, SeedCon brings together leaders and innovators from the entrepreneurship and venture capital world to explore the most exciting and disruptive trends in the industry. For more information, visit www.SeedCon.com."
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD4XRa6BuQ4]
