Is Crypto Sports Betting Ready for the Big Leagues?

July 27, 2022 Korea Sports

Sports bettors eagerly await a blockchain-powered sports betting service with audited smart contracts, user-friendly policies, low commissions and fees – and meaningful volume.

Kimkibu makes his money betting on sports. Based in South Korea, he mostly trades on Betfair, one of the largest online betting exchanges, where wagers are placed in British pounds, U.S. dollars and other government currencies.

Last year he began trading on cryptocurrency-based platforms including Polymarket, Degens and SX Bet, mainly because the commissions taken out of winnings were cheaper than on Betfair.
“If I find something similar with low commissions, I move there,” Kimkibu said.

This piece is part of CoinDesk’s Sports Week.
Still, these alternative betting venues account for only 10% of the Istanbul native’s trades. “I wish I could totally move to these platforms from Betfair, but, sadly, they don’t have enough volume,” Kimkibu said.

Lurk in any one of more than a half dozen sports betting Discord servers or Telegram channels and you’ll find thousands of people like Kimkibu.