The recent "terrorist futures" fiasco, which so far has resulted in the resignation of John Poindexter, has also prompted some interesting discussion around the place. Here's a roundup of interesting links associated with the story:
kuro5hin and slashdot had some good discussion threads going about the ill-fated exchange itself.
In addition to its numerous sports contracts, TradeSports has run betting contracts on a few events like if/when Osama Bin Laden will be discovered, when war with Iraq would start, who will win the US Presidential Election, etc.
youbettheirlife.com runs a yearly real-money pool where contestants put up $25 and pick a "team" of celebrities they expect to die in the upcoming year. (via Online Casino News)
At the Foresight Exchange, you can propose and accept bets on just about anything (does not use real money). Cool idea.
In a similar vein, but for real money, ubetwhat.com facilitates betting contracts on just about anything. Beware: this is a US-based company which is operating in very questionable legal waters. According to this article, an Atlantic City law firm already gave the owner their opinion that the company could face prosecution.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange offers futures on weather, which are designed to allow companies with weather-dependent revenue (like energy companies or farming operations) to hedge risk. But basically you're just betting on the weather. 100% legal in the US.
Betting exchanges are a great concept. It's too bad that they're illegal in the US (with the exception of sanctioned futures and options trading). I don't see it likely that this will change soon, but there's obviously a lot of interest and support for the idea. True sports betting exchanges are permitted and regulated in the UK.
So is there any legal ideas-future market similar to the Foresight Exchange, but using real money (and therefore based somewhere like the UK)?
I don't want to bet on sports events, I want to buy and sell shares of events like certain technologies being developed (i.e., things where I have some expertise).
I'll probably never find this site again, so an email copy of your reply (joe@strout.net) would be greatly appreciated.
Very enlightening article, although my humble struggles with Sports Betting indicate a great need to not venture into other forms of gambling. Lots of sites were taking action on the election. Are there any legal ramifications?
Posted by: Froman on November 7, 2004 07:29 PM
Very enlightening article, although my humble struggles with Sports Betting indicate a great need to not venture into other forms of gambling. Lots of sites were taking action on the election. Are there any legal ramifications?
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