Would there be any interest in betting on pro Starcraft 2?

Would any of you bet on your favorite players for big tournaments or leagues if there was a way to do that? Kind of like sports betting but for esports.

??

 

I do with my friends, I usually use fantasy starcraft to make it more fun. We don't allow duplicate picks so we have the option of trading players lol.

 

Isn't this gambling, which IIRC is illegal in many american states? And in most european countries you can only legally gamble with organizations with a permit. Though the idea could maybe have a little merit, I don't think there is a large enough member-base that could legally partake in it, even if they wanted.

 

that's true you're gonna get sued!

 

I'd hate it if gambling started gaining ground with starcraft and the reason is fixed games. It'd be like the current state of football...
On the other hand, if I was a gambler, I'd rather bet on sc than football since I find sc matches more entertaining than football ones on tv...

 

Yeah, the legality issues are a mess and match fixing would be a potential problem. I think things like match fixing can't entirely be solved just like how regular sports have match fixing. As long as there isn't too much match fixing, people will still bet imo. Also I figure that as tournament and league prizes get bigger, pros will have less and less incentive to risk their reputation for a few quick bucks (given that bet limits and bet monitoring is put in place). What do you guys think?

 

Well betting isn't really for the pros, you don't have that many athletes betting on sports... i dont think.

I suggest imaginary points, that you can accumulate to purchase stuff such as gaming gear etc...

Also, this should only be implemented on LAN tournament matches only, because it would be too easy to cheat and have your friends bet on you. Imagine having RatZDeezer/Moto/CombatEX (known players who cheat) playing online for money prizes, which they already do, but betting is really different, where they can skew the odds.

Although a fun idea, but not a legit or viable idea

 

People still bet on traditional sports which can be rigged like baseball and football. I think as long as the cheating does not get too out of hand and skew the odds too much, bettors won't complain. I'm currently developing a site to do esports betting actually (parimu.com) and I think it could push esports toward more professionalism. I'd like some feedback if possible.