Crypto users can now make predictions on the winners of NBA and College basketball matches on Crypto.com.
The site began offering sports event trading last year with CEO, Kris Marszalek, stating:
Sports Events Trading offers an entirely new platform for U.S. users to engage nationwide at Crypto.com and in the Crypto.com app.
Marszalek continued, “This unique financial product allows users to trade their prediction on the outcome of a sports event. It’s a fundamentally new concept for sports, and we’re thrilled to be the first regulated platform in the U.S. to offer it to our users.”
Moneylines Remain Unpredicatable
The offerings remain limited compared to traditional sportsbooks and subsequently, prices are volatile. This can be a good or bad thing for early customers.
For example, in the NBA match between Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns, we saw lines of 75% and 32%. This means betting on both teams would guarantee winnings. But with not many players, it may be difficult to take full advantage.
Another example shows the negative side of having low liquidity. In the Golden State Warriors at New Orleans Pelicans, the lines were less appealing at 11% and 44%.
Other Teething Problems
Additionally, there are a number of problems that users may face when using the system. At the moment, there’s a flat fee of $1 to make sports contracts. On some markets, there’s also a minimum outlay of $50 to play. Users might also struggle with managing different wallets to make deposits and withdrawals.
The sign-up process has many steps and requires uploading ID to get anything started. But for crypto users, there are faster deposits than bank transfers. It also appears there are no fees for withdrawals unlike many other online platforms accepting crypto.
Future Presence in Sports Betting
Since 2021, Crypto.com has sponsored the Staples Center – now the Crypto.com Arena. Although fans do not always acknowledge the new name, it shows a commitment to getting involved in the sport. As the brand name spreads, we expect the number of markets covered to increase, especially if players get on board.
At the moment, the site also offers markets on European soccer and NHL matches. The next obvious step is to offer MLB betting and from there we could see expansion into a range of sports and political gambling.
Legal Implications
Crypto.com leads with the tagline, “Trade your predictions. Profit when you’re right. Regulated in all 50 U.S. states” but regulation remains a gray area. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reportedly asked Crypto.com to suspend sports offerings in January but the site has pushed ahead in this area.
Similarly, New Jersey and Nevada regulators issued cease and desist orders to prediction market platforms Kalshi and Robinhood last week. Kalshi hit back by suing the regulators, claiming that the markets fall outside gaming regulator authority.
The issue stemmed from Kalshi and Robinhood’s March Madness markets. Kalshi generated $208million in trading volume around the college event and it appears Crypto.com wants a piece of this action.
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