EVE has a new way to gamble: Eve Bet. I recently had a chance to chat with 2 of the 3 people responsible for its creation and implementation to see how things came to be. 

In a departure from what has been the only betting in New Eden, Somer Blink, Eve-bet will allow players to gamble on world wide sports, eSports, and yes, even EVE tournaments with their hard-earned ISK. And according to its creators, this is just the beginning.

Oh by the way, did I mention that Aussies made this?

Grath: Ok so whose idea was it? I'm not a big gambler but its been in and around EVE for a long time. Other than Somer blink, which is more like slots, this is the first actual dedicated gambling site that I'm aware of.

Dark Razer: Haack Mah came to us with the idea about 5-6 months ago?  We didn't really have the time to develop it then because of the war in Tribute.  Once the tribute war was over, Krytyk (the main, well, only developer really) had a lot more time and put in some epic coding sessions.

Kryptyk: We've wanted to do a site for a while now but didnt have the right idea/concept

Kryptyk: Haack Mah finally sold on us something solid and off we went

Grath: Did the success of Somer Blink have anything to do with your decision to go forward with a new betting site, or was it all Haack and free time?

Dark Razer: Somer Blink clearly had a large impact.  But it was Haacks idea.  We believe that there is part of the market that is currently unfilled, and we hope to fill it with EVE Bet.

Kryptyk: In my mind Blink got me interested in doing something. However it was not just the success, but also the fun I had using the site. I was able to do something fun with my ISK out of game. However, it felt a bit too random, so when we started talking about a sports based site we never looked back. As a huge sports fan I knew people could have a lot of fun with a site like EVE Bet

Grath: I've been told you got CCP's blessing for the site: is that true? If so, how hard was that to accomplish?

Kryptyk: As the norm, we petiotioned CCP about the idea. A GM ok'd the project and here we are. As always we have the caveat that CCP may change their mind, so lets hope they stick to their first stance and we all get to enjoy the site :)

Dark Razer: A senior GM infact

Grath: Who did your backend work and site design? I understand Kryptic did most of the code work: is Dark the handsome front man for the whole thing while Haack Mah does the spergy loud guy act?

Kryptyk: Dark is a handsome server and infrastructure guy, but also is on the project due to his e-celeb status in EVE :P

Kryptyk: Haack is a loud mouth, but also very passionate about the site. He will be heading up our admin and day to day operations for the site

Grath: Tell me a little bit about the system itself, how are odds set, how are payouts handled, etc.

Dark Razer: We use a system called Parimutuel betting, otherwise known as Tote betting.  All the bets for a match are put in a pool, we take a small cut off the total pool, then the pool is split between the people who bet on the winning outcome.  This is the most popular betting system in the world, and is used a lot for horse raceing etc.

Dark Razer: The odds arn't fixed untill betting closes, but you can always check out what they are on any given match, its the numbers inside the brackets.  This is how many ISKies you'll get back per ISK bet.

Grath: What types of things can people bet on now?

Dark Razer: Football, in its many forms (EPL, UCL, La Liga), NFL, NBA, UFC, Cricket, ESports (such as the New Eden Open), there is also a quick bet where we have heads v's tails every 30 mins!  Thats quite popular.

Dark Razer: We're looking at adding anything that is popular and that people want to bet on.  If you have any suggestions, evemail us!

Kryptyk: If the punters want to put ISK on something, we'll add it to the site pretty much

Grath: That leads nicely into my next question: if people wanted new things added in, like Horse Racing, would you add it?

Kryptyk: The site itself is catered towards A vs B style matches, but we plan to update in the future to support a group style bet with more than 2 options

Kryptyk: We got some keen F1 fans that wouldnt mind seeing that on our site ASAP

Grath: Any other future add on details you want to hint at while we're here?  A few people have asked about mobile apps for smartphones and tablets.

Kryptyk: At the moment the site is quite usable from a smart phone or tablet via the browser. Just last weekend at the Australian EVE Fanfest we sat in the hotel bar playing heads vs tails between rounds on our phones! At this stage we plan at looking to release an optimised browser version of the site for phones. Apps are a longer term project we would like to look at

Grath: So what is your take on the site? Can you give us a rough idea as to your bottom line?

Kryptyk: Mostly we just want people to get on and have a try. Its a lot of fun and a way to make some ISK if your a good punter

Kryptyk: As for the bottom line, we are comparable with sites like Somer Blink. We arent out to be too greedy with this

So there you have it. Eve-bet, EVE's newest vice, live now for your gambling needs.