BitBet is back up under new ownership after a month long hiatus. It has returned without the advertisements, and with an updated FAQ page featuring bold red text warning users of the same rules it always had. This is remarkable because the previous owner had been criticized extensively for the controversial stance that late bets should be considered gracious donations. The new site features well-setup up usgssl,1 and as a consequence will only load in usg-blessed web browsers such as those found on the consumer grade portable televisions commonly referred to as smart phones.
So far there are three bets approved: "Bitcoin at or above $600 on Jul 1st 2016,", "TheDAO to be the largest crowdsale ever", and "Donald Trump will win the 2016 United States Presidential Election" The first is a standard price bet that uses BitStamp as a resolution source; the kind of thing you'd expect to find on the old site. The middle is about ethereum, and is certainly a deviation from what BitBet users have come to expect. The last seems to be what it says it is. Now back to the altcoin in the middle, it isn't that there haven't been bets about this particular altcoin, but that this bet specifically takes its existence as a given, and even uses it as one of two resolution sources.2
Quoted below is the updated FAQ as scraped by Stanislav Datskovskiy:
BITBET IS LIVE AGAIN !
What happened?
As of May 2016, the BitBet website is under new management: the previous
owners decided to auction it off because of internal disagreements.Before the auction began, the site was frozen:
– new bets could not be created
– betting on existing bet was not possible
– comments were however still allowedThen, the following happened:
– detailed accounting of assets and liabilities was conducted
– bets that were closed at the time of the auction were properly paid out
– bets that still open were cancelled and all wagers were refunded
– all other creditors were paid in full
– The final settlement transaction is here:
a0f12a33413ec3a38e3ae931068febec133b083d72810fc586a8b1c5f0d7922aWhy was the site down for so long?
First, a lot of work had to happen to ensure that BitBet would be handed off
with a clean financial slate. Proper accounting takes time and energy.Second, as a result of the transition, a number of key infrastructure pieces
had to be rebuilt from scratch (servers, DNS, cold/hot wallets, databases,
acls), etc. This also takes time.Third, the new operators of the site took the time to understand in depth how
BitBet works and tested the new site extensively before they felt it was ready
for prime time again.As a consequence of all this BitBet went off-line for about a month, but it is
now fully operational again.Has anything changed?
Nothing has changed except for the operators of the site. The site operates
exactly as before, and the policies remain identical.One thing to be aware of: the bets that were cancelled because of the
transition are still visible on the site and have all been resolved as "NO".While this may feel inconsistent (the proper resolution should be "CANCELED
& REFUNDED"), there is a limitation in the current design of the system
that prevents us from doing anything else. In practice, this has no material
impact as all bets placed on these have been refunded.
Will anything change?
We do plan to bring a number of improvements to the site, most notably we
would like to make it more mobile friendly.Also, and in slightly less pleasant news, we will likely have to increase the
BitBet fee, to cover infrastructure costs better. However, the fee will remain
the same (1%) until June 1st 2016.
Will the new BitBet live up to the standard of the old one?
We will try our very best to operate the site with the same integrity and
reliability as the previous operators.
PLACING A BETWhat if I bet after a bet is closed?
BITBET WILL KEEP YOUR MONEY !!!
Do not, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, bet after a bet is closed.
If you do this, you will lose your money, WHATEVER THE BET OUTCOME MAY BE.
This policy also applies if you somehow manage to bet after the condition of
the bet has been satisfied, hoping for an easy win: YOU WILL LOSE YOUR MONEY.A bet placed after betting closes will NOT BE REFUNDED UNDER ANY
CIRCUMSTANCES.Please understand that this policy, while it might at first seem unfair, is in
place to protect both the site and the legitimate users of the site from
abuse.This policy's intent is NOT designed to take advantage of legitimate users.
What if my transaction was sent before but confirms after betting closes?
THE "LATE BET" POLICY (SEE ABOVE) APPLIES:BITBET WILL KEEP YOUR MONEY.
To be on the safe side, please do not bet on a proposition that is going to
close soon, or where the bet has already been satisfied (sometimes, bets get
satisfied early).In particular, if you send money before the bet closes and if your transaction
confirms only after betting closes, you will lose your money.To ensure that your transaction confirms in a timely manner (before bet
closes), please make sure to include appropriate fees.
How do I bet on an existing bet?
. Simply click on the proposition that interests you, then click "Bet".
. You will be prompted for a BTC address where your winnings will be sent if
you win.
. After that BitBet will give you another BTC address where you should send
your bet.
. Please note that all addresses and all transactions will be listed on the
bet page.
. As such, do not send from any address that you would like to keep private.PLEASE NOTE:
The beneficiary address can never be changed, under ANY circumstances.
Please make absolutely sure you control the address you submit !
How long does it take for my bet to be processed?
Your bet is accepted once it shows up in the list displayed on each bet page.
This occurs automatically after the transaction containing your payment
receives one confirmation on the bitcoin network. There is relatively little
we can do to speed things up. There is however a lot you can do. Most
importantly : include a reasonable transaction fee. Also useful : make sure
your bitcoin client is well connected (at least five peers), to low latency
peer. Obviously, double spend transactions will never confirm at all, and will
never appear on the bitbet page.Note that it is your responsibility to make sure you are not betting on events
that have already occured. For such cases, please see What if I bet after a
bet is closed?
How do I create an account?
You do not need an account to use BitBet. Bitbet was in fact specifically
designed to make accounts irrelevant and unnecessary.
What happens if I win?
Once a bet is resolved and payouts are sent, if you placed a bet on the
winning side your winnings will be sent to the payout BTC address you provided
when placing the bet. This may be an online wallet, a Bitstamp wallet, etc.
Once again, when you provide this address, you should make absolutely sure you
enter an address you control. Please note that all transactions will be listed
on the bet page and will therefore be visible to all. Do not use an address
that you would like to keep private.
What does "closed" and "resolved" mean?
All bets have a specified end time and date. At that time, the bet will be
closed automatically. In some circumstances bets may be closed early, if the
bet has been definitely satisfied before the specified date. For example, a
bet on whether one BTC will be worth less than one LTC at any point during the
month of June would normally close early July. However, should one BTC be
worth less than one LTC on June 14th, the bet will close early, on June 14th.All closed bets will be resolved by BitBet moderators, with the resolution
displayed for public review for 48 hours. Any interested parties are welcome
to bring any arguments against during that interval. After 48 hours, the
winners will be paid and no further complaints will be considered. Please
watch the bets you are interested in to make sure no errors occur.While we make every effort to keep delays at a minimum, the misbehaviour of
third parties on which bets may rely for resolution is not something we can
directly control. On the general principle that people make bets in order for
differences to be resolved, not deferred BitBet will cancel bets that can't
stand, but will always attempt to award where an actual controversy exists.
You are well advised to consider the quality of the proposed resolution source
before making a bet.The foregoing notwithstanding, BitBet will not hold bets unresolved forever.
What if I win but BitBet does not send me my winnings?
Since payout addresses are listed on the bet page, it is trivial to verify
BitBet does in fact pay out all winnings.
How are winnings calculated?
Every bet has two sides. Every bettor on the winning side will receive as
follows : 99% of his original bet sum (1% goes to BitBet.us) plus 99% of his
bet times the total bet by the losing side multiplied by his bet's total
weight and divided by the winning side total weight.For a practical example consider the famous Josh Zerlan bet. Total losing pool
was 791.28 BTC. Total winning weight was 63`783`932. Let's consider the first
bet, 0.11 BTC. It got in at 99`922 weight. This bet would thus receive 99% of
0.11, so 0.1089 plus 99% of 0.11 * 791.28 * 99`922 / 63`783`932 = 0.134991959.
So in total he should receive 0.243891959 (The amt listed on the site, ie
0.24389335 differs slightly. The reason is that the loser pool is listed as
truncated to two decimals for space considerations, but the actual engine uses
the full value. This will make us constantly if slightly underevaluate
winnings.)An important point to consider is that if the "plus" side of that calculation
does not exceed the 1% charged by BitBet it is possible to win less BTC than
the original bet. So for instance if someone bets 10`000 BTC and the losing
side consists of 1 BTC only then the 10`000 bettor will have lost 100 BTC in
BitBet fees for a maximum upside of 1 BTC (because obviously he can't win more
than what the other people have bet).The same applies for late bets, if the odds are even money (1:1) then a bet
made at weight 1`000 or under is unlikely to walk away whole, even should it
win. If the odds are 10:1 in favour of the winning side that weight cutoff
becomes 10`000. If the odds are 10:1 against the winning side then that weight
cutoff becomes 100. As a general rule of thumb the sooner you bet, the more
BTC you stand to gain.
What if I created a bet address but can't bet right now?
Once you enter a receiving address and are given a send-to address, you have 3
days (72 hours) to send your bet. If your bet does not make it within 72 hours
then that address will be reclaimed. BitBet will be unable to send you your
BTC back, as they will have probably been allocated to someone else's bet!
Always make sure that you send your first bet on a created address within 3
days of its creation.Once you have sent your bet, that address becomes reserved for you, and will
remain active for the duration of the bet. You can subsequently send more BTC
in order to take the same position, they will be added (at a new weight). This
should save you significant time if you are interacting with the site
programatically.Do not send BTC after betting has closed. Any BTC sent to addresses allocated
to a bet after betting has closed will be kept by BitBet.
What if I bet after the bet has been satisfied, but before it is actually
closed?
Your bet will be refunded, minus BitBet's 1% fee.
Can bets be cancelled?
Bets can indeed be cancelled, but only if BitBet judges that material changes
make the bet meaningless. Once a bet is cancelled all BTC bet is refunded to
the associated payout addresses – not to the originating addresses.Bets will not be cancelled because it became impossible for one side to win –
in such cases bets are closed and paid early instead. Bets will not be
cancelled simply at the request of a third party, and generally BitBet will
attempt to resolve rather than cancel any bets that harbor a legitimate
controversy.We do review comments made for cases where bets should be cancelled or closed
early.
What timezone is BitBet in?
All times are GMT.
CREATING A NEW BETCan I create a bet of my own?
Of course. Click on the "Add A New Bet" link. You will have to come up with a
title and description, propose a Resolution Date and Bet By interval (number
of days before the Resolution Date) and select the proper category.Next, a BitBet Moderator will review your proposed bet. If the bet is
acceptable as per our policies, the Moderator will establish the Resolution
Date and Bet By interval (which may or may not coincide with your suggestions)
and your bet will be published and funded.Your bet being funded means that BitBet will split a total pool of 0.1 BTC (or
more) between the two sides of your proposed bet. Your own address will be
linked to the smaller amount. This way you can earn BTC by proposing
interesting, worthwhile new bets.There is, of course, no guarantee that BitBet will accept your bet. You can
help this by funding your bet yourself, but even so we will not accept bets
that fall in the bad bets category.
What bets are bad bets?
First, statements that can not univocally be established as either true or
false at a certain point in the future are bad bets and as such unacceptable
on BitBet. For instance, "God Exists" is a bad bet, because it can never be
established as either true or false. "God will change Coke to Pepsi on August
19th, 2013" is also unacceptable, because it can never be established as true
or false.Second, any bet to do with breaking the law (specifically: murder, but also
arson, theft, general destruction and mayhem) is a bad bet and not allowed on
BitBet. So, bets such as "President Obama will be shot on December the 19th
between 18:30:00 and 19:00:00 UTC", "The Empire State building will burn to
the ground sometime in June 2013", "A crowd of at least five hundred
protestors will not throw tomatoes at Nicole Kidman during the Cannes
Festival" and so forth are all unacceptable.Also, bets which are not really bets but moreover advertising, advocacy,
general nonsense and such are unacceptable on BitBet.
What makes bets more likely to be accepted?
Read your proposed bet. Is it clear, comprehensible and does it make sense?
Would you want to bet on this? Can you see yourself taking either side? Is
resolution going to be obvious once the resolution date comes? If the answer
to any of these three questions is "no", your bet likely would benefit from
some refining.Placing a bet yourself at the time of proposition (which is known as a
"zeroconf bet") also helps greatly.In some cases, "zeroconf betting" is
actually compulsory, specifically for sport bets. Here are the rules:1. Sport bets will be only accepted by BitBet if they have a zeroconf (initial
wager) of no less than 2 BTC.2. Sport bets will have to specifically mention the GMT time the game in
question ends. Check if this time is accurate before you bet. BitBet will
refund late bets as of that time, irrespective of any considerations, which
includes the game being extended in any way for any reason.3. Sport bets will not be accepted more than two weeks before the event in
question.4. Sport bets will not have an end weight inferior to 10k. If the bet is
submitted with a lower end weight BitBet will just use 10k.Rules 3 and 4 are waived if you fully fund your bet (10 BTC upfront).
TECHNICALDo you use a cold wallet?
Yes. About five BTC are kept in a hot wallet, the rest is frozen.
OTHERCan we get in touch?
Yes: you can email us at info@bitbet.us, we typically respond within 24h.
Does BitBet take a fee?
Yes, BitBet will distribute to the winners of any bet 99% of all the bets and
keep 1% as a fee.
Could I become an affiliate?
Not at this time, although this may change in the future.
Could I become a partner?
Not at this time.
Can I advertise on BitBet?
Not at this time, although this may change in the future.