Millions are already using the likes of New York Sports Betting bookies during the Superbowl or their favorite racing season as a means to enjoy the game even more. You reading this may be one of those people. If so, have you ever wanted to bet on a League of Legends match? Would you be willing to put some Bitcoin on the player you think will win the next EVO? If so, Sony has a new betting patent that may be right up your alley. There’s no telling whether the company will actually do anything with it, but still — it’s pretty interesting.
According to IGN, the new Sony patent was recently published on a website called PatentScope. It describes, in the most detached and sleep-inducing language possible, a system that would let betters place wagers on competitive esports matches, with machine learning doing the heavy lifting of determining odds.
The bets people could put down could come in a number of digital forms. The patent mentions that “Wagers may be pecuniary, e.g., money or bitcoin, or may be non-pecuniary, e.g., game assets, digital rights, and virtual currency.” So you could theoretically put down some of your own cash, or perhaps bet that super-rare League skin on your favorite team winning it all.
Also interesting: Sony may not want to keep this a strictly PlayStation endeavor. The company mentions “game consoles” more generally as one potential avenue for its use. So perhaps there’s some bigger picture thought behind the kind of money that could be made with a system like this.
The big question, however, is whether this patent ever see the light of day. In our current climate, it’s really hard to imagine it becoming a reality — at least in the West. Governments already have a very close eye on games themselves for implementing mechanics that are sort of like gambling. Can you imagine a system that enables actual wagers, especially if they tie in-game items to it? It might not be welcomed with open arms.
Currently, gambling, online casinos (you can visit this oxicasino New Zealand site for reference), and slot games are a huge part of the gaming world. Many sites and applications are there, which can let a person bet on mobile games, field sports, and much more. Websites such as Paybyphonecasino.uk or other similar online gaming sites may also provide discounts, bonuses, free spins, etc.
Still, Sony is invested enough in betting to try and retain some kind of ownership over it. So maybe we’ll see this concept show up in some way, even if it’s not exactly as described in the betting patent.
