Implemented Betting Exchange for Member vs Member Bets

[Bob]

As per title, the ability for Member A to create a "bet" with Member B. This is a ONE on ONE bet.

Member A creates a Bet, sets the stake amount (which is immediately deducted from Member A's on hand cash) and choose the member they want to place the bet against.

Member B can then either accept the bet (which the stake amount is immediately deducted from Member B's on hand cash) and the bet is LOCKED (preventing Member A from changing the bet criteria) OR Member B can reject the bet in which time Member A will either have his stake returned and the bet will be closed OR the bet will open to the public which in case anyone can accept the bet (only 1 person tho).

Bets will consist of a TITLE that gives members an idea of what the bet might be about (eg Raiders vs Broncos), a DESCRIPTION that sets the parameters of the bet (The Raiders will beat the Broncos by 14 pts), Stake amount, which is the amount that BOTH players wager (winner takes all), setting some Dates that control various aspects of the wager and whether its private or public.

Once the event is over, it takes BOTH Member A and Member B to settle the event. The payout options are Push (returns the stakes), Pay Member A or Pay Member B. If the event is not settled by both members after x amount of time (admin configurable), then a Bookie that has permission to Settle Member Bets will be able to handle it.

The Bet Criteria will NOT be editable by ANYONE (that includes Admins, Moderators and Bookies), so there is no way (besides editing the DB) to change the criteria.. ie, if Sheldon bet me that the Lions would beat the Raiders by 33 points, then one of his buddy Mods couldn't change it to 21 points and then settle the wager in Sheldon's favor.

Anyway.... this is in the initial planning stages now, so NOW (not when I am done with it) is the time to make comments and suggestions...

 

[Bob]

EXPIRED BETS. When a Bet Expires (reaches the close date before anyone accepts it), the stake is returned to the Owner and the bet is put into an "expired" status. Expired Bets will be removed from the system 1 week (7 days) after they expire.

 

[Bob]

Got a few inboxes asking about situations where a Bet was created against a specific user and that user has not yet either accepted or declined and they don't want to wait for it to EXPIRE before they can edit it and make it an open bet.

Solution (which I've had done for awhile, but just have not yet posted about).

There is a CANCEL functionality that is used to Cancel a Pending Bet with another member and will convert the Bet into a OPEN bet. This is permissions based and only the OWNER of the Bet can perform this action.

Here is one of Geddy32's Bets that is PENDING with Col Hogan. Geddy32 just found out that Col Hogan is in prison camp and won't have access to accept or decline the bet, so he wants to CANCEL the bet. Being that the bet is still in a pending state and Geddy32 is the one that is viewing the bet, the Cancel link will appear in the bet meta controls (see the red arrows).



When he clicks on the link, an overlay asking for confirmation will display. It clearly states that the bet with Admin will be canceled and that the bet will be converted to an OPEN bet.




And here you can see the results of clicking on "Cancel Bet". The bet is now OPEN for a first come, first serve claim. It also modifies the create date so that it appears as a NEW bet.

 

[Bob]

another sneak peek

NOTE: subject to change, but I wanted to start tossing a few bones to let people know that this functionality is WELL under development (fully working proto type) and will be coming soon (this summer).

View attachment 2666

UPDATE on the Betting Exchange landing page.

Trying to respond to inbox questions by posting the answers for everyone to see. Question this AM was about SORTING and FILTERING. Yes, there will be the same kind of expected sorting and filtering as with Sportsbook Events.

There are 4 Sorting Tabs: Upcoming (which only includes Pending and Open Bets), Newest Action (which is the default Tab), High Stake (sorted by Stake amount) and Paid Out (only settled bets will be displayed ordered by highest payout).



As for FILTERS, only Bet Status Filters apply here (as there are no prefixes or other filter types). In this screen shot, I am filtering by OPEN bets.




You've probably noticed the sidebar now and a couple blocks. I've just started working on this stuff, so its incomplete, but I can tell you that there will be 3 blocks (Upcoming Bets, Recent Winners and Stats). The upcoming Bets block works just like the Upcoming Events block (same types of options settings). The Upcoming Bets and Recent Bet Winners blocks will be available for Forum Home as well as [bd] WF Renderers (might not be until a 2nd point release on the BWF stuff however).

 

[Regs]

Even Col Klink would approve of these developments

 

[Bob]

After debating this with myself for several days, I've decided to add WITHDRAW functionality. This allows the member that accepted the bet to withdraw from the bet, but with a PENALTY (% set via options). I've made it permission based so that you can easily just disable this functionality by not setting the "Can withdraw from Bets" permission. As mentioned, there is also a Betting Exchange option for the Withdraw Penalty (% of the stake to keep) as well as an option to give the Bet Owner the penalized amount.



NOTE: A withdrawn bet will convert to an OPEN bet so that someone else can accept the bet.

A couple things that I am still thinking about is to let the Owner of the bet decide whether or not the user that accepts the bet can withdraw. This would only come into play if the user has the permission to withdraw. Along with this would be to let the Owner of the bet choose to use the global default penalty % OR set their own. Again, I am still THINKING about this, its not a for sure thing yet.

 

[tajhay]

@Bob is there a permission for user created bets to pass through moderation before its active? Reason i ask is this....some users may try to circumvent 'donating' their sportsbook cash to others by making a dud bet where they know they will lose etc. Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

[Bob]

@Bob is there a permission for user created bets to pass through moderation before its active? Reason i ask is this....some users may try to circumvent 'donating' their sportsbook cash to others by making a dud bet where they know they will lose etc. Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Currently, NO and no future plans for it either. I am mostly against this as IMO, there are controls in place that can be used to properly MANAGE your system. MAX Bet amount is one of them. Setting a REALISTIC limit will stop the retarded GaZillion dollar bets that don't happen in real life. That also prevents those GaBallion dollar circumventing bets from happening as well. Permissions. If a user is caught doing something, you should penalize that user (not everyone). Users have INDIVIDUAL permissions. You can revoke that individuals Betting permissions without effecting the group he is in OR you can create a new group with lower betting permissions and stick them in it.

One thing that I AM going to be putting in that will help you with the situation you explained is a REVERSAL function. A Reversal is a post settlement function that a Bookie can perform, that will reverse the settlement ie it will take away the winnings from Member A that were wrongly awarded and Award them to Member B. If you don't catch the winner in time (say he turns around an places bets with that money), then you can still manage that by DELETING those bets he made (which returns all the stakes placed) and THEN perform the reversal. And of course, you can always use the CASH system tools to take away money from that user (or users) when they do build it back up.

btw, I don't really see why users can't give cash to each other. I've been thinking about adding a "give cash to member" functionality for awhile now. Also, most cash/points systems have that (at least they should).

 

[Bob]

Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

I've made this clear for a decade now. Setting REALISTIC cash/points values makes a HUGE difference. Use the LIMITATIONS (Max wager amount, Max bet amount) to STOP unrealistic things like putting a Billion on a 1000 to 1 odds outcome that is a 99.9% chance of paying out. That is not even remotely realistic, yet I visit peoples sites taht have sportsbook installed and that's the kind of stuff I see (with members having more cash/points than 100 times the amount of money on earth itself).

 

[Bob]

Editing Bets.

The EDIT function is extremely limited (and this includes Super Admins that think they can edit anything).

This screen shot is a Super Admin that is attempting to edit a bet. As you can see, the only fields that can be changed are the Private Bet field and the Sportsbook Event Id.



NOTE: If you have members that abuse the rules by swearing in titles and bet description, then delete the bet and REVOKE their privileges to create bets!

 

[Bob]

Another day, another sneak peek

This sneak peek is about the "Your Bets" page (which is also [Member]'s Bets pages.

This first shot is the main "Your Bets" landing page. There are two Sort Tabs. The first one 'Bets Created' will list ALL bets that you personally created. You can FILTER this list by Bet Status (Pending, Open, Accepted, Expired, Awaiting Settlement, Settled).

The Upcoming Bets will list any Open or Pending events that you created that are about to expire.




The 2nd sort tab 'Bets Against' will list ALL bets that you have Accepted or have been challenged and are Pending. (you can filter Pending and Accepted bets only on this tab).

The Upcoming Bets will list any Pending events that you have been challenged on that are about to expire (it won't list events that you've already accepted).




As mentioned, the filters are available on these pages and they also effect the Upcoming Bets sidebar block.




You are able to view another members "Bets" page simply by adding &user_id=# where # is the user_id for that member. In this case, user_id 1 is Admin and the user geddy32 is viewing my Bets page. When viewing another members bets, the same functionality explained above applies. One thing you'll note here is that geddy32 is viewing bets that I created and there are 2 bets pending for him and he has the ability to Accept or Decline right here on this page. He can also create a new bet with Admin directly from this page.

 

[Bob]

Well, at least I know that 3 license holders are excited

 

[Bob]

OK, so here is the FINAL major piece of functionality that I am sure a few of you have been anxious to see. These screen shots are of the member bets SETTLEMENT process (which is pretty complex as it allows the 2 members to settle the bet without a bookie as long as they both agree to the same decision).

This bet just closed and is now in an AWAITING SETTLEMENT state. This state triggers the settlement functions to be available as well as some new display data like Owner and Challenger Settlement Status. I am viewing this bet as the OWNER of the bet, so I have a button that says "Settle Bet". So lets click on that and see what happens (next screen shot)




When clicking on "Settle Bet" you will be taken to the Settle Bet FORM. There are THREE different forms (one for the OWNER, one for the Challenger and one for a BOOKIE). The Owner will see the Challengers Settlement status on their FORM (and vice versa). A Bookie will see both.

This is a pretty simple process. You select either the Bet Owner, the Bet Challenger or PUSH. There is a message field that you can use to justify your decision on your selection of the winner. This is PUBLIC view-able on the Bet page. So lets fill it out and submit (see next screen shot)



OK, we are back at the bet page and as you can see, the "Settle Bet" button is GONE as you've already submitted your selection. Even if you are a BOOKIE, you can not settle your own event, you need to get another bookie if it comes to that. You'll see that the "Owner Settlement Status" is now populated and display's the winner that they selected along with the message text. Alright, lets log out and log back in as the Challenger (next screen shot)



OK, Im logged in as admin now which is the challenger. You can see that the "Settle Bet" button (and link) are now back in play as admin hasn't made his selection yet. Lets do that now and see what happens (next screen shot)




As you can see, at the bottom of the Challengers FORM, it displays the Owner Settlement Status. Lets fill out this form and see what happens on the frontend We'll purposely select a different winner) (see next screen shot)




OK, so we're back at the Bet and the bet is still AWAITING because the Owner's and Challengers Settlements do not MATCH, so the bet requires a BOOKIE to settle the bet. You can see that both the Owner's and Challengers Settlement Status' are displayed. Lets logout and log back in as a BOOKIE (see next screen shot)




OK, so I am now logged in as RZ and RZ is a BOOKIE that has permission to settle any bets. Both the Settle Button and Settle link display since they have the proper permissions. Lets see what happens when we click on "Settle Bet" (next screen shot)




Pretty much the same FORM as the other two, cept that it displays both the Own Settlement Status and the Challenger Settlement Status. Lets fill this out and hit submit (see next screen shot)


We are now back at the Bet and you can see that the bet status is now SETTLED. Under the Handle you will see the Bet Winner and at the bottom, you will see the Bookie Settlement Status.

NOTE: A bookie can fully settle the bet at any point during the awaiting process (as long as that bookie is not the bet owner or bet challenger).

 

[Bob]

Someone asked earlier about Creating Best from a Sportsbook Event and another person asked about Sorting and Filtering Bets on the View Members Bets tab of a Sportsbook Event. I'll cover both of these now.

First one: Create a Bet from a Sportsbook Event. If the viewing user has the permission to View the Betting Exchange AND has the permission to Create Bets, there will be a "Create Bet" button on a given Sportsbook Event. Lets see what happens when we click on "Create Bet" (see next screen shot).




When you create a Bet from a Sportsbook Event, the Bet Create input form is Pre Filled with some specific data

Title: Matches the Sportsbook Event Title. This CAN be changed, but most will probably leave it alone since the bet is about the Event.

Close Date & TimeZone: Its beyond obvious that you'd want the 2 close dates to MATCH (same with the Time Zone).

Sportsbook Event ID: obviously, this will link the bet to the event.

All of this is optional and can be replaced with different data.



These next screen shots show the Sort By and Filters functionality on the View Member Bets Tab of a Sportsbook Event.

There are currently 4 types of sorting (Newest Action, High Stake, Paid Out and Title).





As for Filters, the Bet Status Filters are available for the View Member Bets page. This comes in handy if you want to only view OPEN bets for example (see next screen shot).




And here you can see that the Member Bets are filtered by OPEN, so only open bets are displayed.

 

[Bob]

I've added a few ALERTS (ones that I felt were necessary). More can be added over time if there is enough justification for them.

The only one not shown here is when a Pending or Open Bet expires before being Accepted. It simply informs the Bet Owner that the Bet has expired.




Of course, along with ALERTS comes the ability to manage which alerts you receive or not (Via Alert Preferences)

 

[Bob]

Im not sure yet about News Feed Items. I am 50/50 on it right now and if I do add some, they won't be for every action. They may not make it into the initial release as they can be added during a 3rd point maintenance release if the decision to add them comes about.

OK, I've decided to add a few News Feed Items... I'll probably add a news feed item for bet winners as well (just not sure if it will make it into the initial release or not).

EDIT: Added 2 more news feed items for when winning a bet (one for the challenger winning and the other for the bet owner winning).

 

[Bob]

Phase I of this new LARGE SCALE functionality is complete and therefor I am marking this as IMPLEMENTED

 

[Bob]

Forgot to mention this...

There is a Most Active Bettors page that has bet counts for 'Bets Created' and 'Bets Challenged'

There is currently only 1 option to control this page and that is to set the amount of Most Active Bettors to display (default is 25, MAX is 100). This will change into a "Per Page" option at some point when this is enhanced to be paginated.



The first tab (which is the default tab) will list the number of Bets that the Member has Created (does not include expired bets). The number is a link that will take you to that Members "Bets" page.



The 2nd tab (Bets Challenged) display the count of bets that the member has ACCEPTED (includes the status' Accepted, Awaiting, Awaiting Settlement and Settled). It does not include Pending Bets that the user has not yet accepted. The number is linked to the Members Bets page and the Bets Challenged Tab will be the active tab.

 

[Regs]

This is great @Bob !

 

[DaniD]

I want this! Looks impressive and fun.

Edit: I didn't see while scrolling, so I apologize if this has been answered, but will/can there be any trophies associated with winning/placing (maybe even from withdrawing...) from bets?

 

[Bob]

Edit: I didn't see while scrolling, so I apologize if this has been answered, but will/can there be any trophies associated with winning/placing (maybe even from withdrawing...) from bets?

Yes, I've expanded the Sportsbook criteria to include BET specific criteria. I'll post about it later today or tomorrow.