The prevalence of gambling-focused Decentralized Applications (DApps) is giving rise to creative new ways for arbitrageurs to game the system.







Just look at Veil, a recently-launched betting DApp built on top of Augur, 0x, and Ethereum. Currently, the odds offered on Veil don’t always match the ones that users may find on other gambling platforms and websites. This could lead to opportunities for users to profit from a process known as arbitrage betting.





In sports, arbitrage bets are those in which a user simultaneously places bets on every possible outcome across multiple markets. It works through taking advantage of market pricing mistakes or platforms that offer odds that differ from their peers.

The odds of winning the Super Bowl differed depending on who you asked





Like many of the world’s largest sporting events, the Super Bowl is a prime target for gambling. Last year, approximately $158.59 million USD was wagered on the Super Bowl in Nevada's sports books alone.





With the rise of betting DApps like Veil, it was easier than ever this year to bet on the outcome of the Super Bowl on a blockchain-based platform. While these gambling-focused decentralized applications serve many of the same functions as your average betting platform, odds are by no means standardized.





In the case of Sunday’s Super Bowl LIII, Veil users could bet on the game’s outcome at odds that differed wildly from other platforms. At one point, odds for the New England Patriots to beat the Los Angeles Rams were as high as 65%.





However, on the data journalism site FiveThirtyEight, the Patriots’ odds were projected at 53%. These kinds of discrepancies can create an opportunity for users to take advantage through arbitrage betting.

With gambling DApps on the rise, arbitrageurs could have more opportunity







As of press time, one market listed on Veil with nearly 60 Ether in trade volume (currently worth over $6,380 USD) asks users to bet on which film they predict will win the Oscar for Best Picture at the upcoming 91st Academy Awards.





Here, users can currently “long” Roma to win at 64% odds. A traditional betting website like bet365, on the other hand, offers the same bet at 66.7% (1.5). The odds for Green Book and The Favourite to win are listed on Veil at 13% and 12% respectively. On a traditional betting site like Tab.com.au, however, the odds are currently 22.2% (4.50) for Green Book to win and 11.1% (9.01) for The Favourite.

In general, arbitrage betting long predates the concept of a decentralized application built for gambling, However, as LongHash previously found, blockchain-based betting platforms are on the rise. Through taking advantage of these new markets, users can profit from odds that differ from traditional gambling platforms.



