Sony Patented an eSports Betting System for PS5, PS4

Sad? Sad.

Maybe it’s just because I like sports betting but I think its a cool idea. I don’t watch ESports so I’d never bet on it but still a cool idea.

I'm not a gambling man myself, but before everyone follows the social media knee-jerk outrage reaction and grabs their virtual pitchfork, let's just bear in mind that this is only going to have any relevance to you if you follow eSports.

And those that do most likely already have numerous ways they can bet on it.

If you're not one of those people, this is unlikely to have any effect on you whatsoever.

Eh, I would definitely bid on SFV and Tekken tournaments ...but I think this will never see the light of the day.

I would like some kind of esport integration with Ps5, though, like twitch or YouTube automatically opening at events time if I signed up etc.

I know there was some controversy regarding betting platforms for eSports (resulting in NRS and Bandai Namco withdrawing their support for WePlay fighting game tournaments). Not sure if this would help keep things legit in any way but if it does, then good.
I don't gamble myself.

I think a few governments might step in if Sony were to put this into a real world application.

The only gambling I do is the 2p machine at the coast. Even that's a little rich for my tastes but it gets rid of the small change I have in my pocket. I never win as whatever comes out the bottom goes back in at the top. That is 99.9% of gambling in a nutshell.

That's interesting.
Wonder if it'll be a native PS5 app or an API that betting sites can use. The former may cause problems for Sony if real currency is involved, the latter won't.

Like most patents I doubt it will ever come to anything. That said even if it did I think they'd have to use some type of point system instead of actual money. The potential for underage gambling is just too high and lawyers would be foaming at the mouth.

It would be a huge PR disaster if they went ahead with this!

Reminds me of Twitch's betting system where the streamer can set up a bet and viewers can use their channel points to bet on the outcome.

Except that's just with channel points earned by watching live, not real money.

Gambling’s a sucker’s game. This is a stupendously horrible idea.

I can’t see Sony ever allowing you to cash out the PSN credit you win as real money. So I guess it’s the same as every other online casino and should be no problem.

I bet their calculating the chances of me buying Returnal for €80.

Sports, or in this case esports, will always come with betting. I don’t watch esports so don’t really care. And as long as strict age checks are in place I don’t have any moral objection with allowing adults to enjoy a bet.

I’m also not a gambling man (though my vices are ten to one) but sports betting is massive. As e-sports grow, so will the betting market, unofficially or not. It’ll be interesting to see how this develops and what Sony’s official role in it will be.

yes being able to bet $20 on a game of 2k vs a friend online would be awesome

Companies love patents.. doesn't mean they'll be used.

Especially given the current investigations by governments in to loot boxes.

Bet365 have took bets for LoL, overwatch, dota2 and csgo along with other matches for a while now.

I'll probably put £10 in my bet365 account for the euros, but I'll do this without anyone putting a gun to my head.. no one forces you to gamble, there's a reason you have to be an adult.

If they want to make it and people who own one get it - that is up to them

Same way people can put something like this on their Phone or Gaming PC. And the world has not ended.

It is 2021 - $400 consoles are not only for 12 year old kids.

Personally i dont have a problem with this as long as its clearly labelled as gambling and as such is age restricted. unlike the current way companies like EA way they dance there way around the gambling issue.

Also it doesnt restrict content or cosmetics or anything

Like the article said there's no way they implement this on a console but I could see Sony come out with a seperate mobile app using this patent. I actually wouldn't mind it as I rarely gamble myself but it might be kinda fun to bet $20 on whoever to win Top 8 at Evo.

This would be great for people with gambling problems or are in recovery, this would make sure that their lives remain in ruin or worse.

Also the stories of kids getting their parents credit cards or bank accounts and gambling everything they have from the comfort off their own homes sounds fun 😑

I don't think Sony would be this stupid, even if that patent was a April fool's joke it was one in poor taste.

Personally, I'm little shocked how many people here think it is a good idea, or worse support it.
But anyway, betting on something digital is biggest nonsense, because of golden rule: Program will ALWAYS act as programmer written it. There is no luck, no randomness... only program.

Id be ok with a 'psn credit only' poker tournament, but it would have to be adult only. I can't see how Sony could get around it.

You want government regulation?, because this is how you get government regulation.

@djlard Might have something to do with who did the bad thing, rather than the bad thing bring done.

@djlard You can easily program something close enough to randomness for all practical purposes - that's baked into modern cryptographic algorithms and is required for any sort of security. My problem is having to trust that the product is using one of these algorithms, and that it's acting according to stated odds. Even with slot machines which are heavily regulated, I wouldn't put it past the manufacturer's to have separate programming that runs when they're being tested versus in production (similar to the diesel emissions scandals over the last decade).

This gets around that by using players as the source of randomness, but then you still have to trust how the odds are getting calculated, and whether they're using psychological trickery to manipulate people's betting.

Yes, more e-sports, more gambling. SARCASM

Generally speaking I think gambling is bad for society. Gross for Sony to be associated with this. At least they haven't acted on it.

No way would Sony go ahead with this with so many gamers under the legal age to gamble and no real way of policing it effectively. Even if was all virtual without the ability to spend real money the negative PR would be crucifying.