Woody Levin, founder of videogame gambling website BringIt, is willing to bet that gamers are a particularly festive bunch that enjoy blowing wads of cash in small competitions of skill. In a recent interview with ESPNMag, Levin not only revealed that players can bet up to $100,000 in competitive matches of Rock Band 2, but it’s completely legal to do so.
BringIt (currently in open beta) is all about making your gambling dreams come true – even if your game of choice is Rock Band. A naturally skeptical person would question the website’s legality. Levine assured the interviewer it was completely legitimate. From the interview:
You can play one-on-one or multi-player games for money, because, under the law, it’s considered a game of skill. Your knowledge, your dexterity determines the outcome, as opposed to a random number generator. That’s what it really comes down to, the people playing are athletes.
Before raking in the cash, you have to set up a match – and it’s all fairly streamlined to protect the user and his money. The first barricade is a nifty handicap system, which will keep the best players from feeding on the weaker. Levine describes it as a “BCS system,” which in sports terms means, “garbage.” A few examples of other blockades are vetting processes for large bets and a user-ranking system that mimics eBay.
If that sounds good to you, then by all means, bet your future child’s college tuition on a game of Gears of War 2. Just be warned though – Levine thinks it’s a first-person shooter.
