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Show HN: SportsChimp: If Zynga and Bet365 had a love child.
- boglin 14y agoReally liked the concept. Is it legal though?
- weego 14y agoAs it uses virtual currency in the game the ability to win as a disconnected outcome is a bit of a grey area, but should be fine if done correctly in that betting is not illegal in itself, it is the processing of payments of US$ on wagers that is illegal. There will be more and more of these games as companies who don't wish to get effectively blacklisted from publishing and marketing in the US once real money gambling apps become legal position themselves for market share of the faux betting space so then can switch it up when/if the legalities are changed.
- boglin 14y agosmart move!
- andyakb 14y agoI know this is old, but this just isnt true. The betting itself for poker is not illegal, but the processing of payments is likely to be [there are arguments against this that havent been tested in court]. The wire act explicitly bans wagering on sporting events, regardless of any processing of payments.
- analog 14y agoUsing the logos of the sports organisations is probably infringing copyright. Whether or not the gambling bit is legal would depend on where the company is based, but then again it's Zynga's love child, you wouldn't expect everything to be above board would you?
- Jare 14y agoThey are based in Delhi.
- delinka 14y agos/copyright/trademark/ And it's possible this is not infringement. But it could still land them with C&D letters or answering a court filing. The legality of gambling is dependent where their users are located. If it's illegal to gamble in Virginia, then users of the site in Virginia get into trouble for gambling or Virginia tries to get the site closed down (or maybe blocked by ISPs in VA.) But since they're using fake currency and not paying out in real USD, they'll probably be just fine.
- analog 14y ago"Logos may be protected under copyright as artistic works and many trade marks may therefore also be copyright works." http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-applies/c-applies-faq/c-applies-faq-logo.htm http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-applies/c-applies-faq/c-a...
- Tipzntrix 14y agoYeah, I got a bad feeling when I saw that this company would purposely associate themselves with Zynga. Something does feel quite off. I have no comment on the legality, but I get the feeling a whole new demographic is going to be sucked into "clicking cows" or betting against their friends and spamming their walls. To top it off, you can only log in with Facebook ATM.
- ad93611 14y agoWhat does B$ mean? Maybe there should be a FAQ
- citricsquid 14y ago"BANANA BUCKS", their virtual currency.
- rahulnb 14y agofinally an app that simplifies sports picking!
- abhishekmgupta 14y agoit never was so simple, thx guys!!!!
- roadmojo 14y agoLike the UI. Not sure if its legal.
- aab1d 14y agoLove it this is simple!
- aab1d 14y agoLove it this is simple!
- tomasien 14y agoAs someone who founded a startup that navigated the legal boundaries of an over-regulated industry, I may suggest that the founders may find comments that say "not sure if this is legal" a little annoying. I doubt they put their blood sweat and tears into this without going at least as far as they could to determine whether they could legally do this. Now, "I've done something similar and here is what I ran into" or "I'm an expert and here's what you're up against" - now that's constructive.
- tomasien 14y agoI seriously can not tell you how many times someone in Virginia went to thecityswig.com and then was like "awesome, but did you know ABC in Virginia has strict laws?" - No, I spent a year building this and it never occurred to me. So maybe I'm just projecting, but I would find those comments annoying.
- rudimk 14y agoI second tomasien on that.
- objclxt 14y agoActually, I'm really surprised they got permission from all the sports leagues to use their trademarks and not have to put some small print in crediting them. You don't get to use the Premier League logo, for example, without a licence. (to answer your second point, I've done a lot of work in the sports area, so use of league and team logos is something I'm fairly up on).
- tomasien 14y agoThere you go! That's what I'm talking about!
- rprasad 14y agoI'm really surprised as well, as several of those leagues do not allow sportsbooks to use their logos, especially the MLB, which has had several betting scandals in the past. The NFL also do not grant license requests to use its logo to sportsbook; only certain business partners (and their subsidiaries) may use the NFL logo in association with a sportsbook offering.
- Ryan_Shmotkin 14y agoI am lost.. can't understand how to use it at all. Very nice graphics but UX is terrible
- zackyap 14y agoI have to agree with this. I don't understand what each button does or what I have to do to play or win. Nice UI though.
- nav 14y agohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7s3XFNdTUhY&noredirect=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7... ; let me know if that helps.
- fredoliveira 14y agoI'm quite confused. From their legal page: To use SportsChimp, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States. By using SportsChimp, you represent and warrant that you are least 18 years old and a resident of the United States. Isn't this weird? Not only are they saying it's illegal to use this from outside the US, it is inside the US where they'll have the most trouble making this work. These terms were probably lifted from some app/service where they made sense.
- mtjl79 14y agoI highly doubt these terms were lifted from another app/service. I believe the goal of this app is Sportbook related - but with a twist: it's a game right now. But I see people being upgraded to a "game for fun" to as a "Look how much money you can make if this was real money." Like Zynga Poker - but the end goal isn't you buying more Zynga poker chips to play for fun, but rather bet real money on sports. No idea who is behind this, but I wouldn't be surprised if a Sportsbook in Costa Rica, UK or Europe is bankrolling/investing in this. The Sportbook industry is declining each year as less and less people are gambling on sports as it seems the 20-30 year olds aren't as interested as the generations before them. This is a great way to create a new generation of sport gamblers. My 2 cents.
- gearoidoc 14y agoWhen I saw Ashton Kutcher in the demo image it made me think that this was his latest venture - but I can't find any mention of him investing in this on Google. Thus I feel I cant trust the company behind this. No trust = no signup.
- ketna 14y agoWhat sound do chimps make? Kerching. Simple.
- nav 14y agoView Demo: http://blog.sportschimp.com/post/33361582535/sportschimp-demo-video http://blog.sportschimp.com/post/33361582535/sportschimp-dem... Legality: No buy-in using your credit card. No independent wagers on a specific match-up.
- creativityhurts 14y agoI don't think it's good marketing to associate your business with Zynga nowadays.
- steve8918 14y agoI don't think an app based on likely illegal use of copyrights/trademarks is something that is sustainable. My guess is that people may be able to transfer money into accounts, but if this app get shutdown, customers may lose some or all of their money.
- manish_gill 14y agoYou don't have to use buy-in using real money in order to play. Right now, the app is only using a virtual currency, which can be translated into real winnings.
- shalintj 14y agoThis is so cool.. Using it... loving it... Thanks guys...
- anikendra 14y agoQuite interesting concept. Do you guys give real money?
- matznerd 14y agoReminds me of a friend's app http://www.sportspickerapp.com/ http://www.sportspickerapp.com/
- vikramhaer 14y agoTried using it on a Nexus 7, some frustrating issues with UI because it aligns off to the right instead of taking up the full screen, and some elements are off the page so not clickable. Might want to try it on different tablets? Looks really interesting but will rely heavily on getting people to invite friends and be actively involved, not sure what's going to make it sticky...
- johncullington 14y agoInteresting .... Anyone know who's behind this?
- johncullington 14y agoI like the fact there are no information overload. No odds, no team streaks etc. this is dumb down version. Super!
- benrpeters 14y agoI have a similar app (http://pickmoto.com http://pickmoto.com) for iPhone and iPad. It's clear that we can't legally use the logos without a license. But of course the leagues aren't going to pay attention to indie developers until they are genuine threats. At that point, maybe you could afford to pay for the license or work something out. We decided against risking it with logos because Apple could yank us at a moment's notice even if we made it into the Store. And considering that some of the best selling apps are developed by the Leagues, we imagine Apple would be pretty quick to act if the Leagues asked. So instead, we're using pennants without logos. Not ideal, but safer.
- jwildman77 14y agoI found this app before the season started. I've been playing it with some friends of mine and it's a lot of fun, you did a great job!
- rprasad 14y ago> But of course the leagues aren't going to pay attention to indie developers until they are genuine threats. The NFL and MLB have very litigious IP counsel, who are kept on retainer and paid very generous amounts of money solely to police for unlicensed uses of their trademarks. In all likelihood, they've already got a cease-and-desist for sportschimp working up right now.
- shocks 14y agoThis looks really awesome. I'm quite excited about this! I'm very interested in betting and this looks like I could have a lot of fun! Shame I'll never use it, because I don't have Facebook.
- slaroia 14y agoLove this simple interface...Great way to interact with friends and sports simultaneously...amazing service
- shankarmahesh 14y agoNice UI and very simple to play. Love it