a - you'll at least get an idea of where the money is going vs the way it is now... you see a line and you bet it. This transparency isn't necessarily valuable on a per game basis, but when you start to look at trends of certain teams against the spread + the way the public (crowd) picks.. you start to see larger trends that can help you predict with higher probability of the crowds accuracy for certain types of bets or matchups, etc.
b - this drives people to become experts which means more informed analysis, and potential of beating the market through following the picks of 1 or more experts.
-- It's not about beating the market necessarily, it's about leveling the playing field (major disruption). Right now the markets have all the info on who is betting where... think of what would happen when people had that info too?
1. The gamification aspect of sports is everywhere. Fantasy, March Madness, etc. SC uses that gamification to give risk averse people a way to play the same way gamblers do without the risk. People can make picks, invite their friends to pick and join their network. They earn achievements, real rewards (like tickets)from winning challenges, and status by being right on their picks that they share publicly. Sports are polarizing. There are always people on each side offering analysis and casting their picks. Competition among friends and the desire to be right will drive people to pick smarter and leave better analysis based on more info (ref: people study up before march madness pools each year).
2. This is where the game drives the real utility of SC. As people cast their picks, users are able to see in real-time where the public thinks the smart money is (this has nothing to do with the betting agent). There isn't a site out there that tells people how many people bet on each side. That's where SC comes in. People that are actually betting (not on SC) can use this data in a variety of ways. They can bet with or against the crowd or follow users who have a public track record of accurate picks and use them as their basis for wagering.
3. The social side of SC allows people to follow users who make great picks or give good advice. See weekly standings for friends, and overall. Checkin at games you are attending, share pics, videos, smack talk.
4. Stats - You can currently track who beats the spread more than others, but with SC you add the ability to know how accurate the crowd or specific users are over time to make more informed picks. Sort by game to see odds, crowd picks, expert picks, analysis, etc.
5. Monetizing it. Tapping the data to provide insight for Fantasy sports users or other gaming platforms, premium memberships giving you more insight into a broader array of data, content partnerships (where people can cast their votes on more than just lines sponsored by leagues, marketers, etc... ie Which jerseys should Maryland wear for next weeks game) are all ways we will monetize.
I'm sure they are going to be going local and adding services soon. That way they can get at the whole 28k. Probably expand to babies and home to keep the customer after the wedding too...
b - this drives people to become experts which means more informed analysis, and potential of beating the market through following the picks of 1 or more experts.
-- It's not about beating the market necessarily, it's about leveling the playing field (major disruption). Right now the markets have all the info on who is betting where... think of what would happen when people had that info too?