Betting, in general, had and still has issues in different areas of the spectrum – from irrationally high fees that gambling organizations put on their bettors, to an abnormal inequality between winning and losing players. Today, we had an opportunity to speak with Lithuanian Betting Association founder and chairman Deividas Snapkauskas. We asked him to give his take on the betting scene in Lithuania and abroad, to tell his biggest mistakes while betting and the influence of cryptocurrency and Blockchain in a whole. Here is what he had to say.
Q: Tell us about yourself – who are you and what do you do?
A: My name is Deividas Snapkauskas. I’ve been a bettor for the past 20 years and I am the founder of the Lithuanian Betting Association here, in Lithuania.
Q: And what exactly is this betting association?
A: Betting Association, overall, is a legal unit where anyone who bets or is interested in betting can join. I created this association to unite all Lithuanian bettors in one place, so it would be easier to gather and reach our common goals together and also to sometimes help those who have trouble with their local betting companies.
Q: And what were the origins of this association and why did you decide to initiate it?
A: The Association was founded 4 months ago. I decided to create a place where all bettors, that need help, could join, and while working together, find ways to fix their problems. When you are a part of a legal unit like this, it is much easier to fight against these betting companies that are regularly not paying out your winnings or just working against you in general.
Q: You have a long history in the betting scene. What problems do you face frequently while betting?
A: I have two main problems in the betting world right now, I’ve even created separate notions for it – “red carpet politics” for the losing players and the “closed doors politics” for the winning players. “Red carpet politics” is a problem for those who are losing. Most of the time, gambling companies remove all limits for those players who are constantly losing so that they could gain as much profit as possible, forgetting the most important human factor. And those, who win (“Closed door politics”) are always receiving limits that, most of the time, makes no sense. These two problems, in my opinion, should be fixed.
Q: Have you ever faced these limits yourself?
A: Yes. Right now, one of the biggest gambling companies in Lithuania is not allowing me into their betting centers since, as said in the court, they can choose which people they want to accept and which ones to decline. The biggest problem in this situation is that certain laws are allowing them to do so, so right now one of the biggest tasks that our association is determined to accomplish, is to make those laws more flexible and friendlier to bettors in Lithuania and we sincerely hope that we can achieve it.
Q: There are a lot of people who say that right now, in the betting world, you can only bet on one specific niche – sports. Do you think that there should be more niches for people to bet on? Like weather forecasts or music award shows for example?
A: Of course. In my opinion, people right now are driven by these kinds of events and we are in a huge need of a place where we could bet on other niches except regular sports. I am thankful that this very moment we have projects like “Marginless” that offer a possibility to bet on different niches and even lets you to create your own bets. In my opinion, this is the future of betting that we really need.
Q: Right now, we have lots of talks about cryptocurrency and that it is decentralized from banks and other state-owned enterprises. Do you think that this could help the betting scene?
A: Yes, I truly believe that. For example, at “Marginless”, people, who regularly bet and win will not receive bigger fees or limits than those who regularly lose. Cryptocurrency brings equality between bettors and gambling organizations. I am positive that by using cryptocurrency instead of Fiat money while betting can bring us, bettors, to a whole better experience.
Q: Where does the future hold for betting in general?
A: Right now, betting is not going to the direction it should go. Betting organizations are becoming more and more greedy, they make efforts to bring the most gain and profit towards them and not towards the bettor. That’s why our association created and that’s why we are always working towards the goal of making the betting world great again!
Marginless – a new way of betting
“Marginless will bring the good old times where individuals will have an opportunity to place a wager against other people directly on almost any sport or other activity. Friends, colleagues and many other sports lovers will be able to get back the control of their bets and place them against a real person. Cleverly developed algorithms seem to rule today’s betting industry, however, the decentralized approach of newly forming blockchain technology-based solutions will change the way we live – making financial transactions, buying products and… betting. At Marginless you can not only bet on sports but create your own bets in different kind of niches.” – says Marginless CEO Lukas Jonaitis.
For more information, visit http://www.marginless.io.