Sports betting is coming to crypto with the launch of a new decentralized sports book exchange LEVR Bet — just as the U.S. football season gets going. Still in testnet, the application will be deployed on Ethereum-compatible Layer-1 blockchain Monad.
“A major question facing the crypto sector is how to onboard the next billion users by demonstrating Web3’s significant advantages over Web2 and traditional finance,” the team wrote in a press release.
The application will not be available to users in the United States, where, since legalization in 2018, sports betting has grown into a $100 billion industry, with apps like FanDuel and DraftKings becoming some of the most popular mobile platforms.
LEVR hopes to differentiate itself from the larger sports betting apps by offering users new features like leverage. Trading or betting on margin allows users to gain exposure to larger trade positions than the capital they put up — though it also increases the risk involved. Users will be able to take up to 5x leverage on bets.
The team says leveraged sports betting is “only possible with blockchain technology.” The protocol will combine a perpetual swaps order book (a trading innovation that originated in the crypto industry) with onchain oracles that feed real-time information to provide accurate betting odds. Betting positions will also be tokenized.
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LEVR says that its live-game markets and mixed fee model will also give bettors betters odds and lower vigs, the fees collected by bookmakers for accepting a gambler's wager.
“Decentralized networks thrive or die based on volumes and usage. LEVR Bet is one of those unique protocols that can create real value and drive mainstream users to adopt decentralized tech,” Monad co-founder Keone Hon said in a statement.
LEVR, founded in 2023, raised a $2 million pre-seed funding round led by Third Earth Capital and Kobol Fund with backing from Big Brain Holdings, Chorus One, L2 Iterative Ventures, Avalaunch, among others.
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