Introducing Speedy Markets

Published in

Coinmonks

4 min readOct 19, 2022

A traditional concept re-imagined for the blockchain age

Pool based predictions, also referred to as pari-mutuel pools, is a distinct type of prediction market. You are taking a position against other players who have also taken a view on the same event, not against a centralized counterparty that sets odds. There are no liquidity providers as well. All predictions are combined into a pool, and those who make the winning choice split the pool pro rata to their initial position size. The “house” withholds a small portion of the total pool, in our case the $VENO protocol. We call these predictions Speedy as they are of very short duration (up to a few days) and with very quick resolution and settlement.

Pari-mutuel trading is very well-liked by both amateur and expert players. Although it is frequently used in relation to horse and dog racing, it can be applied to any sporting event where competitors finish in a ranked order or other clear, mutually exclusive outcome, independently resolved event. Since there are no fixed odds when you place a pari-mutuel trade, it is challenging to use any trading strategies. The number of people who traded on an event and the number of people who correctly predicted the winner determine the payouts. Players can only place trades before the event and then once the pool is established no further trading takes place. After the event has concluded, payouts are formally calculated.

The pari-mutuel system’s fundamental idea is fairly simple. Similar to traditional sports trading, you make your picks for a sporting event, but you don’t get fixed odds when you take a position. Your “probable odds” will be determined by the current pool’s composition and these probabilities alter as the pool composition alters. Each pari-mutuel trade made on a particular market is added to the specific pool for that market. The total positions are added up following the conclusion of the relevant event. The prize money is divided between the winning players who made the right choice after the house (and in this case the protocol) deducts a commission.

For example, in a hypothetical event that has four possible outcomes, each outcome has a certain amount of money placed in outcomes :

Thus, the total pool of capital traded on the event is $500. Following the start of the event, no more positions can be opened. Let’s suppose that after the event was decided the winning outcome was Outcome 3 with $100 of total positions. The payout is now calculated, after the commission of the platform is being deducted from the pool. For example, with a commission rate of 8% the calculation is: $500 × 0.08 = $40. This leaves a remaining amount of $460 to be distributed to those who took a position on Outcome 3: $460 / $100 = $4.6 per $1 traded. This payout includes the $1 initial position plus an additional $3.6 profit. Thus, the odds on Outcome 3 are 3.6-to-1, as fractional, or 4.6 as decimal.

Joseph Oller developed the pari-mutuel system in 1867. He was a businessman from Spain who lived in Paris for the majority of his life. This type of trading was made available by Oller at several horse racing venues throughout France. The pari-mutuel system began to spread to other countries like Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom on the grounds that it was “fairer.”

The main issue with the pari-mutuel system was all the necessary calculations, which were initially performed manually. The Australian engineer George Alfred Julius solved this problem by developing the totalisator, also known as an “automatic totalisator” or “tote board,” a specialized mechanical calculator. They were widely used at race tracks around the world after the first was set up in 1913 at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. The first instance occurred in the United States in 1927, which prompted the opening of the Sportsman’s Park in Cicero, Illinois, and the suburban Arlington Racetrack in Arlington Park, close to Chicago, in 1932.

In Venue One you can find the Speedy predictions where you can trade initially on sports events and finance. You can see the current pool composition and size and once you click the card you can have a look at the potential payout as the pool stands currently. Trade is a click away.