Josh Bussing.Gambling has always been a game of chance where you either win big or go home empty. Fear no more, sports fans; there is now a place where you can bet without the risk, but with all the reward.
Centsports.com is a completely legal and completely free betting Web site. Users can create accounts and bet on any sporting event, from mixed martial arts to the Super Bowl. You’ll never lose a penny because, until you cash out, you are betting entirely with virtual money.
When they create an account, users receive 10 cents from Centsports to bet as they see fit. If the user is able to capitalize on that dime, he or she could eventually have the opportunity to cash out and receive real revenue.
Centsports gets its money from advertisers who want to reach the Web site’s target audience: college students. Users have to enter a weekly pool to cash out, and only a few users from different price brackets get to cash out.
Davis opened his account after hearing about the Web site from a friend, and has since taken his 10 cents up to as much as $510, he said.
“I probably bet on soccer the most. I play soccer and I like to watch it, so it makes the games more interesting if I bet on them,” Davis said.
Although he likes to play it safe with sports like martial arts, where the favorite almost always wins, Davis has taken a risk or two, losing $120 on a soccer game that ended in a tie.
Davis said it was hard betting on some of his favorite teams, such as the Dallas Cowboys, who had an unimpressive 9-7 season. But, he said, Centsports only added to his excitement of NFL Sunday.
“I was born in Fort Worth, Texas, so I always love betting on the Cowboys,” Davis said. “This year wasn’t really their year but I still bet on them every time.”
It has also been a great way for Davis to compete with his friends.
“I got a lot of people on my floor started into it, so now we kind of consult on what to bet on as a floor,” Davis said. “Sometimes I can be a hero and sometimes, like today, I can lead them in the wrong direction. Everyone hates me right now.”
Davis, the floor’s soccer expert, advised everyone to bet on Liverpool F.C., a British team that ended up losing its match and a large sum of money among the group.
The only downfall to the site? “I’ve probably lost a lot of study time doing it, but I’m getting better at balancing my time,” Davis said. “I don’t want to get too hooked because I know where that can lead.”
Josh Bussing, a sophomore in history, has made $40 on Centsports.com. His favorite bets are risky-yet-rewarding five-game parlay bets.
In a five-game parlay, the bettor picks the outcome of five separate games and gets earnings only if they get all five correct.
However, Bussing said that his favorite Web site is Protrade.com.
Protrade uses similar concepts as Centsports. Accounts are free and users start out with $5,000 from Protrade to buy stock in players and teams from around the sporting world. The average stock is worth $150, but players such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James go for closer to $350 a stock.
Protrade users cannot redeem for cash like on Centsports, but they have the option of cashing in their online money for prizes, such as a $10 Amazon gift card or a 42-inch plasma TV that goes for 4.8 million virtual dollars.
“Protrade is really great, because instead of just knowing the sport, you have to be able to evaluate what interest people are going to have in the players or teams, a lot like the stock market,” Bussing said.
Bussing’s most successful purchase came just before the NFL playoffs when he bought stock in the Arizona Cardinals. He made $60 a stock by the time the team had reached the Super Bowl, he said.
“When you start it’s really tough to know what you are doing,” Bussing said. But he said it is more interesting because it requires an ongoing commitment.
Molly Gray can be reached at [email protected].
