A. We provide sports-based cash tournaments where players can enter for free and win real cash prizes. Daily tournaments are based on the fantasy score attained by players in the four major sports: MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL. Contest players create a contest sheet and obtain points based on “bets” made on the propositions we offer. The points are obtained using odds based on the pari-mutuel betting format. Propositions have four choices. The odds are NOT like sports betting (where the house provides for example a -130/+140 betting line). Instead, the odds are like horse racing in that they are pari-mutuel (amongst ourselves). This means the contestants themselves set the odds.
This is not a sportsbook gambling app. Players do not risk money betting on propositions where they would collect cash for winning bets.
Currently, the only platform we support for our app is in iOS. Android support will be coming in the future.
A. Yes, the four choices for a proposition are similar to a four-horse race. One choice will be the winner, and the other three will be losers. Unlike horse racing, there is no place or show betting, only the winner is paid off. The basic tenet of pari-mutuel wagering is that players who bet points on the winning choice collect all the points that were bet on all the losing choices. The amounts won by each player are determined by the odds of the winning choice and the amount that the player bet.
A. A tournament consists of a day’s slate of games for a sport in season. All players start with G$100 (100 Gametown Sports dollars) that they can bet on any of the propositions we offer. Players can play multiple sheets independently and simultaneously.
The order of play is: select a sport, select an active sheet number, select a team, select a proposition, select a choice. The app will guide you through the process.
For MLB, NBA, and NHL once the season starts, with a few exceptions, there is at least one game every day. As long as there is one game being played, we will provide a tournament for that sport.
For NFL you might think it is a little different, in that a tournament would involve the entire week’s games. In other words the games played from Thursday through Monday would all be looked at as one daily tournament. Since there are much fewer weeks in the NFL season, we want to maximize the number of daily tournaments. So we will provide a daily tournament for any day that there is at least one game played, essentially the same as the other sports.
A. Players use their G$100 to make bets on up to 10 propositions across all the available games. The minimum bet is G$5. Select a choice for each proposition you wish to play. Obtain a sheet score by accumulating points for winning choices. The points won are determined by the final posted odds for that winning choice times the amount of G$ that were bet.
For example, you bet G$20 on a winning choice paying odds of 3.50:1. You would win 20 x 3.50 = 70 points, plus you get back the points you bet. So your score for that winning bet would be 90 points. Of course, if your choice was a losing bet, your score for that bet is 0 points.
As soon as you make your first bet on a sheet, that sheet is automatically entered into the tournament for that day for the selected sport.
The daily tournament for a sport ends after the last game of the day has started. No more bets can be made or changed at that time.
The daily tournament for a sport starts shortly after the last game of the current tournament has ended, typically about one hour later.
A. We offer two types of contest sheets, called basic and advanced. You can play one free basic sheet per sport per day. The advanced sheet gives you a few extra advantages which enhance your ability to get on the leaderboard and win money.
One advantage is a bet-modifier. All bets are not final with this advantage since you can reduce any bet down to the minimum G$5. This gives you flexibility in placing initial bets because if you don’t like the way the odds are tending, you can reduce the bets at any time before the betting window for that game closes. Without the bet-modifier, the initial bet cannot be reduced (although it can be increased).
Another advantage is an odds-booster. With this advantage the winning choice will be paid off with a 50% premium. If for example, the winning choice paid 3.50:1 odds and you had bet G$20 on it, then with the odds-booster you will win 105 points instead of 70 points, and as usual the 20 points bet are added to your score, for a total of 125 points. If your choice is a loser, then the odds-booster has no effect. You can use a maximum of 3 odds-boosters per sheet. As long as the betting window is open, you can remove the odds-booster and use it on a different proposition.
Another advantage is a G$ increase. This lets you start with G$120 instead of G$100.
You can play as many sheets simultaneously as you desire. You can upgrade a basic sheet to an advanced sheet at any time during the day’s tournament. A basic sheet costs two tokens, an advanced sheet costs four tokens, upgrading costs two tokens.
We sell tokens for $0.99 each.
A. We offer separate subscriptions for each sport which are a great value. A monthly subscription is $129.99 per sport.
Subscriptions get you the following:
The free basic sheet is upgraded to an advanced sheet.
Two additional free advanced sheets per day.
The ability to view all your past sheets (non-subscribers cannot access their previous sheets).
This is a value of 10 tokens ($9.90) per day or over $300 per month, which is over $2100 for a seven-month season. A subscription for a seven-month season would cost $910, so a savings of $1200.
You can always buy additional sheets using tokens along with a subscription.
A. While we are still coming up to speed with players, we will seed all choices with a random starting amount between G$100 and G$1000. This will produce random initial starting odds for all choices for all propositions. As more and more G$s are bet on the choices, this initial seeding will become more and more negligible. We do this because it instantly makes all propositions a valid bet, since there are amounts bet on every choice. In the future when we have many more players, we will most likely eliminate the seeding, since it will no longer be necessary.
The G$s bet by all players for all choices are displayed along with the calculated odds. This data is kept in the cloud, and the accumulated data is updated for the app to see approximately every 2 minutes.
A.
The pari-mutuel formula is very simple; it is the total pool less the particular choice divided by the particular choice. Here is an example. The proposition is “The fantasy score for a particular player.” Choices are:
Let’s say bets were placed by players for the choices as follows:
The total pool is G$1400.
Posted odds would be as follows.
A. A minus pool is the term used to describe the situation that can occur when the betting produces a very heavy favorite. This can only result when the vigorish (vig) reduces the total pool to an amount less than the amount bet on the favorite. Since a vig is only used with real gambling, we will never get a minus pool. However, in rare cases we could get odds of less than 0.05:1, or less than a 5% return. Traditionally, the house will always provide a minimum return of 5% for a winning bet. So we will do the same. If any calculated odds are less than 0.05:1, we will increase the odds to 0.05:1. For example, the four choices have the following amounts bet on them:
The total pool is G$470. The odds for choice A would be 0.04:1. In this case we will make a minimum payout of 5% (equivalent to odds of 0.05:1 or 1:20). Any odds calculation of less than 0.05:1 (1:20) will be increased to meet the 5% minimum. In that case the odds will be displayed as “0.05(5%)” indicating the actual payout.
A. The betting window closes at the official start time of the game. This start time is stated in the scheduled games display. Typically, most games don’t actually start until a few minutes after the official game time. But as stated, the window will close at the posted time, not the actual start time. Even if a game start is delayed (typically only occurs for MLB weather-related issues), the betting window will still close at the published game start time. If we left it open during the delay, this would lead to inconsistent behavior, since it is not always known when the delay will be over. Hence, plan your final bets based on the stated game time.
Another issue could be for an MLB doubleheader that is not a day-night doubleheader, but one where the second game starts roughly 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. We will try to close the betting window just before the second game starts, but it could close earlier. So once again plan your final bets accordingly.
A. In no way will Gametown Sports be liable for poor network connections. If a player tries to place a bet and has a poor network connection and the request does not go through, then the bet does not exist. Similarly, if a player tries to adjust an existing bet and has a poor network connection and the request does not go through, then the current bet stands as is. If the betting window were to close before the bet could be adjusted, then the bet stands as is.
A. This is a very unlikely case. However, if we declare a proposition as invalid, all G$s bet on this proposition will be added to your sheet score. Generally, a proposition will be declared invalid if the game is postponed or canceled. Also, see item 21 (Please clarify some proposition details) for MLB suspended game discussion.
A. While we are still coming up to speed with players, our payouts are fairly modest. Of course, over time we hope continually to increase the number of winners paid per day and also the amounts paid out.
Currently, per sport per day we pay out 10 places as follows: 1st place $50, 2nd place $25, 3rd place $10, and 4th – 10th place $5.
We also pay the season winners at the end of each sport’s season as follows: 1st place $1000, 2nd place $500, and 3rd place $300.
A. After the last game of the day is completed, we will run our in-house program to determine all the winning choices for all the propositions. We then go through our entire player database calculating the score for all submitted sheets. This takes some time, but the day’s results should be posted by noon the following day. The daily Leaderboard and the seasonal Leaderboard are updated at this time. We also automatically add all winnings to the accounts of all the daily winning players. You can see your account by navigating from HOME to LET’S GO->My Account->My Bank.
You can also check your sheet score at any time (either before we post the results or after). If you check it before we post, you will get an accumulating sheet score as you check more and more bets. To check the status of a bet, navigate from HOME to LET’S GO->My Sheets/Bets and then follow the app presented screens from there (select a sport, then a date, then a sheet). You will now have two options in viewing your betting tickets. You can display them organized by team, or simply as one list of all your bets. If you select organized by team, you can then select the team to see those bets. In either case, you will see all the information about every bet. The betting tickets will display in one of three colors as follows.
The screen will be cyan indicating that the game has not started yet and the betting window is open. Here you can increase the bet, or if you have the bet-modifier, you can decrease it. If you have the odds-booster available, you can add that, or remove it.
The screen will be reddish purple indicating that the bet status has not been checked yet. If the game is still in progress, you will get a pop-up saying so.
If the game is over and game results have been posted, you will see the result of your bet. If a winning bet, you will see the number of points won (odds times amount bet, and odds-booster if in effect). Remember, the amount that you had bet will also be added to your score. If you go back, the screen changes to yellow indicating the status has been checked.
A. Redemptions are done using ACH (Automated Clearing House) transfers directly into your bank account. We use the services of Plaid Inc. to verify your account. Plaid covers over 90% of all US banks. In addition, we use the services of Dwolla Inc. to execute the actual ACH transfer. On the Plaid screen you will be able to search for your bank. When your bank is selected, you will have to enter your online banking credentials for this bank account, namely username and password. Note that Gametown Sports does not store this information. However, the verification for this account will be stored so that your credentials will not have to be entered again. Once stored a simple button tap for the account is all that is needed. You can always delete the account so that the verification is no longer stored. In that case you will have to re-enter your credentials to use this account again. A player can save up to two different ACH accounts.
ACH transfers are specified by the ACH organization to take between 1-3 days to settle. There are two steps in the process from start to finish; pending and processed. The app allows the user to check the ACH status at any time. The funds will not be posted in your bank account until the processed status occurs.
A. The “Activity level” is simply an indication of how much money (G$s) is being bet on each team for a slate of games. Note that if there are only 1 or 2 games on the schedule, this activity level is not particularly accurate or useful. We will have four levels indicating activity: cold, cool, warm, and hot. For a given slate of games the average amount bet per team is calculated. For this slate of games, we also know the highest amount bet for any team. The cold level is from 0 to half the average. The cool level is from half the average to the average. The warm level is from the average to halfway to the highest money total. The hot level is from this halfway money total to the highest money total. For example, for a slate of 16 games involving 32 teams, the highest amount bet on any team was G$500, while the total amount bet for all teams was G$6400, so the average bet per team would be G$200. The cold level would be G$0-G$100, the cool level would be G$100-G$200, the warm level would be G$200-G$350, and the hot level would be G$350-G$500. This should not be taken too seriously; it is just a simple indicator of activity.
A. We will offer a sign-up bonus which will deposit 15 free tokens in the player’s account.
To attract players, we will offer an extra sign-up bonus for players that sign up before we go active. This will be 100% more than the normal sign-up bonus, or 30 free tokens deposited in the player’s account.
Note that signing up on our web site via the contact form (or direct email to us) does not qualify you for this extra early sign-up bonus. Officially signing up for an account must be done from the app (after it is in the app store). However, contacting us from our web site allows us to stay in contact with you so that we can send you important notifications. It also helps us gage interest in our app, so we really encourage you to contact us.
A. After signing up via the app you will receive an email to verify your address and account. If you do not verify your email address (lost the verification email, never got it, ignored it and deleted it, etc.), you will not be able to login so you must contact support. You cannot try to re-sign up using that address since it is already in the authentication list and just waiting to be verified. A support person will allow you to reset your password by sending you an email to reset your password (you can set it to the same password that you signed up with). This will allow you to login and bypass the email verification.
A. Whether or not you have an account, you can always log in as a Guest. This allows you to see many aspects of using the app without having to create an account. Note that the Guest database is common for all Guest users. So as a Guest, you could see a bank amount and bets listed that you did not create. This is not a bug but simply the shared database for all Guests.
If you were logged out or if you were never logged in, and then open the app, you will automatically be logged in as Guest. If you were logged in as yourself, and close the app, and then open the app, you will remain logged in as yourself. There is no need to login again.
A. For Player vs. Player propositions all sports: Since these involve comparing player’s fantasy scores, it is possible that there can be a tie between two, three, or even all four players. We display a “Tiebreak Priority” for each of these propositions. The priorities are determined by each player’s projected fantasy score, where the lowest projected score will be awarded the highest priority, and the highest projected score will be awarded the lowest priority. In the case of a tie, these priorities will be used to determine the winner of that proposition.
A. For MLB, there are some rare instances when the official scorer will change a hit to an error or an error to a hit days after the game. This would change the player’s fantasy score. This will in no way affect our sheet scoring, which occurs very shortly after the game ends. After the winning choice is set based on the published box score, that is final.
For MLB, on rare occasions a game is called Suspended. This is when the game is delayed by weather and then not resumed at that time, but no official result has been determined. The game will be resumed at a later date and played from where it left off. This makes that daily tournament a little messy. We don’t want to hold up the results of a daily tournament for perhaps a month. For this game all propositions will have no winner declared, so all will be declared as invalid. Essentially it will be treated the same as a postponed game. Therefore, any G$s bet on any propositions for this game will simply be added to your score.
