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by slap_shot 2680 days ago
I guess it isn't clear to me what this actually does.

Every year I do a March Madness pool, a survivor pool, a couple fantasy football leagues, a college pickem, a superbowl grid, and a half dozen NFL game bets.

The idea here is that I should do some of or maybe all of these on this platform, rather then the various other ones I use?

I think the major platforms of these are pretty good, we use a smaller one for a college pick em that is pretty bad but we tolerate.

Is the value add here just the the UI is nicer and doesn't have ads? Or is there something else I'm missing?

I'm doing a vegas march madness with friends and I'll see if we can use Balto for our pools.

Congrats on the launch!
2 comments
Nicky_Montana 2680 days ago
Hi there happy to answer this! We’re a tech company focused on allowing users to create and host all bracket-style, survivor pool, and pickem-style games for all sports! (Think March Madness brackets, NFL survived pools, PGA pickems). We even do brackets for The Bachelor and Game of Thrones! Unlike the media sites who built these games to push content and ads, our focus is on the user experience as it pertains to those playing in games, those managing games, and enhancing the competitive social interactions that have been lost on other sites.
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mark212 2680 days ago
I think the point is to integrate the money with the bracket, and have it update live and accurately. I assume none of the existing platforms you use take money, hold the pot, and disburse to the winner?
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philipodonnell 2680 days ago
> I assume none of the existing platforms you use take money, hold the pot, and disburse to the winner?

To be fair, there's a good reason for that! [0]

But its not clear that's what's happening. Usually with grey area startups there's a section that at least attempts to describe why they are not running afoul of the law. This site under legal information is just a privacy policy, so, yeah I guess they should spend a bit more time explaining how they will make money. Ads?

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parimutuel_betting

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Nicky_Montana 2680 days ago
We'll make money through affiliate marketing and premium features. We're strictly a technology company and don't touch or handle any money.
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slap_shot 2680 days ago
Yeah, we pay out the winner using Venmo.

I signed up and made a pool but it wasn't immediately obvious to me that the funds are transacted through them.

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