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by ganz 4955 days ago
Something kind of close is www.beeminder.com where you can pick a goal, keep track of your progress, and have an auto-forfeit sum of money. It doesn't have verification built in, but it's part way there.
1 comments

Thanks!

From that site I found this[1], which appears to be the closest existing service. The only problems are:

1. Bad site design.

2. Focused on exercising.

3. You have to choose who the money goes to. This could easily be an excuse to not complete the task, as giving up results in someone else benefiting.

4. No third party that judges whether or not you completed the task. You have to find someone yourself (they recommend family members and friends).

#4 is the biggest problem for me. The crux of the service is that you can't back out on a whim, so having a strict, default third party is essential.

[1] http://www.stickk.com