Instead of just watching pros play all the time, average gamers will be able to earn money from their own matches.
Thousands of players nowadays spend hours across multiple online games to reach a top ranking, but what if they could play for money in heads-up matches or even tournaments against players of the same level? This is exactly what Gamers Oasis plans to bring to online esports soon by introducing the concept of "in-game wagering" for skill-based videogames.
Gary Denham, the CEO of Wamba Technologies and owner of the Gamers Oasis patent in the U.S., intends to move online esports in a different direction by using a system similar to multiple online poker platforms. To put it simply, Gamers Oasis will act as the facilitator by charging 10% of the entry fee for a heads-up match or tournament.
"Let's say we get a 1,000 tournament going. In that situation, we'd probably pay out to 330 places," Denham said in an interview with esports.gg. "If you're in position 230 to 330, you're going to get back your 110 bucks. And then you know, so on and so forth, it'll gradually increase as you move closer to that first-place position. If you place in the money, you'll always get all of your money back, including the 10% fee."
Denham continued, noting that Gamers Oasis will make sure that all players are really playing against others of the same skill level. He also revealed that statistically speaking, players should place in the money at least once every three tournaments played. They'll also be able to withdraw their money whenever they feel like it.
To have a better grasp of what Gamers Oasis will try to accomplish in online esports, esports.gg sat down with Denham and asked various questions about his goal and how Gamers Oasis plans to prevent cheating and prevent children from placing in-game wagers in their games.
Gary Denham's motivation for building Gamers Oasis
Denham is part of a generation that was in their teens when the internet became a thing and when video games started to get invented. Although his parents limited his gaming hours back in the day, he'd visit one of his friends and play on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), quickly becoming addicted to Super Mario Bros.
Many years have passed, and the idea of competing in tournaments for money has been on Denham's mind since he found out he was lowkey one of the best players in the world in a game called Scramble with Friends, and there was no way for him to get paid for playing the game.
"And that was it. The light bulb came on," Denham recalled. "I started doing my homework, and the more I looked into this industry, the more interesting it became that nobody had been really pursuing online esports, which, to me, seemed insane in the early 2010s. We had the capacity to compete against each other over the internet since 2005 or 2006, but there were no tournaments to play for money, even though online poker was exploding."
After Denham realized that all sorts of competitive video games existed, but the component of playing for money wasn't there, he saw the potential for it and patented online esports in the U.S. until 2037.
The idea behind Gamers Oasis is that players engage in online competitions without worrying about a middleman. Denham wants them to have the perception of a "seamless thing" as the platform will be integrated into existing and new, popular games.
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How will Gamers Oasis work and how will it prevent foul play?
To participate in Gamers Oasis tournaments and heads-up matches, every single player will need to verify their identity by providing government-issued documentation. Not only that, but unlike other services, Gamers Oasis will require everyone to turn on their webcams and live stream the action.
This will prevent, for example, someone from giving their account to a friend who plays better to smurf against lower-tier opponents — a practice that happens a lot in a lot of online video games and even online poker.
"If you don't want to stream, you don't get to play with us. If you're going to compete, for the sake of making sure that it's a fair playing field, you must be streaming, period. We can employ facial recognition technology to make sure that the face of the person playing is, in fact, the account holder. There are ways to make sure that the person we're seeing is the same person who is actually controlling the controllers. I can't get into that right now because some of that stuff is protected, but we have the technology to enable us to do that."
While Gamers Oasis will automate some processes, when the computer does flag somebody, it will go to a real human being for review, who will make sure the computer didn't make a mistake. Denham showed awareness of false-positive bans across online games, and wants to make sure his platform bans people correctly — hence why his Gamers Oasis will also have an appeals system.
All that said, Gamers Oasis has a zero-tolerance policy against cheaters and it will be impossible for convicted cheaters, for lack of a better word, to use the platform again in a fresh account.
Is Gamers Oasis a betting company? How will the platform ensure kids aren't using it?
Gamers Oasis will use a system similar to online poker, which encompasses micro to high-stakes buy-ins and also fantasy money for those who don't feel comfortable or don't want to play for real money.
While poker has gained recognition as a skill-based game over the last 20 years, it still has a gambling element as you don't know what cards will come your way and so on. Gamers Oasis took inspiration from how online poker works, but by no means does it consider itself gambling, according to Denham.
"We're not gambling, so let me start there. If you go to play golf, tennis, Motocross, NASCAR, if you go to compete in any of these events, you're going to play an entry fee, compete, and win money. Nobody looks at that like it's gambling. Just because what we're building is fast and takes place on the internet, [it] doesn't change the fact that it's purely skill-based. There's no chance involved at all."
The platform will encourage and welcome youngsters who wish to compete as long as they have parental consent and parental backing.
"So, if you're a minor, your parents are going to have to open an account and then you can open a sub-account under theirs," Denham said. "By default, I don't think that we will have anybody under the age of 15 simply because they can't produce ID, and you must have government-issued ID to be able to compete on our platform."
The parents will receive text alerts every time their children make a deposit or withdraw so they have control of their money and remain aware of how much their kid is spending, for example.
When does Gamers Oasis go live?
The platform has no set release date for now, and while it will kick off in the U.S., it doesn't mean that it won't expand its operations later on.
While it's too soon to tell whether or not Gamers Oasis will change online esports as we know it, it has enough potential to revolutionize online esports as players of all levels will be able to earn money by playing from home. This will allow even the average Joe to compete for money instead of just watching the top players do it.
That's all for now. Stay tuned to esports.gg for more esports news and updates.
