An LA-based entrepreneur has created the world’s first fan-controlled American football league managed on the Ethereum blockchain, but what does that mean for gambling?
As I watch the worm wriggling in the apple, for that split second – before I realise that the other half is in my mouth – I wonder if God is pissing himself laughing.
I’m not a religious man. I don’t believe in Arks, burning bushes or men that can walk on water. But I could be convinced that I, and the fragments of worm that I’ve just spat onto the kerb, are nothing more than avatars controlled by some spotty super mutant called God.
If that were true, I would be part of the greatest video game ever created.
And that’s what Sohrob Farudi wants to create.
A video game within a video game.
Farudi is a Los Angeles based entrepreneur teetering around the 40 mark. Last year, the man who has a goal to buy the Dallas Cowboys, got some practice when he purchased an indoor American football team called the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles – only they weren’t called the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles back then, and they weren’t playing in Salt Lake.
You see, Farudi, wanted to create a football team controlled by the fans. So he paid $75,000 for a franchise in the Indoor Football League (IFL), set up a website, put the word out and began building his managerial team of minions.
The fans first task was to choose a base: Salt Lake City or Oklahoma? Next Farudi needed a name, and the Screaming Eagles beat the Spaghetti Monsters by a pine nut. The fans installed William McCarthy as the physical coach after he applied via YouTube, and Farudi’s dream had turned into a reality.
Players paid $250 per match, were making plays voted for by the fans who had paid $5 to sit in the stadium twiddling on a mobile phone. The fans have 15-seconds to choose from an array of plays pre-selected by McCarthy, who then has 10-seconds to bark out the orders and get everyone in position.
The minimal viable product (MVP) worked.
What next?
The Fan Controlled Football League
Beginning early 2019, the Fan Controlled Football League (FCFL) commences with eight indoor football teams controlled by a set of fans. Each side contains eight players, and the one-hour games will play out in a production studio comprising of a 50-yard field, and a bunch of technological equipment Q would have envied.
The FCFL intends to use helmet camera technology, to place chips in the footballs, and use drones to help the fans experience to be as immersive as the God’s who made me bite into an apple containing a worm.
The live stream giant Twitch is on board as a partner. Amazon’s baby allows fans to vote for plays in real-time from the comfort of their living room.
And there’s more.
Blockchain Technology
The FCFL will partner with the blockchain technology experts New Alchemy to place a tokenised system at the heart of operations. Players can buy, earn and trade digital coins known as Fan Access Network (FAN) tokens built on the Ethereum blockchain. Your ability to influence the game depends on how many FAN tokens you have.
Speaking to Geekwire about the use of tokens, Farudi said there were three primary reasons to introduce a tokenised system into the FCFL.
Transparency
Given that fans can fire coaches and players, Farudi thought it prudent to ensure the voting system is transparent and fair, and the blockchain is perfect for that purpose.
Voting Power
Farudi is building a one of a kind video game, and using tokens as managerial bargaining power creates a game with a game.
Digital Collectibles
I’m not geeky enough to understand this one, but I think it has something to do with tokenising the players to allow fans to earn ‘collectable’ tokens similar to trading cards. It also paves the way for a fantasy sports angle.
How Does This Affect Gambling
If this is the future of sports entertainment then it gives the gambling industry a headache. Even Farudi admits there is very little he can do to stop away fans hellbent on total annihilation from hijacking the home teams’ voting platform and ordering ridiculous plays.
And what if a group of fans decided to throw a match?
This is one the gambling industry may have to sit out.
The concept of fan controlled teams is not restricted to American Football. Fans control United London FC, an English football team playing in the Essex Alliance Premier League. And last week, Alex Dreyfus announced that he had amassed $27m in funding in his bid to create a fan-controlled esports platform called chiliZ.
Now, I’m going to grab a cup of coffee to get the taste of worm out of my mouth.
Or did a bunch of fans program me to do that?
