Peer-to-peer gambling
Peer-to-peer gambling, with no house to beat.
In a casino the other side of every wager is the house, and the house sets terms it cannot lose on. Here the other side is someone you know. The pot is what the people in it staked, and the people in it settle it.
What gambling against the house means
The edge is the product
Every casino game pays out slightly less than the true chance of winning. That gap is not bad luck. It is the business model.
You never face a person
The counterparty is a company with a risk desk, an operator built to come out ahead of you over time. There is no person on the other side of the wager.
Cutting out the house creates a new problem
Gamble peer to peer informally and someone has to hold the cash, someone has to rule on the result, and someone usually ends up being chased for money.
How peer-to-peer gambling works on Poll
- 01
Write the question
Any yes or no question. Name the two sides in your own words and set the stake. There is no list of approved markets to pick from.
- 02
Share the link
Send it to the group chat. A private bet opens only through that link, so it stays between the people you sent it to.
- 03
Everyone stakes to join
Taking a side means putting the money in. The stake is held until the bet settles, so nobody is owed anything at the end.
- 04
The group calls it
Everyone who wagered votes on the result and the majority decides. The pot pays out onchain, with no bookmaker taking a cut of the line.
No house, and no trust problem either
The pot is only what people staked
There is no operator on the other side and nothing priced against you. Winners split what the group put in, and that is the whole sum.
The stake is held until settlement
Everyone puts the money in when they take a side, and it is held until the bet settles. Nobody holds their mates' cash and nobody gets chased.
The group is the referee
Everyone who wagered votes on the result and the majority decides. The payout happens onchain, where anyone can check it.
Questions people ask
What does peer-to-peer gambling mean?
Every wager is between real people rather than against an operator. You put up a stake, someone you know takes the other side, and the winners split the pot. No casino, no bookmaker, no house.
Is there really no house edge?
There is no game or line priced against you, because nobody prices anything. Poll charges a small percentage of winning payouts, which is a visible fee rather than an edge hidden in the price.
How do I know I will get paid?
The stake goes in when each person joins and is held until the bet settles, so there is nothing to collect afterwards. Settlement pays out onchain, and ties or unresolvable bets refund in full.
How is this different from peer-to-peer betting?
It is the same product. The peer-to-peer betting guide covers the mechanics and what a bookmaker margin costs you. This page is the casino side of the same story: no house, so no house edge.
See it with a real occasion
The same bet, applied to something your group actually argues about.
- Telegram groupsTelegram group betting poolAdd Poll to the chat, open a cash bet, and let members wager and settle without leaving Telegram.
- Fantasy seasonFantasy league side-pot trackerRun weekly rivalries and season-long challenges as separate private cash bets.
- Draft dayFantasy league buy-in collectionCollect the league buy-in up front so the commissioner stops chasing anyone on Venmo.
- Season longFantasy punishment and last-place betsBack who finishes bottom, with the stake settled by the group instead of argued over.
- Matchup weekFantasy football side betsPut a cash side bet on the league mate you play this week, settled when the week ends.
- KnockoutNFL survivor poolRun the weekly knockout as separate private cash bets: one pick a week, last one standing.
- Game dayNFL squares poolKeep the 10x10 sheet where it is and run the cash bets around it on Poll.
- Fight nightUFC group betting poolCreate one private cash bet for the fight-night question your friends cannot agree on.
- Office footballPremier League sweepstakeTurn each fixture into a separate private cash bet for the work group chat.
- PreseasonPredict the Premier League tableCall the title, top four and the drop before kickoff, each as its own private cash bet.
How Poll compares
Against the other ways people do this, including where they win.
- ComparisonPoll vs WagerLabWagerLab tracks virtual bets. Poll settles real cash.
- ComparisonPoll vs RounderSame argument. One of them pays out.
- ComparisonPoll vs FinalCallA tracker remembers. It does not pay you.
- ComparisonPoll vs BroThrowOne suspends you. One already has the money.
- AlternativePolymarket alternativeTheir team picks the markets. You pick yours.
- AlternativeKalshi alternativeAn exchange lists contracts. You have an argument.
- No longer availableBetU alternativeThe app is gone. The bets do not have to be.
- ComparisonPoll vs a group chat and a spreadsheetThe chat is fine. Collecting is the problem.
- AlternativeWagerLab alternativeUnits are fun. Cash is the point.
- AlternativeBettorEdge alternativeA marketplace lists markets. You have an argument.
- No longer availableKutt alternativeBetting there is paused. Yours does not have to be.
- ComparisonPoll vs BetOpenlyA scoreboard settles one. Your group settles the other.
- ComparisonPoll vs BettorEdgeNo house either way. Different other side.
- AlternativeReBet alternativeTheir coins are virtual. Your argument is not.
Related guides
- Bet with friends online, from one shared link
- A betting app built for the whole group
- Peer-to-peer betting, with no house in the middle
- Bet against your mates, not the bookie
- A betting app with no house edge
- The app where you can bet on anything
- The peer-to-peer betting exchange, minus the order book
- A poll with friends, where the answers count
Settle it properly.
Write the question, share the link, and let the group decide.