Betting for fun, not money on this site

YouBetMe.com has launched its iOS app, which allows players to bet against one another on just about every subject under sun, but without the monetary exchange taking place through the website.

The publication TNW reports that there is no payment system in the app, and that any money that changes hands is the responsibility of those placing the bets and must occur off-site.

However, reneging on a bet will show up on a player’s profile in the app, and founder Jason Neubauer said that has contributed to the happy situation in which the company has experienced no problems with users welching on their bets.

Neubauer plans to add a feature where bettors can have a third-party act as a witness for the bet in order to determine who wins.

He is also working on an Android version with a view to releasing this by the second quarter, and may break away from the “no money on site” policy – at least in the UK – by introducing real money wagering through a UK-based YouBetMe site.

The app also includes an SMS system where users can place bets by text message when they don’t have an Internet connection.

Illustrating the range of betting issues, Neubauer says that most of us at one time or another place fun and even silly bets against friends and colleagues, sometimes for money and sometimes for drinks, meals or other recompense.

He quotes typical bets on his site as couples competing with each other over stakes like household chores.

YouBetMe raised $1.2 million in seed funding from unnamed angel investors last year (see previous InfoPowa report).