Not gonna happen.

Having run many D&D tourneys over the decades, I could see (a) how to do a gambling D&D event right and (b) how easily things could be skewed/biased/cheated.

As others pointed out, it would be like betting on WWF. But anyone who has researched the NFL or NBA or MLB cheating scandals knows that "sports" has become "sports entertainment", aka rigging is commonplace. See the many YouTube videos about various questionable calls and plays for more info.

So...since people happily bet on the regularly rigged NFL, that same mindset would transfer to RPG gambling as well.

However, RPGs take too long and for me, boring as shit to watch. But, I could see gambling on 40k matches or boardgame tourneys, especially if well edited.

Hmm...things to consider.

Games like Warhammer 40K or other board game tournaments? That makes way more sense for betting. They're structured, with clear rules and outcomes, so it's easier to keep things fair. If gambling on skill-based games becomes a thing, those would probably be way more popular.

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Quote from: blackstone on September 23, 2024, 10:09:58 AMNot gonna happen.

..and the reason why is this:

RPGs are a form of zero-sum game. There is no one "winner" or "loser". The outcome of a campaign is determined successful in unquantifiable terms that only the individual players can define in regards to their characters goals. Each goal is different for the most part, which does lead to an overall successful campaign.

That's at least how I understand it.

The only way around this undefinable structure is to assign "points" and go to a tournament system. Points are allocated when certain goals have been achieved in regards to the adventure or campaign (i.e. find the map to the haunted keep: 10 points, defeat the gnoll outpost: 7 points, etc.). Individual goals are then kept generic as possible, by limiting them to class-based goals (clerics: 1 point per person healed, Thieves: 1 point per trap detected. etc...)

you can even do deductions (kill the mad hermit: -10 points)

The group with the most points wins.

Now, could you have people bet on such a thing? I don't know. I highly doubt it. You'd have to run some expeditionary ones first to drum up some interest. Even then, RPGs are still by society's standards, not popular.

Plus, you need to have an understanding about gambling. It's been said that "Vegas wasn't built on winners". You'd have to show the "House" controlling the betting is getting their cut and it's profitable. You can avoid this route by having sponsorships. PC/console gaming does this and it HUGE in Asia. You could do the same thing here. Unfortunately, WoTC/Hasbro would dominate and practically every tourney would be a WoTC product. That IMO would get boring, but what do I know.