Betfair.com has launched a new game called TaiKai that has been designed to combine elements of social networking with elements of peer-to-peer betting.
"TaiKai enables people to engage in friendly competition with each other, giving them a chance to show their sports knowledge and win money," says a press statement released by Jadestone, the Sweden-based online games solution company that helped Betfair build the game.
"Players pick a tournament from a range of sports and leagues, place virtual bets using TaiKai dollars and pay the buy-in that forms the prize pot. Players win by accumulating the most virtual profit by the end of the tournament. Along the way, players can customize their avatars, review each other's bets and banter to their hearts' content."
Jadestone and Betfair began working together on the project in mid-2007.
“The launch of the TaiKai tournament betting product is the culmination of more than 12 months of thorough analysis, complex program management, intense game production and customer research," said Sajeeve Bahl and Roger Ahn, the two Betfair directors who took TaiKai from concept to reality. "We think
TaiKai will really take off. It’s a great product for all people who think that they know a sport, have some like-minded friends, and want to compete with them to prove their opinion and win some money.”
TaiKai is available on its own website, TaiKai.com.