PlayStation's Sony Patents Bitcoin In-Game Betting

Sony Corporation SONY — the Japanese electronics giant behind the PlayStation game console — is considering using Bitcoin BTC/USD to allow for in-game betting.
What Happened: A patent published by Sony this month describes a system that would allow betting on live esports events with both traditional and digital currencies such as Bitcoin BTC/USD.

The feature would work as an overlay that allows gamblers to bet in real-time while watching the games live.

The betting odds would be established by an artificial intelligence system and based on the game's history of the competing players.

Furthermore, the system described in the patent appears to not be a PlayStation exclusive as the company mentions porting it to consoles "made by Microsoft or Nintendo or other manufacturer virtual reality (VR) headsets, augmented reality (AR) headsets, portable televisions (e.g., smart TVs, Internet-enabled TVs), portable computers such as laptops and tablet computers, and other mobile devices including smartphones."

Why It Matters: Sony is hardly the only video game giant interested in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Ubisoft — one of the world's top video game producing studios — joined the Tezos XTZ/USD project as a corporate backer in late April to start maintaining the blockchain by validating transactions.