Bookies integrates UMA’s Optimistic Oracle to power prediction markets on Base

Tldr; UMA’s Optimistic Oracle now secures Bookies, a sports-focused prediction market built on Base. The OO will settle Bookies markets, answering questions about sports events and recording the information onchain. This integration highlights the OO’s ability to verify any kind of data.

Key takeaways:

Base prediction market Bookies has integrated UMA’s Optimistic Oracle to verify event outcomes and settle disputed markets.
The OO will validate statements about sports events made in Bookies markets to establish the correct answer and record the information onchain.
Prediction markets and Base are set for growth and this integration illustrates how UMA can support them.

UMA recently deployed the Optimistic Oracle on Base. This is a big update for a few reasons: Base is one of Ethereum’s fastest-growing Layer 2s, many new projects are building cool things on the network, and developments in cross-chain interop and scaling are making the whole ecosystem more accessible. With the OO deployed, a host of exciting Base projects can leverage the system’s optimistic design.

The first Base project to integrate the OO is Bookies, a new trading venue that lets traders predict event outcomes through Farcaster Frames. Bookies is Base’s first prediction market and sports betting platform. The OO will power Bookies markets, verifying event outcomes and settling disputes.

This integration lands at a notable moment for Web3. Ecosystems like Base are growing fast and decentralized prediction markets are also gaining popularity. UMA is perfectly suited to support platforms like Bookies because it answers questions about the real world and records the information onchain. We go into more detail below.

Introducing Bookies

Bookies is a new sports-based prediction market powered by Farcaster Frames. The project is building a venue where people can make predictions and trade contracts for major sporting events while benefiting from Layer 2 scalability on Base.

Bookies currently lets users make wagers for sports fixtures with $DEGEN. If their prediction for the fixture is correct, they win $USDC. Bookies is launching with fixed odds to maximize liquidity and offer efficient cross-matching, though it will let users place limit orders in the future.

Bookies is building for a future where decentralized markets replace traditional betting venues. It’s aiming to level the playing field in sports betting, providing an alternative to centralized venues that extract value from users through high fees. While other projects have built similar products on crypto rails, Bookies is the first one to bring sports market trading to Farcaster Frames.

How UMA’s Optimistic Oracle will power Bookies

The OO verifies statements about the world and records the information onchain. It’s unique in its ability to process natural language requests, something that’s particularly useful to projects like Bookies. The OO has already proven itself as a perfect fit for prediction markets, powering the popular Polymarket platform.

Bookies lets people place wagers on sports events, which means it must verify a wide range of statements related to each outcome. The OO is useful for establishing the true outcome. Whether Bookies users are trading on the winner of the US Open or the Champions League, the OO can verify the data.

How the OO works. The OO can process natural language requests, making it a perfect fit for prediction markets like Bookies. With Bookies, each request will relate to a sports fixture.

The OO verifies any kind of data and $UMA tokenholders settle markets whenever someone raises a dispute. In Bookies’ case, the OO will verify statements proposed in markets to establish the true outcome of real-world sports events. Disputes are rare because all participants in the system are incentivized to act honestly. In other words, the system “optimistically” verifies information.

The benefits of decentralized prediction markets

Bookies focuses on sports but it shares some similarities with other general purpose prediction markets. All of these projects invite people to trade contracts based on future event outcomes; it’s just that the events are always sports fixtures on Bookies. Each contract or “share” represents a specific outcome and traders who buy the correct shares receive a payout when the market expires.

Prediction markets are frequently described as “betting markets.” But it might be more accurate to describe them as information aggregators. Prediction markets aggregate information from multiple sources to determine the probability of an event occurring; the more information they receive, the more accurate they should be.

Prediction markets have started to attract mainstream attention over the last year (Source: The New York Times)

Decentralized prediction markets offer a fun way for people to signal their beliefs about the world and get paid if their beliefs are correct. They’re also more flexible and open than centralized alternatives.

Prediction market proponents believe that they can serve as a reliable source of truth, using the “wisdom of crowds” concept and financial incentives to crowdsource data and make predictions about the world. These advocates believe that prediction markets are a public good because they can expose false claims and offer informed forecasts about the future.

While still niche, prediction markets have taken off over the past year, helped by an upcoming US Presidential election, rising markets, and growing distrust in traditional media.

Powering the next wave of scalable onchain applications

To date, the OO has successfully powered a host of innovative Web3 applications, mostly on Ethereum mainnet. With a recent deployment on Base, the OO can now support many more builders looking to offer scalable onchain services.Bookies is the first Base project to integrate UMA and it illustrates the system’s flexibility. As prediction markets attract more adoption, UMA can serve as a powerful tool for verifying information and recording real-world truths onchain.This update also sets the stage for other Base projects to integrate UMA to power their applications. The OO uses optimistic design patterns that can unlock limitless possibilities for builders. We look forward to seeing how the next generation of Base projects use the system to bring their ideas to life.Bookies is live on Base now. To learn more, visit the project’s website or head to Warpcast. UMA is live on Base and open to builders now. To find out how to integrate the OO into your project, visit our website.

Words by @dreamsofdefi