BetOnline.ag, a sports betting, poker and casino website that has been operational for more than 25 years, announced Tuesday it has become the first company to accept wagers on a coin flip in outer space.
The company worked with Sent Into Space, a high-altitude balloon operator led by Dr. Alex Baker and Dr. Chris Rose, to execute the launch of the first bet from beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Sent Into Space has more than 500 successful flights in its portfolio, collaborating with brands such as eBay, Pixar, Barbie and Burger King.
The world’s first-ever bet from outer space was a two-pronged approach that required months of research and preparation, according to the company. The first of the two launches sent a spinning coin bearing the BetOnline logo 20 miles above the atmosphere, stopping only once the craft returned to Earth several hours after launch.
The second launch rocketed a spacecraft with an iPad and a robotic arm. The iPad provided a live feed of the BetOnline.ag website in space by using a two-way network bridge. The final innovation was a mechanical arm accompanied by a stylus, which placed a bet on the outer space coin toss in real-time.
Across the past two years of disruption, we’ve achieved so many incredible firsts, we had to welcome 2022 with a brand new showreel. Check out our very best right here:https://t.co/tqtsomJGeH pic.twitter.com/w2Do2Dpxtq
— Sent Into Space (@SentInto_Space) February 3, 2022
The coin toss bet, heads or tails, was called at random using a random number generator with unpredictable inputs from environmental sensor readings, ensuring the outcome was impossible to predict in advance.
The outcome of the flip has already been privately recorded, but BetOnline customers have been placing wagers on the 50-50 proposition during the last month. Betting on the coin toss will be available until the landing is revealed, which the company has said will coincide with National Space Day on Friday, May 6.
In an official press release, Dr. Rose spoke about the outer space bet initiative and said: “When BetOnline approached Sent Into Space last year with the idea of placing the first bet in space, it was all hands on deck to make this novel concept come to fruition. Not only did they manage to conceptualize this incredible feat, they also achieved a world record in the process”.
Dr. Baker added: “This collaboration was our most ambitious project to date. The creativity from BetOnline was otherworldly, and the development of highly complex technologies from our team allows BetOnline to continue to be a trailblazing leader in the betting space and beyond”.
Adam Burns, BetOnline Props Director, commented: “We set the prop bet standard and we wanted to etch our brand in history with a record-breaking attempt. In honor of Space Day, we want customers to celebrate space along with the timeless tradition of picking ‘heads or tails.’”
The first bet in space initiative is currently being submitted to Guinness World Records. BetOnline.ag had previously placed a wager from the top of Mount Everest.
Earlier this year, BetOnline became the first operator to add the ApeCoin cryptocurrency to its crypto cashier.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2022/05/04/62488-betonline-seeking-to-enter-guinness-world-records-after-accepting-first-bet-from-outer-space
