Distributed technology has the potential to remake entire industries. This column follows that in entertainment and the threat of file sharing.

Another sector is now under attack: Gaming. BetBug has launched an innovative P2P application. Instead of gambling against fixed odds at on and offline casinos, you now can bet directly with other users. There are plenty of benefits for the gambler.

• It's fun. Just like playing poker, you're betting with other players, not against some faceless billion dollar megacorporation that knows every statistic and probability down to ten decimal places.
• The odds are on your side. You don't have to take fixed bets at on and offline casinos. Instead you can set your own odds or take the best offer you can find among other players.
• It's safe. BetBug uses a third party online payment company to hold your money and reconcile bets.
• It's legal. You're making a wager with another person. You don't have to worry about gambling with a shady bookie or some web site on another continent.

On the business side there are the same effects that have made P2P file sharing so popular.

• P2P gambling is robust and efficient. Participants are not reliant on a central server that has to be fortified for high performance, 5 nine reliability, and peak usage. Instead people connect direct to one another and use their own processing resources and bandwidth in a P2P network. Individuals dropping out of the network have little effect on network connectivity.
• P2P gambling removes the developer from legal responsibility. The developer has no knowledge of bets being made.
• P2P gambling disaggregates transactions. Disaggregation provides opportunities for choice, competition, and innovation. A prime example in file sharing is Bit Torrent, which uses P2P for download and sharing, but uses the web for search. In P2P gambling betting odds, payment companies, and betting search could all be provided through different vendors.

BetBug is an exciting innovation that opens the door to P2P gambling, much like Napster popularized file sharing several years ago.

Special Offer: BetBug is a P2P Insider's sponsor. For a limited time, BetBug is offering a 20% bonus on all 1st time deposits. Say goodbye to your bookie and hello to the future of online gaming!