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<strong>The technology of smart contracts isn’t new, but the possibilities it gives our world are something that we have yet to fully grasp.</strong>

At 2018, we can safely say that our technology have gone a long way. We use various inventions on a daily basis, and it seems that our life just keep improving on every second that passes. 

One of the most interesting aspects that were developed in the 21st century is the technology that settles one of humankind's biggest issues - Trust and agreement. That solution is known as the Smart Contract.

<h5>What’s a Smart Contract?</h5>

In its idea, Smart Contracts serve as a digital protocol that serves as both the agreement and the verification itself. If a few decades ago, contracts were signed between two or more sides at the presence and accompiance of a third side (a lawyer). When the terms of the contract have reached an end/verdict, both sides had to validate the details or information needed to successfully complete the agreement, and then, if all the conditions are met (Usually under the wing of the same lawyer), then both sides will get their desired and mutually agreed outcome.

As you can probably guess, this system may work, but it has a lot of flaws. What happens if the third party disappears or acts not according to plan? What happens if one of the sides decides to abandon ship or not to fulfill his side of the agreement? What happens if the terms aren’t met, or met in a whole different way than predicted? 99% of those problems were solved in 1994 - The year when the solution was proposed. That solution is the Smart Contract (The term became popular when it became the standard regarding blockchain based business and projects, gaining momentum via the last decade). 

The Smart Contract solves those problems by making everything automatic. As soon as both sides agree on the terms, the contract is created, securing each side’s benefits and transactions will be intact. When the terms are met, the smart contract operates on pre-coded functionality without the possibility of modification once deployed. 

I.e - Me and my friend John have agreed that he’ll work for me for 8 hours a day for the next month. When we both agree, I place the sum of money that will be John’s salary, and John agrees on the terms - Salary, hours needed etc. When the end of the month arrives, the Smart Contract checks if the terms were indeed met - Did John really work every day? Did he work 8 hours per day? If so, the contract is verified, and John will get the money that was promised upon - With no need for me to personally check John’s reported days and hours, and no need for John to come to me and ask for his salary. And the best part - Have you noticed that there’s no one else involved? 

<h6>As you can see, the benefits of the Smart Contract include:</h6>
<strong>No need for a third party: </strong>
The Smart Contract itself serves as the third party/the middleman. The lawyer gives the credibility, but the fact that the smart contract is decentralized serves the same purpose (At an even better rate). Because the terms can easily be validated digitally, there’s no need for the confirmation of a lawyer as well.

<strong>Everything is Automatic: </strong>
There’s no need to go anywhere - The contract can be established without any physical contact, and so is the finalized phase of the contract - What was agreed upon is given automatically as soon as the terms are met.

<strong>Everything is Secured:</strong> 
Every resource needed to complete the terms that’ll be met is already placed in the smart contract. No one can get away with the money or try to change something in the contract. When it comes to Smart Contracts placed on the Blockchain network - Blockchain serves as the most advanced secured network today, and it gives the contract the extra levels of security needed to keep everything working without a fault.

<strong>Decentralization:</strong> 
The Smart Contract doesn’t try to cheat, lie, deceive or anything of that matter, and it doesn’t care if one of the sides involved tries to do so. The smart contract only considers boolean, numerical or any other empirical factors in order to decide the outcome, so everything stays objective, no matter what.

<h5>Smart Contracts in Our Daily Routine</h5>
As one can imagine (And as for today, see), smart contracts can serve us in many aspects:

Salary/Payment: When the terms are met (Time, job done, number of products, etc.), a payment will be sent automatically from one side to another. 
Ownership/Will: When the terms are met, the targeted property’s ownership will pass from one side to another
Bet: When the terms are met (i.e. lottery numbers match the numbers that one of the bettors picked), a payment will be sent automatically from the “house” to the successful bettor.

When it comes to betting, things become more complicated. First of all, the sides in that matter are more than one - There’s the house, and there are many bettors that try to win the big prize. Each win needs to be checked by the house, in accomplice of a third side, and most of the time, the winner has to manually submit his form in order to get the reward. In addition, the house can sometimes decide not to grant anything to the winning side (As stated in the terms of use of many betting services), or there’s a chance for the bettors to try and counterfeit the results or bets placed, as well as having insufficient security to make sure that every bettor can place his bet without worrying. All of that creates a big problem for the betting industry, and this is where the smart contract can really take its place. 

When a bet is about to take place, a smart contract will be created (It can be lottery numbers, betting the score of a soccer game, who will be the NBA winner, etc.). The bettors can join and place their bets and when the time comes, the smart contract will be locked until the outcome can be determined (As the form of the winning numbers, the final score or the 1st placed team etc.) and then the ones who made the right bet can automatically win the prize with ease and without any need to wait/go somewhere/wait for the third party.

A service that combines all of those elements is already here - <strong>Bethereum.</strong> The service offers crypto betting using smart contracts on a dedicated, decentralized blockchain network, combined with social elements: Each player can start a bet using a smart contract, and other bettors may join in. When the time to place the bets ended, the contract is sealed until the desired outcome happens and gets verified using an oracle (A tool that verifies data using dedicated online databases). This combination allows Bethereum to offer bets without any ‘house’ or bookie, with an instant payout, the ability to join or create peer 2 peer bets with friends in a few clicks, and to make sure that the bet will go according to plan without any disturbances. 

The smart contract upgraded our lives to a whole different level, and Bethereum takes that upgrade to another important level. With projects like this, things can push our society even further - And that’s not a bet, that’s an investment.