Why bet only imaginary money? (was Re: [extropy-chat]SETI:Firstradio signal from alien)

[Spike]

> Brett Paatsch
> 
> > > Spike wrote:
> > > >
> > > > OK lets do it this way: lets wager using imaginary virtual
> > > > dollars, sorta like Robin Hansen's IFX ideas futures (except
> > > > they use actual virtual dollars.)
> > >
> > > Why only imaginary dollars and monopoly money?
> > >
> > > Robin's futures market seemed to me to be a good idea. Except
> > > that the money wasn't real...
> 
> It takes a certain number of market participants to make a market
> work. In Australia I don't think there are enough people who 
> understand most of the future technological stuff... to make up a
viable market...
> Brett Paatsch

Why does it need to be in Australia?  What Im getting at is
there are enough people in extropians, sl4, BetterHumans, to
raise a group to do real money IFX.  My notion is to somehow
piggyback off of Robin's IFX without reinventing anything.
Then your private real-money IFX would kinda be betting on
the future prices that will show up on the virtual money IFX.

How about it?  How many would like to join a private real
money IFX game?  Perhaps someone is already running one somewhere.

spike