The old DM-and-pray method is how you get blocked and robbed. Here are four rules that make it impossible.
You match someone in a wager Discord, agree a price, play, and win — then they block you and vanish with the money. Nothing was ever holding the pot but their word, and their word was worthless. If you've played money matches for long, this has happened to you.
The fix is simple: the money should be locked somewhere neither player controls before anyone plays. That's what escrow is. On Spolia both stakes go into a public smart contract at kickoff, and the contract — not a person — pays the winner. There's nothing to run off with.
Strangers with no history are the risk. Favour opponents with a track record: on Spolia every player carries a Code of Honour record — clean settlements, honourable ratings, and any disputes — so you can see who you're about to stake against before you commit.
Screenshots settle arguments. Capture the final score screen with both scores and the clock visible. Spolia's desktop app does this for you and reads it with AI, so the result isn't your word against theirs — it's the scoreboard.
Playing a specific friend or a streamer on camera? Use a private match link — hidden from public listings, joinable only by the person you send it to. Accountability keeps people honest.
Lock the money first, know your opponent, keep proof. Spolia enforces all three by default — that's the whole point. Get set up in 60 seconds.