Betr Launches Free-to-Play App to Promote Microbetting Concept in US

Posted on: September 5, 2022, 07:05h. 

Last updated on: September 6, 2022, 03:53h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

Betr, the $50 million microbetting venture launched a month ago by Jake Paul and Joey Levy, doesn’t have a sports betting license yet. But the Miami-based operation has unveiled a free-to-play app to a nationwide audience.

Betr
A demo screenshot from Betr for its free-to-play app, which debuted this weekend. The Miami-based company has received $50 million in venture funding to build a microbetting app that could roll out by January. (Image: Betr)

Levy and Paul made the announcement late Thursday. That coincided with a full slate of Major League Baseball games over the weekend and the first full week of college football action.

Microbetting is wagering on in-game opportunities, like the outcome of a particular pitch in baseball or a certain play in football.

“We view this free-to-play experience as a registration and onboarding platform to begin acquiring users mixed with an interactive tutorial for the future of sports betting,” said Levy, Betr’s co-founder and CEO.

The company also announced that people who download the app — available at the Apple Store and Google Play — can vie for a chance to win a free Jeep Wrangler. The prize will be based on if they can predict whether the first play from scrimmage in the NFL regular season will be a run or a pass.

‘New, Different, and Interesting’

While most sportsbooks offer some type of microbetting, they also offer markets on the outcomes of matches and futures betting on championship winners.

That’s not what Betr plans to be. Levy said the free-to-play app offers “a glimpse” of what the app will become.

Betr uses Simplebet, the B2B platform Levy helped create and which powers DraftKings’ in-game markets, as its technology platform. However, Alex Ursa, Betr’s head of product, said what they’ve created is not a sportsbook.

This is something new, different, and interesting – which is what this industry needs, given every other operator in the space is essentially offering the same commoditized legacy sportsbook product,” said Ursa, who previously worked for FanDuel. “Betr is also the first betting app where someone who has never bet on sports before can dive right in and enjoy the experience with no learning curve and we are excited to finally be able to share it with the world.”

Betr uses a decimal odds format to explain what a player would receive if their bet were successful. For example, if an outcome shows odds of 3.00x, that equates to +200 American odds or 2-1 fractional odds.

Upon registering, players will receive 2,000 “coins” they can wager. If they win 20,000, they can redeem those coins for $20. They can also redeem 50,000 coins for $50, 100,000 for $100, and 150,000 for $150.

Betr Not the Only Microbetting Project

Betr’s real-money app could be live as early as Jan. 1 in Ohio if regulators approve it for an online sports betting license in the state. The company seeks to partner with the Hall of Fame Village to operate an app in the state.

But Betr, which has received investments from several venture capital firms and such pro athletes as Dez Bryant, Richard Sherman, and Desean Jackson, isn’t the only company looking to make microbetting a bigger part of the US sports betting industry.

Last week, nVenue announced a $1 million investment from EBCI Holdings to help further develop a microbetting engine for sportsbooks. The Dallas-based company has worked on developing its AI engine to predict the outcome of plays for nearly four years. It currently provides statistical data to Apple TV for use in its Friday Night Baseball telecasts.

Kelly Pracht, co-founder and CEO of nVenue, told Casino.org last week that the company is demoing its product to potential partners and customers.

“I’m seeing micromarkets on every roadmap of everybody we talked to,” Pracht told Casino.org.