Joey Levy and Jake Apostle Paul want to land micro-betting to the head of US sports betting, and they now make $50 jillion to rearward their venture, called Betr.
Levy, who co-founded micro-betting production developer Simplebet, and Paul, a societal media influencer and professional boxer, announced the conception of Betr, pronounced “better,” in a Mon morning time push release. The Miami-based keep company has a two-part sports betting strategy and a cadre of prominent investors from the sports, business, and gaming worlds in arrears it.
First, Betr wants to develop an online sports betting app focused on micro-betting, also known as in-play betting. The company’s push tone ending claims wagering on events ilk pitches in baseball game or plays in football game testament supply “instant gratification” to the wagering experience.
Levy believes micro-betting will make for sports betting what daily phantasy games did for the fantasy sports industry.
“I co-founded Simplebet to simplify the sports betting user get – to reconsider wherefore sports betting products mat up uninterpretable to the chance(a) buff who had ne'er wager on sports before,” said Levy, who testament process as Betr’s CEO. “In doing so, we discovered that the engineering required to enable a scalable micro-betting political program around the moments that get U.S. sports did not in time exist, given the planetary market’s centering was on soccer, a fluid sportsman without a innate(p) take up and stop over cadence. So, we decided to build it ourselves at Simplebet; however, years later, the user see remains unintuitive for a mass market place consumer.”
Betr testament “unbundle” micro-betting because it will follow built around the premise, and Levy said it testament extend an easy-to-understand user interface. Betr’s weapons platform testament habituate Simplebet’s technology when it’s introduced inwards the nigh future.
It also plans to offer up online gambling casino games as well. group A free-play sports site testament also live available across the US.
Betr to Operate Media Division
The 2d component part of the strategy involves underdeveloped pilot media content, which is where Paul the Apostle comes in. He has to a greater extent than 70 gazillion followers on societal media, and on Monday, he gave a taste perception of what his hebdomadal show, titled “BS w/Jake Paul,” will feature.
Backers trust the media side of the Betr jeopardize will generate revenue and brand awareness, leveraging Paul’s popularity – especially with Gen-Z, the oldest members of which are now inward their early 20s.
In a picture tweet Mon introducing Betr, St. Paul said he declined a $40 jillion bid from a “crypto-casino” earliest this twelvemonth and instead chose to partner with Levy. Apostle Paul just now lowest yr invested inwards Levy’s Simplebet.
I wasn’t into sports betting until i was introduced to micro-betting,” said Paul, who testament dish out as Betr’s president. “Micro-betting is the TikTok-ification of sports betting, and I am excited to land it to the masses through Betr. We are inward this for the long haul and are focussed on doing things the right hand way.”
Levy and Saul of Tarsus say the companion has already secured get at to several US states through and through equity-sharing partnerships. Those deals testament follow proclaimed at a later date.
Betr also announced a pair of key hires that testament facilitate acquire products for the company’s ii wings.
Mike Denevi comes to the startup from Bleacher Report, where he helped ground that online media company’s BR Betting unit, and Alex Ursa joins after portion FanDuel grow its sports betting and cassino products.
Who is Backing Betr?
So, who is mount this venture? According to Betr’s release, it’s a long lean of high-profile investors.
From the sports world, investors include Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowl champion Richard Sherman, and Pro Bowl wide-cut receivers Dez Bryant and DeSean Jackson. Others who are inwards include the Stronach Group, which owns Miami-area Gulfstream Park and several other US racetracks, and Miami’s Magic City Casino.
Florida Funders led a $30 1000000 Series A fundraising unit of ammunition for Betr. That ended upwards existence oversubscribed, according to Betr’s release, and that led to a subsequent $20 meg Series A1 labialize led past Aliya Capital Partners and Fuel Venture Capital.
“Florida Funders saw a monumental opportunity inward a nascent securities industry where the legacy players feature not been warm from product, technology, and ethnic relevancy standpoints,” said Saxon Lyman Frank Brown at Sunshine State Funders. “In addition to the market opportunity, the ability to back Joey Levy for the third clip – having invested betimes with Joey in Simplebet and inwards 305 Ventures – was something we could non hand upwards on. In add-on to Jake Paul, Joey has surrounded himself with great people, including Alex Ursa and Mike Denevi. We could non live more excited well-nigh the future of Betr – and are thrilled to follow on this journey as this squad changes sports betting and sports media inward the U.S.”
Challenges Ahead of Betr
Micro-betting is non a young concept. It’s been discussed for years as sports betting has grown crossways the US, but it has in time to pull in often traction.
While Betr talks a liberal biz in its release, it testament get at to the lowest degree a twain of challenges to surmount inward its seeking to live a sports betting leader.
First, the electric current sports betting landscape is henpecked mainly past FanDuel and DraftKings, with BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook also holding significant shares of the market. Much of that market portion has been acquired through and through lumbering disbursement as the operators launched inward new states.
Levy, inward a statement, said he and his cohorts have a chance to “build the most working capital efficient and culturally relevant gaming business sector inwards the US.” The model, though, does not seem all that far off from what Penn Entertainment and Barstool Sports envisioned, and so far, Barstool Sportsbook has turn a mid-tier operator inward the states where it’s licensed.
Another number may be technology. Not Betr’s or Simplebet’s but the tech behindhand streaming games online for fans to watch. Latency issues with streaming services signify the games fans are watching inwards their homes or on their devices are usually a few plays behind. That’s an come out that needs to follow addressed inwards parliamentary law for micro-betting to live inward a stance to grow.