Betr Sportsbook is among the latest sports betting apps to be approved to operate in Ohio.
Self-described as “the first direct-to-consumer micro-betting focused sports betting company,” Betr Sportsbook will be among the online sportsbooks to go live when Ohio sports betting launches on Jan. 1.
In late December, co-founder Joey Levy announced the sportsbook would be up and running “as a day one operator” for the state’s Jan. 1 launch.
Betr brings “micro-betting” focus to Ohio sports betting landscape
Betr Sportsbook is one of the more unique entries into the Ohio sports betting market.
While other online sportsbooks offer in-game bets, for Betr, micro-betting is the entire game.
You can’t place any outcome-related bets prior to a game on Betr, but you can place dozens of bets per game on specific game actions, resulting in an energetic and fast-paced betting experience.
During a football game, for example, Betr lets you bet on things like whether the next play will be a run or a pass. You can also bet on how a team’s next drive will pan out: touchdown? Field goal? Punt? Turnover? For basketball, Betr lets you bet on which team will score next or whether a certain player’s next field goal will be a 2-pointer or a 3-pointer.
Betr is currently offering fans a chance to test-drive the app with a free-to-play version that is available nationwide. The real-money version will be available in Ohio after sports betting launches statewide. Expect introductory promo offers for Betr to pop up closer to launch time.
Betr’s proprietor partner is the Pro Football Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio, which landed its retail sportsbook license on Nov. 2. (The Hall of Fame Village is partnered with BetRivers for its retail sportsbook.)
Betr was co-founded by Ohio native Jake Paul
Betr was co-founded by Jake Paul, the sometimes-controversial 25-year-old social media celebrity/actor/boxer from Cleveland.
Paul is the president and public face of the company, while Betr’s other co-founder, Levy, is CEO. Levy previously founded B2B product development company Simplebet, which created micro-betting technology that is used by online sportsbooks like DraftKings, Betway, Bet365 and, of course, Betr.
Betr claims it is all about “disrupting legacy gambling,” and Levy has spoken about how he believes the app’s niche approach is the wave of the future of sports betting.
“The sports betting operators today, with their money lines, point spreads and over/unders, are really only interpretable for people who have been betting on sports before,” Levy told ESPN. “I don’t think they’re built for a mass-market consumer.”
“Sports betting needs to be all about how we enhance the way a mass-market, mainstream consumer in this country engages with sports. This needs to feel similarly to a consumer going to the movies and (spending) $20. They don’t get anything in return for that $20, except for two hours of entertaining. That’s how operators in the space should be approaching it.”
Betr has also made unique responsible gambling moves
Besides its celebrity owner and unique focus on micro-betting, Betr has also made headlines for its proactive moves in relation to responsible gambling safeguards.
Levy, who has criticized other operators’ responsible gaming efforts for being little more than lip service, announced in October that Betr would ban the use of credit cards. He also said that Betr will enforce deposit limits for users between 21-25 years old. No other U.S. sports betting operator has such restrictions.
Levy even appeared at the Nov. 16 Ohio Casino Control Commission meeting and read a statement pledging to “play a meaningful role in the state’s sports betting market” and reaffirming Betr’s dedication to responsible gambling.
The statement elicited a response from June Taylor, chair of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, who said the committee would be interested in hearing more about Betr’s restrictions.
“I think a lot of people forget that each of us go back to our respective cities and they comment on the least of our citizens who maybe are in need of assistance, and so your words are important because it’s something that we’re sensitive to,” Taylor said. “And we always want to learn about different models that can support all of our citizens in Ohio.”
