Sports betting and media company Betr has announced new market access deals for online sportsbook and casino in Pennsylvania, and for online sportsbook in Colorado and Kentucky.
The company, founded in 2022 by entrepreneur Joey Levy and influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul, has already secured market access in Indiana, has applied for a sports wagering license in Maryland, and is currently live in Ohio, Virginia, and Massachusetts with its beta product.
In a press release, Betr confirmed it remains on track to launch V1 of its Sportsbook ahead of the 2024 NFL season. The announcement comes on the heels of what Betr calls a “successful” 2023 for the brand, in which the company launched its real money fantasy sports product, Betr Picks, ahead of the 2023 NFL season. Betr says it has achieved significant scale in the real money Fantasy Sports space via Betr Picks, both for paying users and revenue.
Betr’s market access partnership in Pennsylvania is with the Cordish Gaming Group, the gaming division of The Cordish Companies, which owns and operates casino resorts in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Louisiana. Pennsylvania will also be the first state where Betr will launch Betr Casino (pending regulatory approval), its regulated iGaming vertical.
“We are very excited to partner with Betr on the launch of their first online casino,” said Rob Norton, President, Cordish Gaming Group. ”Betr Casino will make a winning addition to the gaming options available to Pennsylvania players, which includes two of our own successful Live! Casino properties.”
In Colorado, Betr has secured online sportsbook market access with Boulter Developments, pending licensing approval from the Colorado Division of Gaming. Boulter Developments has also taken an equity interest in Betr.
“Boulter Developments is excited to be partnering with Betr in the wonderful state of Colorado, pending licensing approval from the Colorado Division of Gaming,” said Steve Boulter of Boulter Developments.
“Their innovative approach to the gaming space, along with their intuitive product and rapidly growing media arm, make this a no-brainer partnership for us. Further, we are thrilled to be equity partners as we firmly believe Betr is the future of sports gaming in America as they continue to make sports and betting, betr.”
In Kentucky, Betr has secured online sportsbook market access with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. EBCI has also increased its existing equity stake in Betr, which was previously acquired through an online sportsbook market access partnership covering an upcoming launch in Indiana (pending regulatory approval).
“On behalf of our JV equity stake in Revolutionary Racing Kentucky, DBA, Sandy’s Racing & Gaming, we couldn’t be more excited to expand our KY sports betting market access strategy with Betr,” said Scott Barber, CEO of EBCI Holdings, LLC.
“Betr’s innovative suite of products and user-friendly app are truly cutting-edge technology, coupled with their unique approach to marketing and broadcasting sports related content, creating a differentiated product offering within a rapidly growing market. We are confident our expanded relationship with Betr (Indiana market access agreement) will be a perfect fit in the great sports state of Kentucky.”
Throughout 2024, Betr plans on pursuing a phased set of launches of its new V1 Sportsbook product in all jurisdictions it has acquired market access to date. The company has also elected to not renew its temporary sports wagering license in Massachusetts.
Explaining the decision to exit Massachusetts, the company said it is “trading a 7 million population state for over 23 million in the net new states for collectively less economics than it would have required to renew in MA alone.”
By the end of 2024, Betr plans on being live in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, Maryland, Colorado, Kentucky with its V1 Sportsbook and to be live with its Casino product in Pennsylvania, in addition to the 20+ jurisdictions it currently operates Betr Picks.
“We are thrilled to announce our new market access partnerships for Sportsbook and the introduction of Betr Casino in 2024 ahead of our V1 Sportsbook launch,” said Joey Levy, Founder and CEO of Betr.
“Through the success of Betr Picks, we have validated that our playbook of simpler and more intuitive user experiences built for casual fans on the product front, and original short-form video built for the next generation of sports fans on social media on the distribution front, are winning strategies for rapidly and efficiently scaling a new real money gaming business in the U.S.”
According to Levy, the data the company is seeing not only suggests Betr is building “a large and highly profitable” real money gaming and media business, but that it is also doing so by bringing new users into the category. Thus, the entrepreneur said the next step is to replicate this playbook for Betr Sportsbook and Betr Casino, after releasing V1 of their Sportsbook later this year.
By the end of 2024, Levy says Betr should see “a further step change in our scale,” while also having successfully laid the foundations of at least four distinct business units: Betr Fantasy, Betr Sportsbook, Betr Casino, and Betr Media.”
“The new states we have acquired market access in will offer Betr Sportsbook the opportunity to reach over 17% of the U.S. adult population by the end of this year, while Betr Picks will continue to be available to over 50% of the U.S. adult population,” said the CEO.
“Finally, we want to thank the MGC for their great partnership during our temporary license period in Massachusetts and we hope to receive the honor and privilege of reentering this market at a later date.”