Betr Adds Virginia, Launches in 3rd Sports Betting State

Betr, the sports betting brand made famous by Jake Paul, announced Wednesday that Virginia will become their latest legal sports betting jurisdiction. After a few hiccups along the way, the Virginia Lottery made Betr their 15th legal mobile sportsbook provider among the best sports betting sites.

Betr has been a slight disappointment since launch in Massachusetts and Ohio. What was once one of the more intriguing new brands coming to the broad and competitive U.S. legal sports betting scene, Betr has certainly failed to live up to expectations.

Perhaps Virginia sports betting, and a new focus on their DFS product "Betr Picks" will gain them some traction.

“We are thrilled to continue expanding our online sports betting business by launching in Virginia just in time for the NFL season,” Joey Levy, founder and CEO of Betr, said of their opportunity in the Old Dominion.

The road to licensing in Virginia

The application and launch process for Betr to join Virginia sports betting apps wasn't necessarily a smooth one. Betr was granted a license to operate in the state after Golden Nugget pulled out of the Virginia market.

The company first gained a license in March to operate in the Old Dominion, but an undisclosed investigation into Jake Paul by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) put a pause on the rollout of the betting brand.

After paying a reported $25,000 fine, the Virginia Lottery proceeded with the licensing process which culminated in Wednesday's announcement of Betr going live in the state.

Hopes for a better outcome

Since the Betr Sportsbook brand was born, it has failed to realize the perceived potential it had. Prior to Virginia, the sports betting operator was live in just two states - Ohio and Massachusetts. In neither location has the brand gained a reasonable market share.

In July, Betr was the worst performing sportsbook in the Massachusetts market, taking in a paltry $155,582 in bets. In Ohio, they were again the bottom sportsbook in that market with a handle of just $313,280 in July.

In both markets, Betr not only lagged far behind their competition, but in most cases, they took in less bets than others contributed in taxes.

The hope for the Betr brass is that Virginia will help turn around the company fortunes and that it can at least be a viable operation going forward. Business licenses and promotional and acquisition costs are substantial in the broad American market. The financial results will have to be there in order for Betr to remain in business.

Betr Picks and Scripts

One way that Betr has evolved in the attempt to make their brand more attractive is a DFS focus. Betr Picks, a "fantasy experience" has been launched and is available in 20-plus states in America. It gives customers a chance to pick up to eight player props and promises larger payout multiples with the more picks users make.

While Betr Picks appears to be the company darling, Betr has still chosen to launch its more traditional sports betting brand in Virginia.

In addition to a traditional sports betting platform and DFS platform, Betr's new product Scripts will be coming to the Virginia market. According to the site, it “combines the instant gratification of a microbet with the long odds of a parlay.”

WagerWire partners with Betr

In other Betr news, WagerWire, a marketplace technology company has partnered up with the microbetting sports brand to provide Betr proprietary technology to advance the offerings of the sportsbook.

“We are excited to partner with the WagerWire team, who shares our perspective that there is a significant opportunity to enhance the sports betting user experience through product innovation,” said Levy.

WagerWire will allow Betr users to purchase and trade active sports and fantasy bets that someone has already placed within both the WagerWire and Betr apps. The partnership will also see the co-production of a video series aimed at helping the Betr brand gain some media attention en route to a hopeful bump in what is currently a miserable market share.

WagerWire will effectively provide bettors a secondary aftermarket for them to trade tickets. It is a somewhat new angle, outside of BetSaracen in Arkansas and one that Betr brass hopes differentiate their brand in the increasingly competitive U.S. legal sports betting market.