Jake Paul to Tik-Tokify sports betting in US with Betr

Media, sports and betting – it’s all the same these days with sports betting giants and media companies moving in the space emboldened by the arrival of regulated markets that allow everyone, from newspapers to broadcast companies, to get in on the action.

Now, Jake Paul, a famous YouTube-personality-turned-pugilist, is in on the action as well, revealing his latest project, Betr. Betr is a collaboration between the boxer and Joey Levy, a sports betting industry veteran who shared the news on his LinkedIn. The duo are talking big game as they see Betr as an opportunity to take sports betting closer to the mass consumer by leveraging micro markets.

Levy is known for a number of similar adventures, including a two-year stint at Draftpot where he worked as co-founder & CEO, and Simplebet, which he helped co-found and will still be a part of. Now, he is also at the helm of Betr, listed as a founder & CEO and his profile says that he has been working there for the past eight months. Paul is listed as Founder and President.

The new project will focus on two main branches – one is content and the other is sports betting. Both Levy and Paul are well-versed in these industries and have demonstrated their ability to engage audiences by building recognizable products. The name "Jake Paul" is a brand that has people tune in to watch and follow dedicatedly.

Betr has already been successful in garnering the right kind of attention, attracting investment from a number of prominent personalities and sports figures, including rapper Travis Scott, NFL players Richard Sherman and Desean Jackson and many others. The company raised $50m in a funding and is ready to take on the world of sports betting.

This should not be particularly difficult given Paul’s prominence. He has 40m combined followers across Instagram and YouTube, and he will be the face of Betr, no doubt about that. The platform is focusing on something that is described as micro-betting, which is what sealed the deal for the media personality.

In the press release, Paul acknowledged that he never before enjoyed the concept of sports betting, but micro-betting has changed things up for him. He called it the "TikTok-ification" of the industry and said it’s the next big thing which will be ushered in by Betr, no doubt.

Paul though also expressed confidence insofar as the content arm of the company is concerned, arguing that Betr will focus on both of its branches with equal zeal and deliver on a superior product. There is no shortage of talent already responding to Levy and Paul’s rallying cry either.

Bleacher Report’s Mike Denevi has joined as Betr’s Head of Media. The company has already homed in on a number of high-profile executives, including FanDuel’s Alex Ursa who is joining as Betr’s Head of Product. Betr is not going unprepared either, with the company to rely on Simplebet tech to get started.

A dedicated app should appear in the coming weeks and offer free-to-playcontests across all 50 states in the United States. Then, a real money version should come. Speaking about this new development, Levy said that his mission since founding Simplebet has been to make sports betting more accessible.

Betr is the latest opportunity for the entrepreneur to realize this dream. Levy confirmed that the company already has the technology to create a scalable micro-betting platform and benefit and drive the momentum of the US sports market.

Image credit: LinkedIn (Joey Levy)