Online Gambling Needs Innovation, but Is Social Betting Really the Answer?

About the author: Ben Smith is a team leader at Leadstar Media - an affiliate with betting comparison websites in more than 30 markets worldwide. The Stockholm-based company operates over 50 products, and Ben is primarily focused on those in the UK and US.

Everyone is looking for the next big thing in sports betting. Bet builders changed the business when they came to the fore around five years ago but the one thing that many were trying to talk into existence before then and continue to do so now is social betting.

I can’t figure out why.

BetBull was one of the more high-profile social betting apps in the UK market and it’s very easy to kick them now that they are down and out but there are lots of lessons to be taken from their demise.

Positioning themselves as a more gamified and social alternative to the big hitters, BetBull’s wheel spins, bettor leaderboards, virtual currency, loyalty bonuses, and chat rooms weren’t enough to pry punters from the more established firms.

Don’t get me wrong, there were components of the BetBull product that may have legs. The rewards for logging in and the various mini-games were nice touches, but ultimately the idea of trying to build a community on a betting app is an uphill battle when those circles already exist on Twitter, Reddit, and Discord.

A familiar blunder

It is not just within sports betting where these mistakes are made. Plenty of sports social networks have come and gone - trying to become the place for fans to follow live events that they enjoy but these start-ups were never actually able to divert attention away from Twitter or even WhatsApp.

The way in which the top social media apps have made their algorithms more sophisticated has, if anything, reduced the need for specialist social apps even further if that was possible.

And it’s not just social media apps that people have tried to replicate. How many product ideas have you heard about that are dubbed ‘Tinder for X’ or ‘Uber for X’?

Bookee, which launched in 2016, marketed itself as Tinder for betting and the following year went one step further by introducing Splitbet, which was their take on Uber’s successful fare split function.

You can’t fault these guys for trying to innovate, but no amount of influencer marketing could convince many punters to get swiping.

Dream of TikTokification

TikTok’s short-form video format is the latest formula to take the tech world by storm, and it hasn’t taken long for an entrepreneur to raise $50m in a bid to ‘TikTok-ify’ betting.

Tinder and TikTok are very similar in that the app tries to present you with something that you like - whether that’s an individual or a piece of content - and you can either engage with it or, with a swipe of the finger, dismiss it.

Maybe I’m old school. Maybe I’m not the target audience. But if my end goal is to place a wager then I don’t want to have to scroll or swipe my way towards finding the market I’m looking for. The navigation menu or search bar will do just fine, regardless of time sensitivity.

Micro-betting is the latest gambling industry buzzword and it is very much at the forefront of what Jake Paul and Betr are trying to do. European bettors are no stranger to this sort of concept - ask anyone who regularly wagers in-play on tennis, cricket, or corners in football - and while it undoubtedly has a wide appeal, I am not convinced that it will revolutionise sports betting. It’s just not that different or interesting.

Would Premier League games be more enjoyable if I was betting on every set piece? Do I want to have one eye on my phone screen while I watch the NFL playoffs? Or are they banking on users micro-betting on events that they wouldn’t normally watch?

Micro-betting and social betting are two different things but given the TikTok comparisons, it’s probably fair to assume that Betr will look to create a blend of the two and I’m sure it won’t be the last new brand to go down this route.

Progression is welcome

I do hope products like this find a way to succeed. We need new models and new ways to work within the existing models, and even if Betr doesn’t manage to ‘TikTok-ify’ the wagering process, if they are able to at least challenge the thinking of the major operators and change the perception of betting - just like Paddy Power did at the turn of the millennium - this can be a huge positive.

Paddy Power was able to set in motion the suggestion that sports betting could be entertaining, rather than just something that blokes did at racecourses or at their local bookmakers.

We have not seen such a shift in attitude since. Yes, request-a-bets and bet builders have made an impact that nobody could have foreseen, but these features haven’t seduced the much-talked-about ‘Gen Z’.

You can see why Betr wants to try and play Gen Z at its own game with a TikTok-esque product, but combining social platform elements with sports betting does not have the best track record in trying to welcome a new generation of punters. Not that this has deterred investors through the years.

We don’t want to bet against friends

I have lost count of the number of new sites or apps that have launched with some sort of ‘Bet with your mates instead of a bookie’ slogan and vowed to transform sports betting. Many platforms have tried and failed, yet they still seem to pop up from time to time.

My pals and I always have different opinions on sport, but not once have I encountered a situation where I and somebody I’m acquainted with want to place a bet on the same market (opposite outcomes), with the same stake, at the same time.

We have seen everything from overcomplicated tournament-style social betting products to messenger apps where you bet with friends while you converse. SkyBet gave it a go with Group Bets but even they couldn’t crack the code.

I’m exhausted with all products like this. We should all be looking for ways to make the entire business more fun - with a big focus on responsible gambling as well - but we’re much further away from the winning recipe than the social and micro-betting truthers will have you believe.

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