Betr has come a long way in a short time as a gaming company.
The online sports microbetting and fantasy sports provider founded in 2022 announced Tuesday an expansion into three new U.S. markets, including Pennsylvania, where Betr will debut its iGaming site Betr Casino.
Along with bringing a full sports betting product to a top-5 Pennsylvania market, Betr will launch in a lucrative online casino state that generated $1.7 billion in 2023.
The company, founded by social media influencer and boxer Jake Paul and entrepreneur Joey Levy, has partnered with Cornish Gaming Group, owners and operators of casino resorts in Pennsylvania.
“We are very excited to partner with Betr on the launch of their first online casino,” Cordish Gaming Group president Rob Norton said. “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.”
Continued expansion
Betr also announced partnerships that secure access to Colorado and Kentucky.
Thanks to additional funding in 2023, a full mobile sportsbook that includes traditional wagering offerings along with in-play bets that Betr has become known for will be available in both states when it launches before the start of the 2024 NFL season.
Betr is working with Boulter Developments, pending state approval, in Colorado. In Kentucky, the Eastern Band of Cherokees have increased their equity stake in Betr in a previously announced deal that has the sportsbook operator set to launch in Indiana upon regulatory approval.
“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,” Levy, who’s also the CEO of Betr, said. “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.”
A different route
Betr has not taken the traditional approach to gaming expansion. The microbetting start set the company apart from traditional sportsbooks as live wagering has rapidly grown in the last couple of years.
Paul and Levy helped use that brand recognition and a budding media segment to forge into the daily fantasy sports arena, another increasingly popular and competitive gaming avenue, with Betr Picks, which is active in 24 U.S. markets.
Betr’s full sportsbook and online casino will both become operational this year. The operator is currently live in Ohio, Virginia, and Massachusetts with a beta product.
Betr has applied for a sports betting license in Maryland and is awaiting approval to launch in Indiana.
“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,” Levy said. “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.”
