The Jake Paul-backed operator of online sports betting sites is one step closer to a mobile wagering permit in Massachusetts, although regulators had questions about the various controversies that have popped up around the social-media personality, boxer, and now-bookmaker.
Betr, “the first direct-to-consumer sports betting company to focus predominantly on microbetting,” was found to meet expectations for licensing on Tuesday by members of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC).
The nod from regulators means Betr is nearer to another approval that could come later this month and put the company on course to offer online sports betting in the commonwealth in early March.
“Suitability is a serious issue,” Commissioner Eileen O’Brien said at the close of Tuesday’s meeting. “I've been here five years, and I know these can be very uncomfortable conversations. And I laud everyone who candidly answered the questions that were put in front of them today.”
Miami-based Betr is seeking one of the seven “tethered” licenses for online sports betting in Massachusetts, which would be in addition to the permit it holds in Ohio, where it first began taking wagers only recently.
The expectations applicants such as Betr must meet involve their expertise in sports betting, diversity efforts, and suitability for a license, among other things. In addition, applicants for standalone mobile licenses will be subject to a group evaluation that looks at the differences between them and how granting them a license would maximize benefits and minimize harm to Massachusetts.
A few concerns
Betr's pitch to the MGC hit a few notes that regulators like to hear, including that it plans on hiring a "significant number" of employees in the state if it receives a mobile wagering license. In a significant nod towards responsible gaming, Betr does not accept credit cards either.
But the MGC did not just wave Betr through the process. There were questions from commissioners regarding the company’s media business and how it connects to the gambling business, as well as about potential conflict with having someone who competes in sporting events overseeing a sportsbook.
“I have a lot of concerns about the social media audience… the demographics of that, and sort of the priming them to then jump into this and follow somebody when they hit 21,” O’Brien said during the meeting.
In response, the commission was told Betr's social media team undergoes responsible-gaming training, among other things.
As for any wagering conflicts, Betr won’t be taking bets on any fight in which Paul is participating. Paul's co-founder and the company's CEO, Joey Levy, said they plan to proceed methodically in expanding their betting markets, especially concerning mixed martial arts and boxing.
“We would not do anything to potentially even provide the sense that integrity with that IP may be compromised in any sort of way,” Levy said.
Suitability check
Members of the MGC also inquired about some of the legal issues and controversies involving Paul, including sexual-assault allegations leveled against him. While Paul denied some of the more specific allegations, he also offered a broader context to the commission, saying his reality differed from the typical teenage experience.
“The best way to sum it up is that everything is exponentially magnified, you live quite literally under a microscope, and you certainly get more opportunities but you're also taken advantage of more often, mistakes magnified, publicized, and re-publicized,” Paul said, adding that “you become a bigger target for frivolous claims, lawsuits, [and] media headlines."
The scrutiny from the MGC comes amid a broader toughening of treatment for the legal sports betting industry. After years of states legalizing and launching sports wagering, regulators and lawmakers have recently begun taking a tougher tone with operators.
Ultimately, though, the MGC advanced Betr’s application, putting it in line to earn another approval next week that would keep it on track to offer online sports betting in early March, the regulator’s target launch date.
"I think it's a strong application," Commissioner Nakisha Skinner said. "I appreciate you actually taking the time to answer and be responsive to all of our questions, in the application and during your presentation today."
From today's Massachusetts Gaming Commission meeting... microbetting company @betr plans to branch out from straight sports betting into fantasy sports and online casino in the months ahead. pic.twitter.com/BXLpGZ0B6T
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) January 10, 2023
Betr, Bally Bet, and FanDuel have now met expectations for standalone mobile licenses. The other applicants are companies connected to DraftKings, Betway, and PointsBet. Meanwhile, Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, and WynnBET have earned “tethered” online sports betting approvals, as they are all connected to brick-and-mortar casinos in the state.
Massachusetts' sports-betting law currently allows for up to 15 online sportsbooks in the state.
Betr, meanwhile, intends to take bets on baseball, basketball, and football. The Betr app has been downloaded more than 120,000 times since launching four months ago, according to Levy.
There is also a plan for Betr to branch out into other forms of gambling, including real-money fantasy sports later in the first quarter of 2023 and then online casino gaming in the back half of 2023 or later.
Betr’s specialty and focus is microbetting, such as wagering whether the next drive in a football game will result in a touchdown or whether the next at-bat in baseball will end in a walk. The company recently began operations in Ohio, but it wants to bring its products to Massachusetts, Indiana, Virginia, and Maryland as well.
“We've actually eliminated bet delays from the in-play betting experience,” Levy said. “So essentially, the delay between the customer placing a bet and when our system accepts the bet is nearly instantaneous.”
