In just a single drive during yesterday's Thursday Night Football game, Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry rushed for nine yards, recorded a 42-yard reception, and then THREW a pass for a three-yard touchdown to Austin Hooper.
Now, if you knew all that was going to happen, congratulations, you are some kind of sorcerer. Furthermore, if you were able to bundle all of those Henry-related developments into a single parlay wager, you would have made yourself a pretty penny.
You couldn’t, though — not yet, at least. But that sort of in-play action is what Simplebet is trying to deliver for online sports betting sites.
BIG MAN JUMP PASS! The @KingHenry_2 ???? keeps on coming. #TENvsGB on Prime Video
— NFL (@NFL) November 18, 2022
Also available on NFL+ https://t.co/BPNa9Cbtld pic.twitter.com/wsOVwcwt6W
Founded in 2018, Simplebet provides other companies with micro-betting capabilities, allowing customers to wager on “the game within the game,” in the words of Ryan Keur, the company's vice president of trading.
For example, using Simplebet's machine learning-powered technology, someone could bet on which team will score a bucket next in an NBA game, or whether the next play during an NFL drive will be a run or pass. It's not an easy feat, and it can be risky if you don't know what you're doing.
“We're offering different prices at different moments within that drive,” Keur said in a recent interview with Covers. “And then obviously, over the course of the drive... you end up accumulating at times quite a bit of liability on certain selections.”
Still, it's something that Simplebet wants to bring to the broader masses. The company already projects it is creating thousands of micro-betting markets every week, and it has even more in the works. The sportsbook partners it works with are about to enter even more states as well, such as Maryland and Ohio.
Simplebet’s offering also lines up with what legal sports betting operators want, which is to boost the amount of in-play and parlay wagering by their clientele. After launching in 2021 with DraftKings, the company is now providing in-play markets for three operators, with more partners potentially to come, according to Keur.
Only thing that would make this #BarstoolInvitational better would be if you could bet on every bucket like you can on @DKSportsbook and @bet365 #NextBucket pic.twitter.com/ytWrxyur2M
— Simplebet (@SimplebetHQ) November 11, 2022
Being profitable in the online sports betting business can be tough, and some books have already thrown in the towel. However, if more bettors are plunking down cash on parlays and split-second decisions on in-game outcomes, it could bolster an operator’s bottom line, as players tend to lose those wagers more often.
The chief executive officer of DraftKings, Jason Robins, said during the operator’s third-quarter earnings call that in-game betting “definitely” remains an area of interest. The Boston-based company was the first to start using Simplebet’s markets in 2021, and Robins said they’ve continued to see improvement in live betting.
“It continues to be a great way of keeping the customer engaged throughout the game,” the CEO added.
That said, there’s still a lot of fun to be had with micro-betting for the users, not just corporate executives. For example, some bettors got swept up in the excitement around Aaron Judge’s home run race this season and were keen to wager on his every at-bat.
Moreover, micro-betting markets can lend themselves well to recreational players who are watching a game and want to dabble.
“The most common bettor is the one that kind of comes in and out and makes really small wagers on these sorts of markets,” Keur said.
Keeping the customer happy
Nevertheless, Keur and Simplebet intend to keep customer engagement high.
The company is currently focused on making markets for Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, National Football League, and college basketball and football. And there are thousands of markets being created by Simplebet as well, including around 34,800 per week of NFL action, the company claims.
But Simplebet has even more wagering opportunities in the works. For starters, the company's partners are eyeing its technology to help sharpen their in-game pricing, such as by helping tighten up their lines for the second half of a football game.
Then there are more ambitious offerings, like automating combinations for a same-drive parlay, Keur said.
In that instance, a player could have the option to wager on a team scoring during the next drive, and that a certain player will go under a rushing total and that another will go over a reception total at the same time.
While Simplebet is already helping DraftKings offer its players the option to wager on who will score the next touchdown or make the next catch, Simplebet wants bettors to be able to string together selections with ease.
Simplebet is looking at the possibility of offering markets on new sports as well. A recent partnership the company struck with global bookmaker bet365 has helped drive some of those conversations, Keur said, although it’s still uncertain what sport Simplebet could target next.
In the meantime, though, Simplebet’s customers seem pleased with the current product.
“Our recent partnership with Simplebet will ensure that North American customers will enjoy that same market-leading In-Play experience, allowing them to enjoy bespoke micro-betting markets such as the outcome of the next pitch in baseball or the next drive in American football,” a spokesperson for bet365 told Covers in October. “We’re delighted with the popularity of the markets so far, particularly with the NFL. We’re seeing a weekly increase in the uptake of these in-play markets and [are] excited to see this continue throughout the season.”
Not so simple
And it is those sportsbook partners Simplebet relies on to get regulatory clearance for its micro-betting markets, Keur noted, which can be a "fairly heavy lift.”
Yet Simplebet’s offerings are getting those approvals. It recently earned a supplier license for sports betting in Ohio, which is where micro-betting-focused company Betr intends to launch as well. Betr recently received a license of its own in the Buckeye State, and the Jake Paul-backed bookmaker will use Simplebet’s technology to take action.
A big focus for Simplebet is that the bettor understands what they are betting on. That means ensuring house rules, the descriptions of its markets, and in-game betting slips are easy for players to understand.
Again, though, what the company does is not for beginners.
“I always say it's kind of ironic,” Keur said. “Our name is Simplebet, but some of these markets that we're actually providing are fairly complicated at times when you just think about just all the unique edge cases.”
