The Old Dominion just got Betr, with the pun very much intended.
Miami-based Betr Holdings Inc. announced Wednesday that it has officially launched real-money Virginia sports betting, the company’s third legal market after Massachusetts and Ohio.
“The Betr Fantasy & Sportsbook app is available on the iOS store and the Betr – Microbetting app is available on the Google Play store,” the company noted in a press release. “Virginia will be the final Betr Sportsbook launch utilizing Betr’s V0 product, ahead of Betr’s V1 Sportsbook launch in additional and existing states in 2024.”
A growing menu
The V1 sportsbook is the one that will provide a fuller menu of legal sports betting options for Betr customers, rather than its current slimmed-down and microbetting-focused beta version. The V1 platform will allow Betr users to place same-game parlays, futures, props, and other bet types, the release noted.
While the Virginia edition of Betr will initially use the company's current sportsbook platform, it will still have the “core markets” the company added to its sports betting apps earlier this year, such as pregame wagering on moneylines, spreads, and totals. Betr’s Virginia app will have premade microbetting parlays as well, called “Scripts.”
“We are thrilled to continue expanding our online sports betting business by launching in Virginia just in time for the NFL season,” said Joey Levy, co-founder and CEO of Betr, in the release. “Virginia will be the final state where we launch V0 of the Betr Sportsbook, before rolling out our V1 Sportsbook product in existing and new states next year.”
Betr act right
Although Virginia is Betr’s third for legal sports wagering, Levy said it marks the 27th jurisdiction in which the company is offering some form of real-money gambling, as it debuted its “Betr Picks” pick ‘em game in more than 20 other states this summer.
Betr did have a bump in the road before launching in Virginia. The company and the state lottery struck a settlement agreement this summer after Betr disclosed in March that one of its officers “had neglected to disclose the existence of a Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry into an issue unrelated to gaming or sports betting” in their license application. That officer was reportedly Betr co-founder Jake Paul, who settled charges with the SEC in March over allegedly touting cryptocurrency without disclosing he was being paid to do so.
Betr received a license to offer Virginia sports betting in March and its platform was being reviewed by state regulators at the time of the settlement agreement. As part of the settlement, Betr was fined $25,000 by the lottery for the alleged misstep, which didn’t disqualify it from launching in the commonwealth.
“The Lottery has asserted that these actions violated the Sports Betting Law and the regulations promulgated thereunder, and that these actions were sanctionable,” the settlement agreement states. “Betr has taken corrective measures to ensure future compliance with the Sports Betting Law and its related regulations.”
