Mark Thomas, Co-Founder and CEO of ZenSports, gave SBC Americas an update on the company’s activities and a few introductory words about its offer ahead of next week’s Betting on Sports America conference.
SBC Americas: Can you tell us more about what you do and who your typical target client would be?
Mark Thomas: ZenSports is a mobile peer-to-peer sports betting marketplace where anyone can create and accept sports bets with anyone else in the world, without the need for a centralized bookmaker.
ZenSports is truly peer-to-peer in every sense of the word. Bettors can quickly and easily fund their accounts from their phone, using fiat or cryptocurrencies. Bettors can create their OWN bets with their own odds and terms, and others in the marketplace will accept those bets. This gives bettors a cheaper, faster, and more trustworthy process for wagering on sports than traditional online sportsbooks offer. Makers of bets are even responsible for submitting their own results, with a full penalty and reward system in place to ensure that all bettors act in good faith.
It is the only native mobile app that offers peer-to-peer sports betting on the App and Play Stores. Our typical target client is any sports bettor that is looking for a simpler, more controllable, and more social experience than traditional sports books offer.
SBCA: What is ZenSports’ unique selling point and why?
MT: Our two unique selling points are A) our simple to use native mobile app for iOS and Android, and B) the fact that we’re fully peer-to-peer and not a sports book ourselves. These are the top two things that our customers love about us. They love being able to download and use ZenSports right from their phone, just like they would Facebook, Uber, or any other consumer product. Being able to deposit funds into their ZenSports account, or create a bet, or accept a bet, all with a couple taps of a button from their phone is a big selling point for our customers. Secondly, the fact that our customers know that they’re going up against other peer bettors that are just like themselves (vs some algorithm at a sports book) gives customers confidence that they have a fair chance of winning. They also love being able to create any bet imaginable. And from our perspective, since we’re fully peer-to-peer, we have zero risk on our end of being lopsided on one side of a bet or another. We simply take a fee regardless of how much action is on one side or regardless of who wins.
SBCA: What is the state of play for ZenSports in the US right now?
MT: Our full services are available outside the US, while we are not currently offering our services in the US. We are working on getting licensed in the States. We recently signed a partnership with a sports book in Nevada to get sub-licensed underneath their license, and we fully expect to get licensed in every state that has legalized sports betting.
SBCA: Can you outline what your plans are for BOSA and what will be your key message to delegates there?
MT: Our plans are to meet with potential partners at BOSA to let them know what our company and product do, and to continue to build the ZenSports brand within the sports betting industry.
Betting on Sports America boasts 175 leading industry speakers across 40 sessions, with 60 exhibitors displaying their latest products on the 61,000 sq ft exhibition floor at the Meadowlands Exposition Center. Delegates will be treated to world class hospitality with plenty of business and networking opportunities in New Jersey (Meadowlands Racetrack) and New York (40/40 Club and Sky Room Rooftop Bar). For more information about the event, please visit the Betting on Sports America website.