Score Media and Gaming went live this week in Colorado with theScore Bet app, taking its compelling melange of media and gaming to a whole new customer base. The firm’s Founder and CEO John Levy took some time out to talk with SBC Americas about his expectations for the app and more generally about sports betting in the Centennial State.
SBC Americas: Colorado is likely to be a very crowded marketplace in terms of the number of operators setting up there. What is theScore doing to differentiate itself from the competition?
John Levy: It’s the same approach that has set theScore Bet apart as a truly innovative and award-winning sportsbook since we launched in New Jersey a year ago: Delivering a uniquely integrated media and betting experience. By natively fusing media with gaming, fans can easily consume the sports news, scores, and content from the teams they love, while also quickly and easily getting in on the action. Now, users will also benefit from our seamless cross-state experience as we expand across the United States via a single mobile app and cutting-edge multi-state wallet functionality. We have a major advantage in that we already have a huge addressable audience due to the large and loyal user base on our sports media app. theScore is already a favorite sports app, and we’re confident theScore Bet will quickly become a favorite sportsbook for fans across Colorado.
SBCA: How do you think bettor appetite will shape up in Colorado with major sports returning?
JL: Sports fans are hungry, and we’re excited to be launching ahead of football season and a jam-packed sports calendar this fall. We are encouraged from the momentum we’ve seen in New Jersey, where we almost matched our handle from Super Bowl week in just the first week of Major League Baseball returning to action. There is unquestionably pent-up demand for sports and we also expect there to be a powerful appetite here, as the first few months of legalized sports betting have already demonstrated. Colorado is an exciting market to enter as we take this significant step in our continued expansion towards becoming a leader in North American gaming.
SBCA: Can you tell us more about your partnership with Jacobs Entertainment? How did that come about and what are they like to work with?
JL: Jacobs Entertainment is an extremely well-respected gaming operator with a highly experienced executive team and a significant presence in the Colorado gaming space. They know how to deliver great gaming experiences, which makes them a natural fit for us as we bring our best-in-class mobile sportsbook to Colorado. They’ve been great to work with, and we’re excited to introduce theScore Bet to patrons of The Gilpin Casino and across the rest of the state.
SBCA: How would you summarize theScore Bet and its array of features to a potential new army of fans in Colorado?
JL: theScore Bet is how betting was meant to be. It’s the most complete mobile experience a sports fan could want. By natively fusing media with gaming, we’re offering a totally unique and cutting-edge sportsbook that allows fans to go from browsing content and researching bets, to placing a bet – often in mere seconds. On top of these seamless integrations with our media app, theScore Bet also delivers comprehensive betting markets across all major leagues and events, fast and secure payments and deposits, creative promotions that are simple to unlock and applicable to bettors of all sizes, and a great multi-state account and wallet system which means you can take theScore Bet experience into other states as we come online there. The entire experience is delivered from one of the most popular and trusted names in mobile sports. If you love theScore app – as millions do – you’re going to love theScore Bet.
SBCA: More generally, you’ve often cited a strong connection between the gaming and media aspects of your business. Do you think that this will become even more important and why?
JL: To understand the power of a consolidated offering, look at the marketplace and the size of recent deals being struck between media and gaming companies. theScore is the only company to already have both. We have a mobile sports app that’s the second most popular in North America with four to five million monthly active users and an audience that spans every state. That audience is also deeply engaged, with each user typically opening theScore app on average more than 100 plus times a month. That behavior creates a huge opportunity to cross-sell into our sports betting platform as we expand into more states and further enhance the cutting-edge integrations between our media and gaming apps. We have a built-in desirable audience, and the really exciting thing is that we’re just getting started.