Better Collective believes it can be better at collecting and retaining online bettors, and it’s leaning on AI to help it do so.
The digital sports media group and gambling affiliate announced it has launched a new AI-powered wagering solution called Playbook. The company piloted an early version of the tool for the Super Bowl in February and has now launched a fully integrated solution that it said positions it to capture a greater share of the global online sports betting market.
Launched in the U.S. market on Sept. 3 in time for the start of the NFL season, Playbook creates a direct path from betting content or tips to sportsbooks via a direct link that opens a pre-loaded bet slip in a sportsbook’s app or website. The technology works by utilizing bet slip image recognition built on AI and deeplinks.
Refocusing on retention, not just acquisition
Noting that its affiliate model has focused on acquiring new customers through its owned sports media, paid channels and partnerships, Better Collective said that Playbook will naturally expand its addressable audience to include all active bettors, not just new sign-ups. The intention is retention: Allowing for direct engagement and wagering at scale and ensuring touchpoints are in place across the entire customer lifecycle.
Better Collective expects Playbook to drive a new level of value creation and commercialization opportunities that complement its existing acquisition-driven and brand advertising revenue streams.
“Playbook gives sports fans and bettors a smarter, more engaging way to bet – while creating stronger retention and long-term value for our partners,” Co-Founder and Co-CEO Jesper Søgaard wrote on LinkedIn. “Playbook uses AI and smart bet slip recognition where sports fans already have their conversations about betting, such as X, to turn content and tips into a one-click bet, pre-loaded directly in the sportsbook app. This is a big step forward in how we help users make smarter and more engaging decisions while creating long-term retention value for our partners.
Better Collective added that it plans to build out a full suite of AI tools and betting assistants with the intention of “reinforcing its position at the forefront of innovation in the sports betting ecosystem.”
The rollout is supported by its owned sports betting communities, scalable tech infrastructure and partnerships with leading sportsbooks. The company said it gets 450 million monthly visits across its house of brands, which includes Action Network, Playmaker HQ, VegasInsider, YardBarker and many more.
Better Collective aims for brighter future
Amid tough times recently for the gambling affiliate industry in the U.S., Denmark-based Better Collective was forced to make a series of redundancies in 2024, laying off more than 300 employees last October.
Its Q2 2025 results posted last month showed that revenue fell 18% and adjusted EBITDA fell 21% from the prior year. It said its North American operations were impacted by lower marketing spend as well as its debut in North Carolina, with revenues on the continent down more than $9 million.
The leading affiliate has undergone a series of major changes in the last few months. It moved to a co-CEO model, with co-founder and former COO Christian Kirk Rasmussen joining Søgaard in the lead role, and restructured from a region-based model to a three-vertical operation, split between Publishing, Paid Media and Esports.
In July of this year, North America CEO Marc Pedersen announced he would step down after serving in that role for six years, noting in his exit message that “it’s no secret that the North American market proved more challenging than we initially expected.” And just last week, Bettor Collective VP of Product and Strategy Brandon Cohen resigned from Action Network.
