Betr is yet another gaming operator seeking to join the prediction markets fray.
The Miami-based sports gaming and media company, co-founded in 2022 by Jake Paul and Joey Levy, is awaiting approval from the National Futures Association (NFA) to launch a platform called Betr Predictions LLC.
Betr CEO Levy is listed as the predictions platform’s CEO and three other Betr executives are also named on the filing in various roles. Paul’s name is not included.
Introducing Betr, the introducing broker?
NFA approval is a key step along the way to being certified as one of several entities within the prediction markets infrastructure.
Betr’s application, which was filed in October and is listed as pending approval, is to become an introducing broker (IB) and a swap firm. That would not establish it as a designated contract market (DCM) like Kalshi or a futures commission merchant (FCM) like PrizePicks, but as a firm that can work as a front-end partner of a derivatives exchange by offering users access to a DCM’s contracts in the same way the recently launched Fanatics Markets does.
IB and swap firm status is also the approval that DraftKings received from the NFA and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for its own DraftKings Predictions. While DraftKings has an in-house DCM thanks to its acquisition of CFTC-licensed Railbird in October, Betr would likely have to find at least one DCM partner to launch a predictions product.
SBC Americas reached out to Betr seeking more information but had not heard back at the time of writing.
Betr is hoping to join a growing number of gaming operators stepping into the world of event contracts. Underdog, PrizePicks and Fanatics all already offer event contracts including sports in some states, and DraftKings and FanDuel will soon follow.
Betr pursuing emerging verticals
Betr currently offers daily fantasy sports via Betr Picks in more than 30 states, and is a licensed operational online sportsbook in Ohio and Virginia with a strong focus on in-play betting.
While Betr’s leaders have not publicly confirmed their plans to enter prediction markets, the company has diversified its offering in other ways recently.
In September, it launched Betr Arcade as its first entry into the peer-to-peer skills gaming market that other gaming companies such as FanDuel have pursued. Betr Arcade debuted in 29 states, offering a small range of puzzle-style and card-based gaming.
“We are in the business of trying to find as many ways to entertain our customers as much as possible,” Levy told SBC Americas at the time. “Peer-to-peer skill games are a very big opportunity that many operators in sports aren’t currently focused on. We think that there’s generally a lot of white space here and room for other operators to come in and innovate and we plan on expanding.”
Levy added that Betr planned to launch further new products in the next few months, “as we are building a super app for the emerging gaming verticals.” He stressed that Betr never launches a product in a state without being confident of regulatory approval and good standing.
