Micro-betting platform Betr is off to a slow start in Massachusetts. After launching May 8, the company took in just under $593,000 in total handle in May — a 0.001% market share — which resulted in a measly $45,623 in revenue.
Betr ranked seventh out of eight MA sportsbooks in handle in May, accrual win by licensee and taxable gaming revenue. It led only Fanatics, which only has its beta product available in the Commonwealth from May 25-31.
Betr joined the Massachusetts sports betting scene on May 8, so it wasn’t live for the whole month, but these numbers indicate Betr has some work to do in Massachusetts.
And Massachusetts isn’t the only state seeing Betr struggle.
Fanatics already close on Betr’s heels
The market leader in the Bay State is DraftKings, which had a handle of over $221 million in May, resulting in over $30 million in Massachusetts betting revenue.
As a newcomer to the sports betting industry, Betr Massachusetts is not expected to compete with DraftKings. Or FanDuel or BetMGM, or Caesars Sportsbook or Barstool Sportsbook or WynnBET for that matter. Betr is a niche product, and it was never expected to challenge established, traditional brands so quickly.
But … it still can’t be pleased at all with a start this rough.
One area for concern for Betr is that fellow newcomer Fanatics Massachusetts was not far behind Betr in terms of revenue. Betr generated $45,623.01 in revenue, while Fanatics generated $41,769.99 — despite only having its beta product live for existing Fanatics apparel customers for only the final week of May. It reported $123,108.74 in handle during that time.
Betr had $592,965.60 in total handle for just $24,706.90 bet on the app per day. In terms of revenue, Betr made only $1,900.96 per day. Fanatics Sportsbook’s per-day numbers? Handle was $17,586.96 and revenue was $5,967.14.
Again, though, the current Fanatics sports betting app is only available to existing Fanatics customers, as new users have to join a waitlist until the app fully launches. No such restriction exists for the Betr app.
Why is Betr struggling in MA?
Betr is a sportsbook app co-founded by social media giant Jake Paul. It specializes in an unparalleled live betting experience known as micro-betting.
Microbets allow you to dive into game minutiae, making every play that much more exciting. For example, if you’re watching a football game, you can bet on the outcome of each drive or play.
As unique as this feature is, it may not be widely known by sportsbook users. In addition, Betr focuses so heavily on micro-betting that it does not allow other types of popular wagers such as teasers. In this sense, the betting options are somewhat limited compared to other apps. It does, however, offer micro-parlays that it calls scripts.
Betr late to the party
Online sports betting went live in Massachusetts on March 10, while Betr did not launch until May 8.
The March launch generated a lot of attention, as six sportsbook apps went live on launch day. At that time, bettors were more honed in on industry news, and more engaged in betting.
Since launch, it seems that less money is being wagered in Massachusetts as the market matures. Massachusetts bettors wagered $24.9 million per day in March. That figure dropped to $18.2 million per day in April, and $14.3 million per day in May.
March’s per day betting handle of nearly $25 million is an anomaly because of all that went into the launch, but if Betr was ready to launch at that time, perhaps it could have gotten off to a better start.
Betr also struggling in Ohio
Massachusetts isn’t the only state in which Betr is struggling. The company is also posting low numbers in Ohio.
In January, when Ohio launched sports betting, Betr was one of just two apps to have a net win. But, since then, it’s been in the red in February, March and April.
Betr spent about $133,000 in promotional offers in April and made $33,000 of that back for a net loss of $100,000. That means the micro-betting app had a 399% promo-to-revenue ratio, which was the most of all Ohio sportsbooks for the month. That’s a category you don’t want to lead, as it means your promotional spending is converting at the level is needs to.
Although we don’t know exactly how much Betr is spending on its Massachusetts sportsbook bonuses, we can assume — based on the meager handle and revenue — the microbetting platform is likely facing a loss in MA, too.
In addition, Paul is on thin ice with Ohio state officials. Earlier this year, Paul agreed to pay $101,887 to settle the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s charge that he violated securities laws by promoting a cryptocurrency investment on Twitter in 2021 without disclosing that he was paid to do so.
Moving forward, the settlement will be among the factors considered when the Ohio Casino Control Commission decides whether to finalize Paul’s three-year license to operate in the state in the next few months.
Only time will tell how Betr shakes out in both the Ohio and Massachusetts markets.
