WagerWire, a marketplace for buying and selling active sports bets, and venture-backed sports betting platform Wagr announced Thursday a partnership. Both companies, which boast “a social-centric ethos,” will collaborate “on building communities and providing differentiated and engaging user experiences.”
Both companies closed new investment rounds in 2022. Wagr completed a $12 million Series A round with backing from the Kraft Group, owners of the New England Patriots and Revolution; and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, owners of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, among others.
For its part, WagerWire completed its seed round, backed by investors including Miami Marlins co-owner Roger Ehrenberg, NBA All-Star Richard Jefferson, and SimpleBet & Betr founder Joey Levy’s 305 Ventures, among others.
— WagerWire (@WagerWire) December 1, 2022
In a press release, WagerWire CEO Zach Doctor stated: “While we’re building the greatest next-generation online betting experience, we’ve been fostering an active and engaged community focused on developing smarter and more empowered bettors.”
“Wagr represents an ideal operator to partner with, as we’re able to unify our core value propositions: building the ultimate bettor experience through innovative technology, fostering high levels of social media engagement with the development of hyper-relevant communities, and empowering bettor education,” he added.
Wagr’s Co-Founder and COO Eliana Eskinaz commented: “The energy of Tennessee sports fans is electric. As a local operator, we’re focused on harnessing that energy via digital and in-person experiences, and ultimately providing our players and our community with a best-in-class experience. We’re excited to combine forces with WagerWire’s highly engaged online community to grow our footprint in Tennessee and beyond.”
WagerWire recently released the first installment in a series of findings from a study it completed in August 2022 detailing the behaviors and sentiments of bettors and would-be bettors alike.
The data revealed 43% of non-bettors “don’t feel like they know enough about sports betting” and 41% of non-bettors “don’t know enough about how to bet online.” These findings underline the importance of betting education within the engaged communities of both WagerWire and Wagr, the parties say.
“The data from our study clearly shows how a lack of adequate betting education is the greatest barrier to entry for would-be bettors. However, education is also the industry’s greatest opportunity to grow and expand,” said Zach Doctor at the time. The study was completed between July 8 – July 21, 2022, including 500 U.S. sports bettors and 200 non-sports bettors.
