Jake Paul’s Betr Obtains Licensing in Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Kentucky

Jake Paul’s micro-betting platform Betr announced it secured license agreements in three states on Monday. 

Betr revealed it secured licensing to join the Pennsylvania online sports betting and iGaming market, along with the Colorado and Kentucky sports betting markets. The iGaming agreement is so that the platform can unveil its casino product, which it will debut thanks to a partnership with Cordish Gaming Group.

The company gained access to Indiana in November but is yet to launch and is also awaiting a response to its application for an online operator’s license in Maryland.

Betr, operational in Massachusetts, Ohio, and Virginia, offers users the opportunity to tap into the nuances of sports. While traditional online sportsbooks will ask customers to predict, for example, which team will win (moneyline), Betr will have them predict if the next pitch will be a ball or a strike, or if the next play will be a pass or a run.

The company also has a fantasy gaming section called Betr picks. Here, bettors make selections of “More” or “Less” on player props and can win up to 100x their wager if they hit every leg of a parlay-like submission. 

The expansion to new jurisdictions is part of the company’s plan to continue growing its portfolio. 

“The new states we have acquired market access in will offer Betr Sportsbook the opportunity to reach over 17% of the U.S. adult population by the end of this year, while Betr Picks will continue to be available to over 50% of the U.S. adult population,” Joey Levy, Betr co-founder and CEO, said in a press release.

Levy also thanked the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for granting his company a temporary operator’s license and said they hope to obtain a full license in the future, although the company is expected to withdraw at the conclusion of the temporary license due to economic conditions.

Rob Norton, president of Cordish Gaming Group, said the new Betr casino product will make an exciting addition to the Pennsylvania gaming market.

“We are very excited to partner with Betr on the launch of their first online casino,” said Norton. “Betr Casino will make a winning addition to the gaming options available to Pennsylvania players, which includes two of our own successful Live! Casino properties.”

Betr was allowed to enter the Colorado market through a partnership with Boulter Developments. It also entered Kentucky after agreeing to a deal with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Islands, the same tribe it partnered with in Indiana.

The Betr sportsbook is still only available in a beta version—however, it plans to launch a full version before the start of the 2024 NFL season in September.

While the company struggled to create a foothold in some states, there is internal optimism that growth is on the immediate horizon.

“The data we are seeing not only suggests that we are building a large and highly profitable real money gaming and media business, but that we are doing so by bringing new users into the category,” said Levy. “We plan on replicating this playbook for Betr Sportsbook and Betr Casino after releasing V1 of our Sportsbook later this year. By the end of 2024, we should see a further step change in our scale, while also having successfully laid the foundations of at least four distinct business units: Betr Fantasy, Betr Sportsbook, Betr Casino, and Betr Media.”

According to Massachusetts gaming records, Betr, which launched locally in May, accepted $498,897.01 in wagers in 2023. It took home $39,111.15 in winnings and was taxed just over $7,500.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission’s reports revealed that Betr, which first launched in Ohio, accepted $6.99 million in bets from January-November 2023. That put it close to the bottom of all online operators, and monthly handles mostly decreased as the year progressed.

Virginia does not provide handle and revenue totals in its monthly reports.