One of the more intriguing stories in US sports betting this year has been the genesis of Betr, the microbetting platform fronted by YouTuber/influencer/boxer Jake Paul. After some early skepticism, the platform has been racking up some relatively positive feedback, and this week it aimed to garner some more with a move towards encouraging responsible betting.
It has been decided that Betr will outright ban the use of credit cards to deposit in betting accounts on the platform. The move, which echoes the status quo in UK betting, will mean that players cannot use debt as a means of funding betting, and is intended to encourage a more responsible attitude from players. Deposits will need to come instead from pre-paid cards or debit cards, so if a player doesn’t have the money to cover a bet themselves, they can’t deposit.
In tandem with this move, the platform also announced that deposit limits would apply for bettors between the ages of 21 and 25. Over that age, the restriction would be removed, but the decision to limit it to that bracket is designed to ensure that players don’t overcommit financially in order to participate in gambling.
These announcements are very much in line with what both Paul and Betr CEO Joey Levy have described as a different way of doing things, and one which centers a younger generation with a more socially-conscious mindset. The platform will remain exclusively a microbetting concern, allowing members to bet on the outcome of specific plays across a range of sports.
As of this moment, Betr is in operation as a free-to-play concept, where users sign up and are given “coins” which they can use to bet on the platform. If they win enough, they can request a real payout in the form of Prizeout cards, which can be spent like money in a range of retail environments including Apple and AirBnB. Once the platform moves to accepting real money – for which its license application is pending, Prizeout will remain an option for withdrawal alongside methods such as debit cards.
The full Betr experience is set to debut in the coming months in selected states, and may well spark an increase in interest around microbetting, including its possible adoption by more conventional betting sites. Several potential rivals have already mooted the possibility of including microbetting in the near future, so this remains a story to watch.