Betting in its many forms continues to grow every year, whether that be via new ways to wager or more markets allowing it to take place. At the same time, social media is of course growing considerably, with an increasing number of companies entering the foray and social media networks offering lots more than simply messaging friends and family.
While the rise of betting and social media are separate instances, the relationship between the pair has been one which has been taking on new and closer strides. Something rising in tandem with this developing collaboration has been the recent rise of social betting. Social betting can take on many different shapes and sizes and, in reality, there isn’t a set definition that can be pinned onto it. Ultimately, when trying to sum it up, it is seen as a means to offer bettors the chance to bet against each other rather, than a traditional bookmaker. It will revolve around an online community, often with a social media element to it. Compared to betting on a regular sportsbook or online casino, for example, there appears to be more focus on a group element than an individual betting by themselves.
Examples of the sort of games seen in the social betting space include the football-based Betmate, where friends can go head-to-head against each other betting on traditional football betting markets such as full-time result, goalscorer, Fantasy Football, etc. Another example is Tombola, a bingo-based site that includes player chat rooms, described by Flutter as “the online equivalent to a bingo hall;” there is also WagerLab, a free social prediction app, where people can bet against friends on a variety of areas such as sports, TV shows and other events. Here, bets have a user-defined amount which isn’t real money. There is a whole sector’s worth of further examples.
While looking into the matter of social betting, my initial thoughts were that much of it had come about because of the Covid-19 pandemic, where the idea of keeping people connected while they couldn’t be together was something that grew massively. The idea of home-working nowadays is almost a normal part of society, with applications such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom now very much big aspects of working life. In the same way, I believed that social betting may have been a construct of that period in time; but, while it may have influenced its rise, it was very much something seen before 2020.
Facebook was an early influence in the social gaming space, especially with its free-to-play games. Zynga, a developer and publisher within the social gaming space, was responsible for Facebook releasing the first game on its platform in July 2007, with the release of Texas Hold’Em Poker; it is now known as Zynga Poker. The social media network from there was home to a number of free-to-play games and, in 2012, PlayStudios revealed its first project through a partnership with MGM Resorts International, MyVegas, which allowed gamers to play games with a virtual Las Vegas and earn real-world rewards, all via Facebook.
Social betting has taken many different forms through the years. For instance, daily fantasy sports (DFS) (hugely popular in the US) are similar to fantasy sports that last an entire season, but are conducted over a shorter format such as a single day. Generally, they involve a paid competition where players can compete with others for cash prizes. DFS has continued to grow especially since the overturning of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, with once-big US DFS operators DraftKings and FanDuel now two of the biggest US sports betting brands. This has led to legality issues, with some DFS operators being handed cease-and-desist letters in some US states, such as Underdog Sports and PrizePicks in February this year in Arkansas, with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) believing at the time that the pair were offering unlicensed sports betting.
A more recent uprise in popularity in the social space has been sweepstake casinos. Now, sweepstake casinos operate slightly differently to social casinos, mainly because although they’re free to play, winnings made from wagering with sweep coins can be redeemed for real prizes. Social casinos don’t provide any real-world prizes and are more for entertainment only. There have been concerns raised with sweepstakes, however, with the American Gaming Association (AGA) in August raising concerns regarding how unlicensed online casinos and sportsbooks are using sweepstake games to get around regulations and laws.
Social media as mentioned has grown in its influence and the ability to perform multiple tasks via a single app is almost commonplace. People on social media can now buy and sell items, create live audio/visual content, among many other innovations.
In 2021, Unibet launched BetShare, a social media-focused betting tool available exclusively to its customers, allowing them to customise the look and feel of their betslip with the purpose of sharing on social media. Another instance, in 2022, World Series of Poker (WSOP) launched a tournament campaign via social media designed to reach potential tournament players, with 14 social media influencers being given the chance to compete for the title of WSOP Legend.
However, one of the most significant interactions between gambling and social media occurred in January of this year when social media platform X (formerly Twitter) agreed a deal with BetMGM. This was described by BetMGM as a “first-of-its-kind partnership between a premier social media brand and a sports betting operator,” which saw BetMGM’s odds and branding integrated into X in the US, with each game linking to BetMGM’s website and app.
Though the BetMGM deal, for example, is one that constitutes traditional odds and so a traditional sportsbook experience rather than social betting element, what it does show is social media is looking to take advantage of the growth of betting, while likewise gambling companies are looking to take advantage of the continuous influence of social media in people’s lives.
And so, from this alone we can see why social betting is becoming an increasingly popular phenomenon and how we have gone from simply playing free-to-play games on social media to gambling companies using this as a means to offer a betting experience to players who may not necessarily be seasoned bettors.
Of course, one thing that must be noted surrounding social betting is that like other forms of gambling there are of course regulatory issues. One area relates to the prize giving within social casinos. Social casinos allow players to engage in online casino games with virtual currency instead of using actual money, so ultimately no real-world prizes are generally won. This could lead to confusion if the social casinos are not being marketed in the correct way. In September this year, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK banned five ads for social casino games, challenging whether they were misleading as they implied that the games were gambling products in which players could win and withdraw real-world money or tangible prizes.
Another consideration is that there is the potential that playing social betting games may lead to addiction, which could translate to those people gambling with real money through standard gambling channels, while those under the legal age to gamble may gain access to these social betting sites.
There are regulatory hurdles to consider within the realm of social betting, but the majority of the sector seems to be doing the utmost to keep things compliant, while at the same time it continues to grow. With contributions from Flutter, Greentube and Betmate, we have delved deeper to see what has played a part in social betting’s rapid rise.
Flutter
Social betting encompasses a number of Flutter’s brands, with the likes of Tombola, Sisal and PokerStars all including elements of the social betting experience. The idea of togetherness and community is something seen across these games, as emphaisesd in an article written by Flutter, named ‘The rise of social betting: how community is changing the game’. PokerStars Senior Commercial Advisor and former professional poker player May Maceiras spoke about this experience: “To me, social betting is about playing against peers, and in some cases with peers, which happens in poker – as it has a big community aspect despite being an individual game; we learn together outside of the table.”
A spokesperson for Flutter echoed similar sentiments when asked if players enjoyed competing against each other compared with by themselves, saying: “Although we cannot answer on behalf of every single one of our customers, if you look at customer engagement with products such as Sisal’s Tipster – a blend of social media with sports betting through a dedicated app that allows customers to share their bets within that community – that would be a fair assumption.”
The Flutter article further underlined how the operator creates the community element even through the way it designs its games, with the bingo50 format on Tombola creating a more equal chance of winning no matter the stake amount placed, with Tombola Head of Brand and Planning Dawn Howe stating that this “really helped establish the community, because everyone had an equal chance of winning as the prize varies with the stake.”
Howe also mentioned that “Keeping the player experience at the heart of everything we do at Tombola and making sure they have a voice at every stage of our product development lifecycle, means they feel hugely empowered, listened to and a valued part of our community.”
This idea of the player experience is one that seems to come across again and again within social betting, and something that appears to be at the forefront of those companies who create social betting games; it goes some way to explaining why they have gained so much traction recently. “The most important thing we have learned is that a betting product itself is a social experience,” said Sisal Marketing Director Raffaella Leoni within the article. “Being online can be solitary, so everything that adds to that value of community is crucial for us.”
Looking overall at social betting’s growth, the Flutter spokesperson pointed towards the continued growth of the online world, saying: “The rise of social media and the digitisation of many of our daily experiences has resulted in not only a rise in social betting, but a determining factor when it comes to punter’s gaming choices. Social betting is gaining increasing momentum online, and is proving a powerful force across Flutter and its brands, like tombola, Sisal and PokerStars.”
Betmate
As mentioned, Betmate is a social betting app where friends can go head-to-head against each other, betting on traditional football betting markets. The app was founded in August 2020 looking to change the idea that ‘the house always wins,’ instead positioning the players as ‘the house’ with people-vs-people social betting. Founder of Betmate as well as Engage Games, Ryan Lawrence, tells Gambling Insider: “We’ve been backing social betting to overtake the conventional model since we started this journey, which at the time felt like an unpopular opinion, but it now feels like people are starting to agree with us. Alongside this, the rise of social casinos is further evidence of a shift in the tide.”
Similar to Flutter, Lawrence has pointed to the community and player aspect of social betting as a key reason behind its growth, opposite in many ways to what traditional betting may offer: “Social betting taps into a fundamental societal shift towards more interactive, community-driven experiences across nearly all industries. People are increasingly looking for ways to be social and betting is no different. Betting has, by nature, been quite isolating. In a world where social interaction is everything – from social media apps to how we consume content – it’s only natural that betting is evolving in this direction.
“Social betting puts the player experience front and centre. It’s all about the journey: the thrill of competing against real people, the shared banter and a real sense of community. Players stay engaged longer because they don’t need to be perfect to win. They are invested in the social aspect and the experience itself, rather than just a binary ‘have I won?’ outcome.
“For many, it’s less about monetary gain and more about proving their knowledge, outsmarting their peers, and gaining that extra bit of gratification because you know you’ve outsmarted someone else.”
As explored earlier, social betting will generally include no stake, or at the very least a lower stake to take part. This, in turn, would suggest more people would be able to take part as a result, a view Lawrence too shares: “Players who don’t want to risk large sums of money can still enjoy the thrill of competition, while the emphasis on social competition and entertainment over pure financial gain makes it appealing to a wide range of people.”
One of Betmate’s games includes Daily Fantasy Football. Most football fans, especially in the UK, will likely play the Premier League’s official fantasy game, Fantasy Premier League, which according to its website has over 11 million players around the world. Trying to disrupt something that has become a normal part of football fan’s routines may seem difficult, but Lawrence has said: “It’s a challenge, but also an opportunity. Fantasy Premier League has a very strong following, but it can feel somewhat static, and a large majority of players become inactive by October after falling down the leaderboard. Betmate brings something different to the table – fixture-by-fixture play means players can dip in and out whenever they like, there’s no budget constraint so it’s more accessible, and our granular scoring system lets users cheer for micro-events like tackles and interceptions throughout the 90 minutes.”
Greentube
For Greentube, its social casinos allow players to access the full range of Novomatic online slots and table games, while being able to stake virtual currency instead of real money. Greentube Director of Brand Management Social Bernd Eibl tells us that: “We focus on competition and player interaction in our social casino products through Funstage, prioritising quality slot games. Collaborative and competitive features have become increasingly important, and we aim to enhance player interaction.”
Funstage is a publisher of social casino games & games of chance, and as mentioned Greentube’s social products do not require purchase to play and yet still attract “over two million daily active players in competitive features,” possibly going some way in highlighting the inclusive nature of social games in general, where the risk factor related to money is reduced.
Eibl states that: “Player competition is a key driver of satisfaction in our social casino products, which feature both direct and team-based competitions.” Looking at some of their games this is clear to see, for example: “On Slotpark and Gaminator, teams of up to 50 players compete in a league system, with weekly promotions or relegations, aiming to reach the Elite league.” Eibl’s point surrounding player competition underlines the growing trend of players wanting to compete with other people compared with themselves, an appeal which social betting can satisfy, and something that Lawrence from Betmate touched upon earlier.
Finally, reflecting on social media’s role in social betting’s rise, Greentube’s Director of Brand Management Social said: “Social media is key, as players value sharing their competitive rankings. We regularly post top rankings, and players create discussion groups to celebrate and discuss their achievements.”
Social betting overall, then, shows no signs of slowing down. It will be intriguing to see how it compares to traditional betting several years down the line; growth looks inevitable – it is simply a case of how much.
