BetBull acquires social betting start-up Wager
‘Betfair between friends’ product will be integrated into social betting community BetBull along with leadership team
BetBull has acquired London-based social betting start-up Wager, EGR Intel has learned.
The acquisition was first revealed in a LinkedIn post from co-founder Elliott Robinson last week, where he paid tribute to staff including former chief technology officer Esau Rodriguez Sicilia.
Terms of the acquisition were undisclosed.
Under the terms of the acquisition, Wager will cease to operate as a standalone brand, with existing Wager features being merged into the existing BetBull social community product over the next few months.
EGR Intel understands that Wager’s leadership team will also be integrated into the BetBull business.
Wager was created in 2018 by Oxford University graduates Robinson and his friend Leo Barnes to exploit a gap in the sports betting market.
The pair aimed to build a ‘Betfair between friends’ proprietary platform, allowing players to bet against their pals by sending real money bets via the app and all winnings paid instantly.
As part of the development of the Wager platform, all frontend and backend technologies were built in house.
In November 2018, Wager raised funding from London-based VC fund Forward Partners before going live to players in August 2019.
Since then, the start-up has added other social features including fantasy-style leagues, head-to-head competitions, and ‘request-a-bet’ specials.
Speaking to EGR Intel, Wager co-founder Barnes said the firm could look forward to an “exciting future” within the wider BetBull brand.
Those sentiments were echoed by Robinson, who said: “We were incredibly excited from our very first conversation with Betbull as it was obvious that we share the same social vision for the industry.”
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Malta, BetBull is a social bookmaker with the mantra ‘Never Bet Alone’. The site allows users to follow bets from tipsters and friends. The firm has licences from both the Malta Gaming Authority and the UK Gambling Commission.
BetBull founder and CEO Sadok Kohen welcomed the completion of the acquisition as being an important step in the further development of the business.
“I was impressed with what Leo and Elliott were able to do and I can’t wait for them to create value for Betbull,” Kohen added.