New social betting app vows to be the "WhatsApp of betting”
Bet Blocks partners with Oddschecker and William Hill to offer best odds on group bets
New social messaging app Bet Blocks is aiming to be the “WhatsApp of betting” by encouraging punters to place bets online with friends using voice recognition and AI technologies.
Using natural parsing language, the app detects specific betting related words in group chats and links them to relevant odds offered by Oddschecker.
William Hill is the first major sportsbook to partner with Bet Blocks and they hope others will follow suit.
Founders Nilesh Mistry and Jonny Robb told EGR Intel: “Imagine everything you can do in WhatsApp like create groups and chat with friends but with an added level of betting.
“If you are talking about Liverpool and Chelsea to win, it will interpret and understand that as a bet.
“It instantly fetches odds from every UK bookie, converts the betting elements of the sentence into ‘bet blocks’ that people in your group chat will then be able to tap to place a bet.
“The beauty of it is the speed and ease at which you can exchange ideas. It’s easy to join your mate’s acca, you just tap it, place it and you’re then in it together.”
Mistry said apps like WhatsApp and Messenger were becoming an increasingly important part of the betting lifecycle.
“They are being used to discuss and share upcoming betting options but the problem with WhatsApp and Messenger is that they were never designed for betting.
“The experience is clunky, static and disconnected from the highly dynamic, fast paced world of live sports and betting,” he added.
The app will be available to download on Android devices from September.