Sky Bet backs official launch of Group Bets with new ad campaign

Sky Bet has officially launched its Group Bets social betting feature, backed by the release of a new advertising campaign.

The function, which was developed as part of the CoLab accelerator programme, was released in beta in July but recently received a full launch.

Within each group of up to fifty punters, users are able to personalise their bets and chat to each other, as well as feature in a leader board that ranks the performance of each member.

Users can also join ‘Featured Groups’ run by the likes of Soccer Saturday, Sporting Life, Football JOE and Footy Accumulators.

To promote the new product, Sky Bet agency Who Wot Why has created a new short which will see Jeff Stelling in a pre-match huddle with ‘Jeff’s Dream Team’, who are trying to build the ‘ultimate acca’.

Sky Bet said the feature addressed some of the pain points of traditional group betting by offering easy selection and bet personalisation.

The company’s brand director Michael Afflick added: “Group Bets is the first industry development in social bets, bringing group betting activity directly into our app.

“People watch sport together, enjoy the banter and we’ve given Sky Bet Group Bets that same feel,” Afflick said.

“We offer the new dimension of pitting people in the group against each other on performance alongside the bet/chat combination, providing a new and unique group betting experience.”

The operator has also unveiled a Sky TV ad campaign marketing the function, featuring Jeff Stelling, Matt Le Tissier, Tony Cottee, Charlie Nicholas, Bianca Westwood, Phil Thompson and Alan McInally.