New free-to-play sports book Rebet combines betting with social engagement
No American sporting event entices a wider swath of individuals to dabble in sports betting than March Madness. And perhaps no event ignites more spirited discussion, bragging and trash-talking over those bets.
Marrying those two elements – sports betting and social engagement – is the business strategy behind Rebet, a new free-to-play social sports book that launches today.
Founded by four current Dartmouth students with expertise across economics, technology, entrepreneurship and software development, Rebet aims to bring a community-centric approach to the sports betting experience. While it offers betting on an array of sports, the company believes there’s no better time to launch than at the onset of March Madness.
“March Madness is the perfect example because you’re constantly talking about who you have in your bracket, who will win the games,” Carson Hubbard, the 20-year-old CEO of Rebet, told On3. “That’s the time that Rebet is going to excel because everyone is going to be sharing their bets via DM and commenting on bets. Through Rebet, the entire community-centric atmosphere of March Madness is brought into one app. It is built for everybody.”
What’s different about Rebet?
The Dartmouth students are taking on an industry they believe has been dominated by the same companies year after year. They identified a void in the sports betting market and wanted to bring the social and communal aspects of fandom to the experience. Plus, they intend to make it easy to use by eliminating entry barriers that some believe have long existed in the traditional sports betting marketplace.
The Rebet app, which is now available across 47 states (all except Michigan, Idaho and Nevada) because it operates under sweepstakes laws, includes a social sports book, peer-to-peer contests, and creative user social feeds. It includes easy-to-read betting lines to make it user-friendly for both diehards and casual bettors.
Rebet has teamed with Sportradar, a sports technology company, to provide users with access to official and real-time data for more than 60 professional and college sports leagues.
Two different currencies in play
Important note: Rebet does not offer real money gambling. There are two different currencies in play: Rebet coins and Rebet cash.
Coins are a currency users can use for fun. They receive 100 coins every day that they can use to place picks. Players can then climb social leaderboards and earn status within the Rebet community and amongst their friends. But they cannot redeem them for any prizes.
Rebet cash is a currency that enables users to enter into promotional sweepstakes.
The social approach empowers users to engage directly with their friends in competition, challenging each other’s sports knowledge and strategies. Users can create personalized contests, set their own terms, and compete in an interactive environment.
They can make their bets private or public, the latter of which allows them to appear on one’s Rebet social feed for anyone to see who follows them.
Rebet is ‘custom tailored so anybody can use it’
Through its social media feeds, Rebet uses features like followers, posts, comments and DM to create a community atmosphere.
“Gone are the days when you have to screenshot your bets and send them into a group chat for your friends,” Hubbard said. “And gone are the days when people don’t understand what a spread or money line means.”
Hubbard said the concept originated with friends exchanging a flood of texts of screenshots of bets. But if you wanted to duplicate a friend’s five-team parlay, for instance, you’d have to memorize it and search through a sports book for 45 minutes to make the same bet.
Neither the social aspect nor the betting aspect – much less the combination of the two – was very efficient. So they embarked on creating an app that incorporates betting and social elements all in one platform.
“It’s really custom-tailored so that anybody can use it,” Hubbard said. “And that’s why we think we have the ability to completely dominate the space because there’s been a lack of innovation in the sports betting industry. It’s basically everybody doing the exact same thing. Where we can excel is through these unique features. It’s pretty incredible to see all this come together right before March Madness.”