Social Betting Platform Wagr Acquired By Yahoo
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Wagr, a growing social sports betting platform, has just been acquired by tech company Yahoo. The online betting app launched just a few years ago, raising millions of dollars while looking to add something new to the modern sports betting landscape.
Yahoo has an interesting past in the sports world, and this recent acquisition shows the company is looking to grow its vast sports portfolio.
Wagr Officially Acquired By Yahoo
Yahoo has completed its acquisition of the peer-to-peer mobile betting site Wagr, as reported by Business Wire. Exact details of the deal have not been made public quite yet, although it appears that Wagr itself will now become fully merged into the Yahoo Sports platform.
In the past few exciting years of sports betting news, Wagr made headlines as the very first social sports wagering platform to receive a U.S. betting license. The major focus for the online betting site is social interaction, with the unique ability to wager against friends head on and other notable aspects such as a leaderboard and interactive features between users.
While many similar betting apps have had users set their own betting lines, Wagr stood out by setting its own numbers much like a traditional sportsbook.
Wagr has grown significantly in recent years, as evidenced by the platform’s numerous investments. Some of the most notable of these investments came from Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (owners of the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers), Kraft Group (owners of the New England Patriots), and Seven Seven Six (founded by Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit).
Before the deal was finalized, the Wagr betting app was only available in the Tennessee sports betting market.
The Leafs were down 4-1 in the 3rd period 😳 pic.twitter.com/FT2XctfFvf
— Wagr (@withwagr) April 25, 2023
Yahoo Expands Its Sports Portfolio
The move to acquire Wagr makes a lot of sense for Yahoo, as the company has been involved in the world of fantasy sports for years. Yahoo Fantasy is one of the top choices for fantasy sports fans, competing with other big names such as ESPN Fantasy and SleeperApp. Yahoo has also expanded into daily fantasy sports to compete with the likes of FanDuel, DraftKings, and Monkey Knife Fight, with DFS contests featuring various prize pools.
The company also produces sports betting content through Yahoo Sportsbook, a collaboration with BetMGM Sportsbook that also allows for BetMGM-powered sports wagering (basically redirecting users to BetMGM Sportsbook) and free-to-play games. This all adds to Yahoo’s history with the sports world, from the original launch of the Yahoo! Sports website in 1997 to Yahoo! Sports Radio and beyond.
Absolute UNREAL pic.twitter.com/yS0GrImw8z
— Wagr (@withwagr) April 25, 2023
What Happens Next For Yahoo And Wagr?
With Yahoo’s background in sports and Wagr’s unique offerings, the next few steps will be worth keeping an eye on. There is plenty of competition in the world of social wagering, with platforms like WagerLab and BettorEdge being two major examples.
Not just that, but the entire sports betting landscape continues to be cutthroat, with FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, and Caesars Sportsbook controlling the majority of marketshare. Not just that, but new platforms such as Fanatics Sportsbook and Betr Sportsbook have emerged recently, adding more options to a crowded sports wagering field.
