Splash Inc., previously known as BetterPool, has announced the acquisition of RunYourPool and OfficeFootballPool, solidifying its foothold in the office pool space. The company also unveiled its real money gaming platform, SplashSports.com, marking a new era for the industry.
Expanding the Office Pool Market
Splash Inc. had successfully taken over RYP and OFP in late 2021. Through these acquisitions, the company expanded its user base from 600K to 2.2M active users over 18 months, positioning itself as one of the largest entertainment-only gaming providers in the United States.
Office pools have been a popular form of casual wagering for years, with over 60M Americans participating each year, amounting to an estimated $10B wagered mostly offline. Splash Sports is set to bring this tradition into the digital age, by facilitating frictionless payments on a single platform.
A Focus on Peer-to-Peer Engagement
Splash Sports has been designed to offer a unique alternative to traditional wagering options in the United States. The platform prioritizes peer-to-peer contests, where commissioners (contest organizers) are given the power to run their own contests. TJ Ross, co-founder at Splash Sports, stated that the emphasis is on creating a fairer, more enjoyable playing environment by not allowing games against the house.
Splash Sports equips commissioners with all the necessary tools to successfully run contests, including straightforward contest creation, easily shareable invites, and real-time scoring. The platform also handles entry fees and payouts to winners, eliminating the traditional hassle of managing payments.
Building a Community
Beyond facilitating contests, Splash Sports allows commissioners to build their communities through their own commissioner page. Commissioners can post content, list their contests, and players can follow their favourite commissioners to stay updated. Co-founder Joel Milton stressed the inherently social nature of pools, indicating that their aim is to tap into this to create a more engaging product.
The platform has already garnered the attention of venture firms, including Accomplice, Acies Investments, and Elysian Park Ventures. Cole Van Nice of Elysian Park Ventures commented on the platform’s focus on community-based pools and its potential to tap into existing social networks for engagement.
Splash Sports model: Implications for the iGaming Industry
The introduction of Splash Sports has potential implications for the larger iGaming industry:
- Innovation: The emphasis on peer-to-peer contests could inspire other platforms to offer similar services, broadening the spectrum of legal betting experiences in the market, probably creating a new trend within the iGaming industry.
- Revamping traditional models: The model presented by Splash Sports could challenge the traditional betting structures, encouraging the industry to rethink its revenue generation strategies.
- Community focus: The community-centric approach of Splash Sports could set a trend for other iGaming platforms to include social engagement tools, boosting user retention and satisfaction.
