Rebet, Free-to Play Social Sportsbook, Launches in U.S.
Seepstakes Sportsbook Loophole: App Deals with Own Currency
Four students from Dartmouth College are launching Rebet, a free-to-play social sportsbook that deals with its own currency.
The app, available starting Wednesday in 47 U.S. states (excluding Idaho, Michigan and Nevada), gives users a platform to share bets, compete against each other, and even talk smack. It provides two currencies for free-to-play wagering called Rebet coins and Rebet cash.
“Rebet was really driven by our shared love for sports and this realization that there’s this huge void in the current sports betting experience,” CEO and co-founder Carson Hubbard told Sports Business Journal. “(Sports betting) is such a social experience — inherently, every time you’re making a pick, you’re talking about it. And so, we were like, ‘Why is this (social) experience not seen on the (traditional sportsbook) platform?’”
Perhaps there’s a sweepstakes sportsbook loophole, though.
Unique Cash Currency
Both Rebet currencies are available for free daily but cannot be redeemed for external prizes or transferred outside the app. When won through gameplay, they can be used to enter more competitions. Users also have the option of exchanging them for real money at a one-to-one conversion rate, but only when won through gameplay.
“We’ve designed Rebet in this way because we wanted to create a platform that anybody can use to engage with their community at any time regardless of their financial ability,” Hubbard said via CDC Gaming Reports.
While there appears to be genuine enthusiasm about the app’s potential, it is not without criticism. Critics suggest the platform skirts regulatory issues by creating its own form of currency. Years ago, similar critiques were lobbed against free-to-play poker sites.
Sweepstakes sportsbook loopholes be damned, Rebet has no plans to offer real-money wagering on the site. For now, the company’s primary revenue stream comes from users purchasing additional Rebet coins.
What’s on the Market?
More than 60 leagues are available to bet on, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and UFC as part of a data partnership with Sportradar. In addition to traditional game spreads, the site also offers player props and user-to-user opportunities where betting odds calculators are presumably available.
The site’s founders hope to make betting a more enjoyable social experience for everyone, including newcomers.
“No matter if you’re a beginner or if you’re a veteran, Rebet is going to provide our users with the best possible experience between social sports and traditional sports books,” Hubbard said via CDC Gaming Reports. “It’s built for anybody — people who are used to sports betting, or people who have been sports betting for five days.”
Fliff, a free-to-play platform founded in 2019, is the site’s primary competitor. In time, the goal is to carve out a place in the larger market where FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings and some of the other best online sportsbooks such as bet365 and BetMGM reside.
Thirty U.S. states — including the District of Columbia — now offer legal online sports betting, with North Carolina having launched earlier this month.
For news on potential sweepstakes sportsbook loopholes, odds, analysis and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
