After years of planning and anticipation, Underdog Sports’ online sportsbook goes live Monday. 2r5941
The popular North Carolina betting apps available to consumers, ing industry giants like DraftKings and FanDuel.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Underdog CEO Jeremy Levine told Sports Handle.
The initial product 6w1sc
Competing for market share with FanDuel isn’t top of mind for Levine. Instead, he’s focused on building an innovative product that serves the average American sports fan. What exactly that looks like is largely to be determined.
Underdog’s sportsbook, which launches Monday, is designed for simplicity. It doesn’t come with as many bells and whistles as some of the major operators, but Levine hopes it’s a more intuitive product. He also guarantees the sportsbook’s assortment of bets offered will grow.
Industry stakeholders largely agree with Levine’s assertion that there’s significant room for product innovation in the U.S. sports betting market.
“The one glaring absence in the U.S. online sports betting product set is games, fun engaging games that people enjoy playing for their own sake,” Chris Grove, managing partner at Acies Investments (which is invested in Underdog), said.
Levine plans to have Underdog Sports fill that void. He says Underdog Sports is building “tons” of games for its sportsbook. Some are available Monday, others will launch at later dates.
“We could have launched a sportsbook years ago,” Levine said. “We could have used Kambi or any third-party supplier. We could have launched a sportsbook [and] would have some decent market share, but we wouldn’t have the future that we have now. We wouldn’t be able to build something very different and very great for American sports fans.”
Future product developments 6d3p6r
Uniquely, Underdog opted to build its own technology to run its sports betting app. An in-house tech stack allows Underdog to quickly add new features and games.
Monday’s launch in North Carolina is viewed as just the beginning for Underdog’s products. Levine expects to adapt quicker to consumer preferences than bigger industry players.
“What everyone will see should be the fastest pace of product innovation and velocity and new features,” Levine said. “Faster than anyone’s ever gonna have seen in this space before.”
Given Underdog’s emphasis on product as a differentiator, the early iterations of the product will be watched closely by industry stakeholders. Joe Stauff, a research analyst with Susquehanna International Group, feels strongly that Underdog’s early products need to engage bettors to give the company a realistic chance at competing with major operators. A first impression matters.
“If it’s shit, it’s game over,” Stauff said.
Levine and Underdog aren’t afraid of the challenge. They’ve leaned into a product-focused approach since their inception in 2020 and are doubling down on it through the sports betting launch.
“The entire thesis of the business when we started was there’s so much more still to be built for sports fans in America, and if we’re the best at building product, we’re going to build the biggest business in the space,” Levine said. “We believe that now more than ever.”
The long-term view 504o4i
Building an entertaining product and competing for customers go hand in hand, but marketing scale is essential for online sports betting success, Stauff said.
Fortunately, Underdog has a loyal customer base from its DFS games and can pull on that database when trying to generate sportsbook s.
“If you think about all the databases that one wants to access to be able to convert into sports betting, you have the highest conversion rate likely from DFS,” Stauff said.
The database helps with initial customer acquisition, and the relative immaturity of the U.S. sports betting market gives Underdog Sports long-term aspirations. While FanDuel and DraftKings have separated themselves from the online sports betting pack, there’s room for new companies to take hold.
“It’s still in its infancy,” Brendan Bussmann, managing partner of B Global Advisors, said of the U.S. sports betting market.
ESPN BET are recent entrants into the online sports betting market, and each betting app is backed by significant financial investment and teams of experienced sports betting professionals. Both of those betting platforms also expect to go live in North Carolina on Monday.
“You also have a lot of really informed, really successful people who are making big bets on the current state of the market being anything but immutable,” Grove said. “I think they’re making those bets because they realize that the current product is simply not meeting the full array of tastes and preferences that the US sports fan has.”
Underdog Sports North Carolina? Will any of those three operators, which tout media synergies, merchandising partnerships, and innovative products as differentiators, make a notable dent in DraftKings and FanDuel’s market share in the state?
There’s a belief among some industry insiders that what’s popular now for U.S. sports bettors might not be what’s popular in 2030 and beyond. Underdog Sports hopes those beliefs prove correct.
“ those people who had AOL and Compve s and when Nebraska football used to be good?” Bussmann said. “Things change.”
