A live television sports prediction platform is making their biggest marketing push, as investors and gamblers alike dream of live in-play betting to become commonplace in the United States.
WinView, an app that currently offers players to engage in games of skill in which they answer questions about what is about to happen in a game, has signed Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin to star in an advertising campaign.
Griffin will get an equity stake in the company for starring in digital advertising for the brand’s “Predict. Win. Watch Your Back” campaign. The ads involve an office worker who plays WinView while watching an NBA game and predicts that Griffin will miss a free throw. Griffin misses, but then makes eye contact with the worker through the computer screen.
“This made sense to me because we, as players, when we’re watching games, we try to predict what is going to happen,” Griffin told ESPN. “That fans can actually do this is great.”
As of now, WinView hasn’t matched up with a partner that turns their game, in which players pay between $2 and $100 to enter, into a gambling business. Its “games of skill” are currently legal in 39 states.
WinView executive chairman Tom Rogers acknowledges that business is obviously around the corner.
“We plan to monetize our intellectual property in the space,” Rogers said. “We don’t have any immediate plans.”
What has made WinView so appealing to investors, most prominently Washington Capitals and Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, is its intellectual property. The current company, whose valuation is $65 million and makes its money by taking 15 percent of each pot, is a combination of sports prediction technology that has been built over the last 28 years.
WinView has 56 patents that their executives believe allow them to own and protect the in-play business in the United States. If that holds — it’s not universally accepted that’s the case — WinView could be a powerhouse in licensing its technology.
In-play betting makes up roughly 70 percent of sports betting revenue in Europe.
Rogers sees potential business partners not only in those that have gambling licenses, but also with current media companies who have big deals with networks, who are hoping to be able to make sense of upcoming rights fees.
“This is going to be a new form of revenue,” Rogers said. “And it’s critical that the incumbents understand that, because the new guys understand social experience and how to monetize it a whole lot better than they do right now.”
Players are not allowed to promote sports betting operations, but WinView currently falls under the category that fantasy does. Griffin admits part of his interest is in WinView’s future in sports gambling.
“The NBA has been ahead on this, and I think it’s good for everyone,” Griffin said.
As to whether the legalization of sports betting will put more pressure on him during games, Griffin says no.
“When we’re on the court, we’re not worrying about that,” he said.