Alexis Ohanian invests in sports betting app Wagr

PanARMENIAN.Net - Reddit Inc. co-founder Alexis Ohanian is leading a $4 million seed-funding round for the sports-betting startup Wagr, an app looking to wed social media with a fast-growing corner of the gambling market, Fortune reports.

Founded in April 2020, Wagr has a gambling app that allows fans to bet on sports with friends instead of casinos. The company’s plan is to create a social platform that doesn’t require betting knowledge and expands the market for casual wagers.

“It’s about productizing what already goes down in everyone’s group chat, which is wagers between friends about sporting outcomes,” the Armenian-American entrepreneur said. “Right now the way these get resolved is through a Cash App payment or a Venmo payment on Monday, and surely we can do better.”

Wagr believes consumers will be willing to pay a platform fee in order to have access to a one-stop service that handles the odds, payments and smack talk. It expects to charge fees in line with what traditional casinos take and has pending license applications to operate in Tennessee and Virginia.

When the app launches, it will initially offer major sports, with gamblers able to take either side of a point spread bet with a friend, family member or member of their community who’s willing to gamble. If a user can’t find a friend who wants to take a bet, the app will aim to match the gambler with someone in their state who does. Wagr plans to impose a $500 limit for a single bet and will allow users to restrict their own use.