Meet Jake Paul’s Betting Platform Betr — Is It a Scam or Legit?
Controversial internet personality and boxer Jake Paul has launched a new betting platform, Betr. Is it a scam or legit? Here's what we know.
Aug. 9 2022, Published 1:39 p.m. ET
Controversial internet personality and professional boxer Jake Paul has launched a new peer-to-peer microbetting platform, Betr. Co-founded with Joey Levy, Betr has raised millions of dollars in series A and A1 funding rounds — but is that enough to suggest that Betr is legit?
Betr is brand new and it may take time for the company to prove itself as a legitimate betting app and not a scam. Here’s what we know about Betr so far and what to look out for as the company evolves.
Betr boasts $50 million from range of backers in series A and A1 funding rounds.
Betr co-founders Joey Levy (L) and Jake Paul (R)
Miami-based Betr announced over the course of 2022 that it completed series A and A1 funding rounds worth a collective $50 million (series A raised $30 million, series A1 raised $20 million). Investors include Fuel Venture Capital, Boston Celtics, Magic City Casino, Ezekiel Elliott, Astroworld Merchandise (a Travis Scott company), and more.
With a total of 33 investors, Betr’s backers run the gamut, ranging from venture capital firms to professional sports teams and even athletes themselves (Elliott is a running back for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys). In short, noteworthy names are betting big on Betr.
Notorious names are behind Betr.
Paul (younger brother of Logan Paul, professional boxer, controversial internet personality, and former Disney star) co-founded Betr alongside Levy.
Paul is serving as president for the fresh-faced company, while Levy is chief executive. Levy co-founded another betting company, SimplyBet, in 2016. That’s the same year he became a Thiel Fellow (of Peter Thiel’s two-year Thiel Fellowship program). Levy sold his first venture, DraftPot, to Boom Entertainment after two years.
Of the two, Levy’s betting business background is the most solid. Paul brings the perspective of a professional (albeit often-despised) athlete. He also brings allegations of scamming investors through cryptocurrency and NFT projects. A class action lawsuit against SafeMoon targeted Paul and others for misleading investors with false information.
Here's what we know about Betr so far.
As a microbetting app, Betr says it disrupts “legacy gambling & legacy media” and aims to “make sports and betting Betr.” Naturally, this is vague — but the app is still in beta mode. Betr is offering early access to certain people at an unspecified date.
Despite this vagueness, Levy’s experience with Simplebet suggests Betr will utilize similar technology, but in an app-forward manner and at a different scale.
Betr reportedly has positive cash flow because it’s selling equity for partnerships with large betting organizations (like casino operators, for example) instead of using cash. This brings a unique risk to Betr, which could lose value quickly for shareholders if it offers up too much equity. However, it does free up a lot of cash for other purposes, which puts a smile on some investors’ faces.
Should you be a Betr guinea pig?
For users, Betr has a lot to prove. The process of betting through the app has yet to be seen, and there could be risks associated with the app. If you decide to test out the beta version of the microbetting platform, set a maximum for yourself that’s lower than you might set for a more established gambling company.