Social Sports Betting App Wagr Goes Live In Tennessee

The social sports betting app, Wagr, is now live in Tennessee.

“Tennessee! We’re official live and excited for you to download Wagr and start betting with your friends. Check us out and let us know who you’re betting on first,” Wagr posted on its Twitter account.

Wagr's social aspect makes it unique compared to traditional sportsbooks. On the app, players bet casually against each other instead of the house. The Wagr app does charge a 5% transaction fee.

Wagr Gets First Social Betting License

Founded in 2020, Wagr is the first social betting operator to have a license in the U.S. Wagr is targeting casual bettors in hopes of using a social media platform that does not require its users to have extensive betting knowledge. The app is led by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who had been key in the $4 million seed-funding round.

“It’s about productizing what already goes down in everyone’s group chat, which is wagers between friends about sporting outcomes,” Ohanian told Bloomberg in an interview. “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 is launching with point spread bets before possibly adding moneyline and prop bets in the future. Players can bet on a spread in a game with friends, family members or someone in the Wagr community who is willing to bet with them.

“Our app really strips down the betting experience to the bare essentials,” Mario Malava, Wagr’s founder and CEO told Bloomberg. “From a user’s perspective, all you have to do is pick a team, decide who you want to bet against, and select how much you want to wager. (Spread wagers) lend themselves very well to the peer-to-peer model because they’re 50/50.”

Wagr will serve as the middleman between two players looking to bet on the social media platform. The app will post the odds, take payments from each party and have a message function where bettors can trash talk about their bets.

If a player is unable to find a relative or friend willing to take a bet, the app can match two players in the same state who are looking to make a wager. The app is planning to enforce a $500 limit for a single bet while also allowing players to make their own betting restrictions.

“Ultimately, it’s to create a healthier approach to gambling,” Ohanian said of the app. “It’s frankly the perfect time for a business like Wagr to come in and want to build something that really disrupts the way that sports betting has traditionally been done.”