What is social betting?
Humans are social animals, after all, we spend most of our free time engaging in one or more social media platforms. With the rise of social media, we are now more connected than ever to not only our friends and family we interact with daily, but with those we rarely see in person.
Historically, you placed your wager with your chosen bookmaker, which was mostly a solitary affair. Possibly, you had some acquaintances that you encountered on your excursions to the bookies, located on the High Street. In recent times, trips to the High Street have become “challenging” to say the least. Fortunately, we had the rise of online bookmakers to fill this gap and now you can place a bet from the comfort of your home. On the flip side of the coin, putting a wager down on your favourite team has become an even more solitary endeavour and a lot of the banter and fun has been removed from the equation. This is where social betting came into its own.
Most punters want to share the excitement with their friends and family, or they simply want to follow another player who has a track record of beating the odds. Social betting allows players to connect, share and discuss their strategies and reasons for placing a bet. It is, therefore, no surprise that bookmakers have stepped in to fill this gap in the market. You can now connect to almost any of your social contacts and have the enjoyment of sharing your wagers not just with your friends and family, but with the larger betting community.
What are social betting apps?
Since nearly every person has access to a mobile device, apps have become even more popular and of course, betting apps have not been left behind. Most bookmakers now offer a betting app and a certain number of these have the social platform built into the app itself.
The function of the social betting app is to connect the player with the community of other players on the bookmaker’s platform. Here, punters can give each other tips and interact with each other in real time via chat.
Notably, there has been quite a rise in these social betting apps, and probably there will be even more companies that want to get a slice of the pie.
The idea from a bookmakers point is that not only do they create a social community, but their community often pulls in other members from outside, because of the social aspect. Additionally, these social betting platforms create a much more loyal user base if they have peers with whom they engage with while betting.
Players will often come across new player bonuses, sign up offers or other promotions to get them to sign up to a platform.
How do Social Betting Apps work?
Social betting platforms perform pretty much in the same way that other bookmakers’ apps and online websites work. Players can put their bets down on a huge variety of sports in exactly the same way as they would with other bookmakers. You still have the different sporting events and markets that you would normally find. However, rather than having a separate social app to discuss the bets, you are going to place or have placed, you can now share with the other punters in your community of players. Some of the social betting apps are even reminiscent of dating apps where you simply swipe left or right if you like or dislike a bet.
How do I get a Social Betting App?
Downloading a social betting app is in itself an easy task and only varies slightly depending on your phone’s operating system.
For the Android user, head on over to the Google Play store and search for the required betting app and then install from there. However, if you are unable to find your chosen app, then you might need to head to the bookmakers’ website and look for the apk file to download and install.
For iOS users, the install process starts in the Apple Store, where you simply search for the bookmaker of choice and then install from there.
In both cases, you will need to register with the bookmaker, as you would with any other bookmaker, and therefore will most probably need to adhere to KYC registration processes.