TAPPP unveils single-screen, live broadcast sports betting solution in tandem with MLR and The Rugby Network

2022-06-29

United States

Reading time 1:47 min

TAPPP has made single-screen sports betting a reality during the final weekend of the Major League Rugby (MLR) season with matches streamed on The Rugby Network (TRN), the New York-based technology and marketing startup says.

The business, dedicated to encrypted on-screen transactions and curated viewer experiences, has unveiled its proprietary, real-time gaming technology. Through it, eligible viewers were able to access sports betting data originating in a live broadcast environment while also placing authenticated bets via the PlayUp sportsbook directly on their device within the same live-broadcast environment.

"TAPPP has clearly demonstrated that single-screen sports betting has become a reality," said Sandy Agarwal, Founder and CEO of TAPPP. "I am extremely proud of our team bringing to market such transformative technology, and I am so appreciative of our partners MLR, TRN and PlayUp for working together with us to bring our transaction and engagement platform to life."

The unveiling of the live sports betting component of TAPPP's and TRN's Pick&Go! platform is described as "the culmination" of the partnership's first season, aimed at increasing MLR match viewership and rugby fan engagement via both free-to-play, prize-based games of knowledge and skill and real-time, real money wagering.

TAPPP has now become the first company to have operated both a free-to-play and real-time sports wagering product simultaneously via the same screen presenting a live sports event, the business claims. The New York firm calls this "a transformative technology."

"In the era of Smart TVs, interactive overlays have become a hot topic," added Agarwal. "Interactivity is great but how about direct, in-game, on-screen transacting involving a product where the price can change every second? This is single-screen sports betting, and this is what TAPPP's platform has delivered, with more seamless transaction opportunities still to come."

TAPPP will leverage the activity data from the first year of Pick&Go! to develop an enhanced free-to-play and real-money gaming platform in time for the 2023 MLR season, the business announced. The company is also in discussions "with several broadcasters and additional sportsbooks" to launch a similar interactive and transactional platform, with both real-time, single-screen sports betting and free-to-play contests in the second half of this year.

In April, TAPPP raised $10 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Accomplice and Verance Capital, further reports Axios. Participants included Stephen Pagliuca of the NBA's Boston Celtics and Peter Tomozawa of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Sounders, along with ADvantage, Permit Ventures and Oakvale Capital.

Last month, TAPPP and its partner BetMGM announced an "aggressive expansion" of BetMGM's gift card distribution network. The number of stores carrying BetMGM prepaid cards will roughly double from around 6,000 to more than 12,000 in the current quarter.