Yahoo bolsters gaming offerings via acquisition of social sports betting app Wagr

Tech giant Yahoo announced Tuesday the acquisition of peer-to-peer sports betting app Wagr, thus bolstering its fantasy and gaming offerings. While the terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, Yahoo did make clear that Wagr will be fully integrated into Yahoo Sports. 

Jim Lanzone, CEO of Yahoo, said: "The acquisition of Wagr is an exciting step in the development of the next generation of Yahoo Sports' gaming portfolio."

"Wagr stands out for their innovative emphasis on community and social engagement in sports gaming, which aligns perfectly with the Yahoo award-winning fantasy platform that has brought tens of millions of fans together around their love of sports for over 20 years," he noted.

Mario Malavé

For his part, Mario Malavé, co-founder and CEO of Wagr, commented: "Yahoo Sports offers us a stage to build products that will reach millions of loyal fans that have connected over fantasy sports for decades."

"The unique combination of Yahoo’s scale and engagement creates opportunities for virtuous product loops between sports media and gaming. Joining Yahoo allows us to continue delivering on our mission to connect fandom to social gaming while elevating our ability to execute through expanded resources, new partnerships, and technological capabilities," he added.

The betting platform has previously attracted a number of high-level investments, including support from Seven Seven Six – spearheaded by Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder – the Kraft Group and the owners of the New England Patriots.

The company, which focuses on making gaming "social and accessible," was also the first social sports betting operator to receive a license in the United States.

Jon Shaw

Of the latest acquisition, Jon Shaw, SVP of Yahoo Sports, said: "We are incredibly excited to welcome Wagr to the Yahoo Sports family. While we know our fantasy leagues increase fan engagement and give people something to root for, the real value is in keeping friend groups together through competition and camaraderie around the sports they love."

"Acquiring Wagr creates an immediate opportunity for us to expand into new group formats that can take engagement and friendly competition to the next level," he concluded.