PointsBet, a global online sports betting operator and approved sportsbook operator of the NFL, on Wednesday said it became the first US sports betting provider to offer clients live, in-game betting opportunities with zero suspensions across the core markets of spread and moneyline.
According to PointsBet, this took place as part of a test run during Saturday’s NBC broadcast of the NFL Wildcard Playoff game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals.
The company said this step followed PointsBet’s acquisition of Banach Technology – a Dublin-based provider of proprietary quantitative driven trading models that support complex pre-game and live, in-game betting products across numerous sports, including the four major American sports and international soccer – in March of 2021.
Officials said the acquisition of Banach further accelerated PointsBet’s technology and product roadmap by delivering market-leading models, platforms and products, with a focus on in-play capabilities.
Since phasing in its proprietary “OddsFactory” platform this NFL season, PointsBet says it has reduced the amount of live in-play market suspensions by 40%, halved the number of bets rejected by suspensions or price changes, and increased the number of bets cashed out by 60%.
After the successful test run, PointsBet said it plans to refine its live betting technology, expand its offerings, and optimize the customer experience for the 2022 NFL season.
“When we acquired Banach Technology, it was with a precise focus to build toward an ‘always on’ in-game betting technology experience at PointsBet,” PointsBet USA CEO Johnny Aitken said in a statement. “That proprietary technology has been developed quicker than we expected since our acquisition, so we tested it out to its full extremity for an NFL playoff game.
Aitken said during NBC’s Saturday Playoff Game, PointsBet customers experienced 100% uptime and no suspensions on in-game spread and moneyline bets, “Which we believe to be the first ever result of this kind in the US. While this test focused on the spread and moneyline markets, it also showed a glimpse into the future of where we can take our technology over time and offer a completely differentiated experience when betting in-play with PointsBet.”
Mark Hughes, Group Chief Operating Officer at PointsBet, added: “We have watched the integration of our advanced technology with increased uptimes as the NFL season progressed, and wanted the chance for a full test of our capabilities on spread and moneyline markets. We selected Saturday’s NBC playoff game, knowing it would offer a bigger handle and higher number of bets placed, and we went for it. We brought the technology to market faster than we thought we could and created something for our clients that, until last Saturday, no one else in the sports betting world had accomplished.”
PointsBet is the official sports betting partner of NBC Sports, with integrations on the Football Night in America studio show and the Peacock Sunday Night Football Final postgame show.
PointsBet currently operates its sports betting product in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Virginia and West Virginia, with online casinos in Michigan, New Jersey and West Virginia. The company says it plans to continue to expand its footprint and live gaming options.
