Sky Bet appeals to the masses with ‘Group Bets’

Sky Bet has rolled out a ‘Group Bets’ function as it seeks to meet changing customer expectations across its desktop and mobile platforms.

This new option enables a number of friends to create a group and build a ‘Group Bet’ accumulator, whereby each member makes a selection for the bet.

Each member can place the group bet into their own Sky Bet account and make a wager, with the option to modify the accumulator if they so wish before placing a bet.

Andy Evans, principal product manager, Sky Bet, said in a statement issued to iGaming Business that the function “simplifies” an activity that already exists.

Sky Bet carried research and found that this sort of group betting activity already takes place, but prior to Group Bets, there was no specific way of creating such a bet directly through the bookmaker’s platforms.

“The idea of Group Bets came through the internal CoLab project that we ran earlier this year,” Evans said.

“We then tested it with customers and found that a large number were already doing this with their friends either physically when together or digitally through messenger apps.

“We identified a number of pain points though in what they’re currently doing and established that we could address a large number of those with Group Bets.”

Evans added: “Essentially we’ve taken a behaviour that already exists and created an experience that satisfies users’ needs and simplifies that activity for them.

“We’re still in a Beta phase, but the aim is see how customers respond to what we’ve done so far and see what it is that interests them most.”

The development comes at a key point in Sky Bet’s history after the company was recently taken over by the Stars Group in a deal worth $4.7bn (€4.0bn).

PokerStars’ owner first agreed a deal to buy Sky Bet and its various brands from owners CVC Capital Partners and media giant Sky PLC in April. The deal is being examined by the Competition and Markets Authority.