Bettortainment Launches Engagement Hub Targeting Live In-Play Retention

Bettortainment has introduced the Bettortainment Hub, a platform designed to keep sportsbook users engaged during live play. The company is positioning its new product as an answer to the industry’s ongoing struggle to retain punters during real-time matches, with the official launch coming just ahead of SBC Summit Lisbon on 29 September.

What is the Bettortainment Hub?

The Bettortainment Hub is pitched as a live engagement solution tailored to sportsbook operators. According to Bettortainment, it blends real-time bet tipping with social and gamified features. These include live sports quizzes, rolling leaderboards, a moderated fan chat environment, and watchalong content led by industry experts. The stated aim is to hold users within the operator’s environment throughout the in-play betting window, rather than seeing them migrate to second-screen distractions.

Integration options include white-label or bespoke deployments, delivered via iFrame or SDK. Bettortainment says this allows both operators and affiliates to embed live content without the need for new studio infrastructure—a play aimed at reducing time-to-market for engagement features. The platform was reportedly developed in six months and is said to be ready for the full 2026/27 sports calendar.

Live In-Play Engagement Outcomes

Early deployments, as reported by Bettortainment, showed measurable improvements: an increase in session dwell time, more in-play betting activity, and higher engagement levels. Bettortainment expects these metrics to rise further following the addition of its single-tap betslip functionality, which is anticipated to more than double average dwell times, though no third-party validation or figures were released.

The company’s case is that this kind of engagement translates into substantive commercial returns. Jonathan Baxandall, Co-Founder and Commercial Director at Bettortainment, commented:

"Retention is talked about relentlessly across the industry, but currently, iGaming companies look largely the same as their competition, and few are engaging audiences with the content that their customers crave. Vanity metrics like views and impressions tell you nothing. Focus on what matters: dwell time, in-play bets per session, higher-margin market exploration, and repeat visits. The Bettortainment Hub gives operators of all sizes the ability to engage high-value audiences at precisely the right time with the right calls to action."

Gamification and Retention in Sportsbook Products

The inclusion of quizzes, leaderboards, and fan chat marks a deliberate move towards gamification—a trend in B2B iGaming products, but one that has produced mixed results across the sector. By offering expert-led watchalongs, Bettortainment aims to replicate some of the stickiness that real-time media achieves in radio and streaming, with Gavin Puszczalowskyi, Co-Founder and Content Director, describing the inspiration behind the platform:

"Having spent 20+ years in live radio, I know how real-time media holds an audience. Yet sportsbooks do almost nothing to entertain customers during live matches. We built Bettortainment because operators were surrendering their most valuable window to second-screen distraction. Keep people on-site, keep them entertained, keep them betting. If every user placed just one more bet, that moves the needle massively for our clients."

Bettortainment positions this as less about vanity engagement and more about measurable outcomes: specifically, lengthening dwell time and driving more in-play bets per session. The Hub’s features are designed to deliver calls to action without intruding on the live event experience.

White-Label Solutions for Live Betting

The Bettortainment Hub is available as a fully managed white-label product, or in bespoke forms for larger operators seeking additional customisation. Operators and affiliates can choose between SDK and iFrame integrations, a decision intended to suit both major sportsbooks and smaller partners unable or unwilling to build in-house engagement tools.

Bettortainment claims the solution removes the need for operators to invest in new studio setups to offer interactive content around events, potentially lowering barriers for quick rollouts around peak sports dates. The firm is explicitly targeting operators aiming to maximise retention and incremental wagers during the densely fought in-play window—a focus distinct from broader casino engagement strategies detailed in our casino insights.

Industry Context and Next Steps

The launch is timed for maximum industry visibility at the SBC Summit Lisbon, which runs 29 September to 1 October. By staking its claim in live in-play engagement, Bettortainment is entering a crowded market segment where differentiation is sought through real-time features and user retention tools. Operators will be watching for independent results from live deployments over the 2026/27 season and for signs that claimed uplifts can be sustained at scale.