A new WhatsApp and Telegram-based AI betting solution is having a demonstrable impact for operators’ acquisition and retention capabilities.
ChatBet, an interface layer that enables bettors to place bets through WhatsApp or Telegram, is being rolled out across Latin American markets and is delivering strong results for early adopters.
The AI-bookie solution has published a report developed with SBC Media, to outline the impact the product is having with its first batch of clients, noting that it is having an uplift on key metrics such as average revenue per user and player retention.
Josh Swerdlow, Founder and CEO of ChatBet, said: “Operators don’t need more features, they need better conversion. ChatBet turns natural user intent into a betslip in seconds, which is where we’re seeing the uplift in both engagement and revenue. In some cases, up to one in three users interacting with ChatBet creates a betslip, a significant step change compared to traditional funnels.”
Swerdlow referred to Everett Rogers’ 1962 Diffusion of Innovation theory throughout the conversation, explaining that new products typically see 5% of the market that instantly understands and gets to grips with a new product or feature.
“We see users that come in and just get ChatBet. They didn’t need the menu option, they didn’t need to be guided and didn’t need tutorial videos that we had to build in for other users. Around 13.5% of users were just coming in and understood ‘I want to place a bet on Liverpool to win.’ They just got it; that was a really exciting first statistic that I liked.” That early adoption is important, because it shows how quickly users can move from curiosity to intent in a conversational environment.
Swerdlow recently spoke to SBC News about the technology and genesis of ChatBet when he put forward the case that more users are looking to place bets using conversational language, rather than sifting through traditional user interfaces that look like spreadsheets.
And though 13.5% of users understand the concept immediately, other users aim to get more familiar with the technology before using it habitually. The ChatBet founder outlined that because WhatsApp messaging is something that 3.5 billion people around the world do each month, it is easier to become familiar with.
“People are becoming more aware of it and are getting used to it, so they’re spending more time engaging with it. A high percentage of users move quickly from first message to expressing betting intent (defined as creating a bet slip, showing that conversational interfaces reduce the friction typically seen in traditional navigation,” he explained. That level of engagement creates more opportunities to convert, re-engage and monetise users compared to traditional sessions.
ChatBet has a partnership with WhatsApp’s parent company Meta to be part of its ad manager and ‘click to WhatsApp’ scheme, which has multiple benefits. Firstly, having the Meta brand as a partner adds authenticity and weight to the solution’s market presence. It also allows operators to connect advertising, conversation and conversion into a single measurable flow.
But it also ensures that advertising codes and standards are adhered with, particularly regarding policies around gambling advertising.
Swerdlow explained: “We were able to form a relationship with Meta because the user initiates the conversation, and everything operates within Meta’s WhatsApp Business rules and advertising policies. The user has to message us first, so you have to drive them into the one-to-one conversation or the WhatsApp channel phone number, and the user has to press and send a message.
“Once they’ve sent a message, we’ve got them for 24 hours, meaning that we can engage for free and message them for 24 hours. Outside of the 24 hour window, we would have to send a paid message. So everything that we do is completely within the Meta regulation.”
Despite this Meta partnership and the impact it is already having, Swerdlow conceded that some operators have questioned the ChatBet model. After all, why would an operator actively want players to leave their app? That would go against the retention strategies most are looking for.
He outlined that players are inevitably going to be using WhatsApp, and spend longer in that app than most sportsbook. The ChatBet model, he said, only adds a new user interface layer on top of the sportsbook – the operator still has the PAM and backend tools.
“I tell operators that once players spend time in your app, where are they going next? They’re going back to WhatsApp.”
That is core to ChatBet’s model. If consumers are spending their time in messaging apps and that is their default location, then why not let them bet there?
“Meta is telling us that people are installing fewer apps,” Swerdlow elaborates. “When I’m walking and looking at people on the street, they’re on their phone. But what are they doing on their phone? Are they on an app? Are they playing a game? I would say a lot of them are on WhatsApp.”
ChatBet and Swerdlow’s plan is now to continue scaling with multiple regulated operators across Latin America, with the next phase focused on giving operators more control, more insight more performance from conversational betting, and visibility over performance, from conversation data through to bet creation and revenue outcomes.
“It’s about continuing to grow and scale with the product that we have now, and allowing the operator to feel that if one in three people who interact with ChatBet creates a betslip, that they can take that to two out of three.
“We give the tools, the dashboard, all of the back office engagement, promotional, tutorial capabilities. You can build the brand personality, and decide whether it’s formal or informal, whether it’s an analyst, or just a really excited sports betting person. We’re continuing to scale as a conversational interface layer and a performance channel.”
ChatBet is already live with multiple operators across Latin America, delivering measurable impact on acquisition, conversion and retention.
Swerdlow finished: “The real advantage is the feedback loop. We can connect the ad, the conversation, the intent, the betslip and the revenue outcome. That gives operators a performance channel they can measure, optimise and scale.”
To discover more about the impact of WhatsApp and Telegram betting through ChatBet, download the full report.