Underdog Sports reveals Tinder-style Superstar Swipe feature

Underdog Sports has unveiled a new gamification feature that allows users to swipe on player props to add them to their betslip.

Superstar Swipe has gone live with the Underdog sportsbook in North Carolina and lets customers swipe right to add a player to their betslip or left to discard.

The minigame includes a question, such as “Who is hitting a home run?” before a host of players are displayed one after another.

Each card includes the odds for that athlete, as well as when they are next due to play. The feature is currently only available for MLB home run and NHL goal scorer markets.

However, EGR understands further prop markets and additional sports are planned to be launched on Superstar Swipe, with the operator set to engage with customer feedback before pushing ahead.

Additionally, Superstar Swipe will only be available on the Underdog Sports offering as opposed to its fantasy products.

Superstar Swipe, which taps into the familiar UX of dating apps led by the likes of Tinder, was built within a few weeks after Underdog went live in North Carolina with its first online sports betting product, on March 11.

Teams from across product, tech and design were involved in the process, with Underdog owning its entire tech stack allowing it to have moved at speed.

Matt Garrigan, Underdog senior director of sports betting and business development, told EGR the product launch is in tandem with a switch in fandoms from teams to players.

He said: “At the core of the Underdog Sportsbook thesis is giving customers a unique and friendly way to engage with our products, and constantly iterate and innovate to build formats they will love to play.

“US customers often have stronger fandom towards players versus teams, and we wanted to build another modern, intuitive way to give an opinion on which superstars will have a big night.

“When we launched our sportsbook in North Carolina, we said this was only the beginning and we would be launching technology and products no one has ever seen before. Superstar Swipe is an example of that commitment to our customers,” he added.

In 2016, the UK challenger operator Bookee launched a so-called ‘swipe-to-bet’ mobile sportsbook which eventually shuttered in 2019.

Bookee offered customers a selection of personalised bet suggestions, or ‘cards’, with a maximum stake of £30 for each bet. Users swiped left to discard the bet or right to accept it.