WagerWire, an innovative marketplace for open sports bets, found in a new study that non-bettors were 78% more likely to bet online if they were educated on how to bet. WagerWire will release a series of data from the study over the coming months. The study was conducted by Leger, a market research and analytics company.

Lack of education and understanding were the top reasons cited for not participating in sports betting. As to the reasons why non-bettors aren’t currently wagering online, 43 percent said “they don’t feel like they know enough about sports betting” and 41 percent said “they don’t know enough about how to bet online.” An additional 23 percent of the pool of non-bettors stated they aren’t betting because “they don’t know how or where to bet on sports.”

“The data from our study clearly shows how a lack of adequate betting education is the greatest barrier to entry for would-be bettors. However, education is also the industry’s greatest opportunity to grow and expand,” said Zach Doctor, the cofounder and CEO of WagerWire. “There is a notable impasse in the current sports betting landscape regarding operators pulling back on their promotional and marketing spend, while also striving to grow their user bases and gain market share. While promotions and free bets are flashy, basic betting education can be the formula needed to develop more confident, engaged, and responsible players that will result in a stronger, more sustainable industry.”

Education is a core tenet to WagerWire’s value proposition. The company is currently providing a growing community of content creators and social media followers with resources, information and tips on how to bet and how best to leverage its upcoming secondary marketplace.

At this year’s upcoming Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Conference in Las Vegas, WagerWire will co-sponsor an event with Gaming Society focused on how to elevate the baseline education of bettors. Gaming Society Co-founders Jaymee Messler and NBA Hall-Of-Famer Kevin Garnett will preview a newly launched Betting Academy experience, along with an exclusive preview of their Bet on Women initiative. The sponsorship kicks off a new strategic partnership between the two companies focused on utilizing education to create a healthier and more sustainable market.

“At Gaming Society, we believe that by educating bettors we can build a stronger, more sustainable and responsible sports betting community,” Messler said. “The WagerWire team not only shares our vision but is already developing unique strategies to integrate education into their platform. Through our new partnership we’ll unite both our platforms to build a larger community, create stronger data on bettor behavior and use this information to build new tools and content that will empower the American sports bettor.”

WagerWire is the first start-upannounced in the newly launched HPL Digital Sport and Cardinal Sports Capital Accelerator Program. The company also recently announced its seed round led by co-owner of the Miami Marlins, Roger Ehrenberg.

The study was completed between July 8 – July 21, 2022, including 500 U.S. sports bettors and 200 non-sports bettors.