Mark Phillip, Co-Founder and current CEO at MetaBet, has spent his career pioneering interactive products designed to leverage technology and live sports, bringing bettors closer to the thrill of the action.
In 2006, he founded Are You Watching This?! (RUWT), a leading B2B sports analytics company that uses patented algorithms to analyse real-time sports data and identify high-excitement games–such as close finishes, overtime thrillers, or no-hitters–and automatically alerts users and media partners, including FanDuel Sports Network, Fox and CBS News, ensuring fans never miss a moment of the action.
In 2019, Mark also launched Metabet. MetaBet provides innovative contextual betting tools, like automated odds widgets, live odds trackers, and affiliate monetisation solutions to enhance engagement and drive U.S. sportsbook conversions.
With nearly two decades of experience developing cutting-edge sports betting engagement products, there’s no better expert to share their insight on how operators can access the largely “untapped” U.S. market.
Online sports betting is still relatively new in the U.S., especially compared to more mature European markets. Is it fair to say that the sector has only just left the ‘starting blocks’? What changes do you expect as the industry develops and matures over the coming years?
“I firmly believe that the sector is still in its early days in the States. Some measure growth by the number of new states going online, but that’s myopic. Close to 150 million Americans can legally bet, yet FanDuel and DraftKings—the undisputed leaders—hover around 5 million active users.
“One of the biggest factors holding the industry back is user experience. There’s a stark contrast between the regulated sportsbooks and DFS upstarts like PrizePicks and Underdog, and it’s all about UX.
“Right now, sportsbooks feel like massive spreadsheets, offering thousands of bets at any given moment. But choice without curation leads to paralysis, not engagement.
“The next wave of growth will be about surfacing the right bet at the right time. The industry needs smarter discovery tools that guide users to bets they actually care about, deeper media integrations that connect watching and wagering seamlessly, and more intuitive interfaces that make betting as easy as tapping a contextual push notification.”
MetaBet has recently joined forces with DraftKings and FanDuel Sports Network. Why are strategic partnerships like this so important? How do they help you to give added value to your customers?
“Anyone who has spent time with me has heard me say, ‘The goal isn’t to grow our slice of the pie—our goal is to grow the pie.’ And that’s why partnerships like these are so crucial.
“The sports betting industry is still evolving, and for it to reach its full potential, we need to make betting more intuitive, engaging, and accessible. That’s where collaboration comes in.
“Working with DraftKings, we help bettors get the right bet at the right moment, surfacing the most exciting opportunities in real-time so they don’t have to sift through endless markets.
“With FanDuel Sports Network, we help bridge the gap between watching and wagering, making it easier for fans to discover bets while they’re already engaged with live sports content.
“The key is removing friction – bettors shouldn’t have to hunt for the best bets or struggle to find where they can watch a game.
“The more seamless we make that experience, the more engaged users become – and the more the entire industry benefits. These partnerships aren’t just good for MetaBet. They’re good for sportsbooks, broadcasters, and, most importantly, sports fans.”
How important is an operator’s relationship with sports leagues and media outlets to increase player engagement and overall market share? How can these relationships be best leveraged to ensure sustainable growth for an operator?
“An operator’s relationship with sports leagues and media outlets is critical to increasing player engagement and market share. Sports betting doesn’t exist in a vacuum – fans bet on what they watch, and the closer the connection between content and wagering, the more natural and engaging the experience becomes.
“The best operators leverage these relationships by integrating betting seamlessly into the sports ecosystem. Exclusive access to league data, in-game moments, and media partnerships allows for more dynamic and immersive betting experiences.
“Instead of treating betting as an isolated transaction, successful operators make it a companion to the game itself—whether that’s through in-broadcast odds, interactive live betting features, or promotions tied to major moments on the field.
“Sustainable growth comes from making betting feel like an organic part of sports fandom rather than a separate destination. Operators who successfully embed wagering into how fans consume sports—not just during games, but before and after—will win in the long run.
“The industry isn’t just competing for bets; it’s competing for attention, and the operators that seamlessly blend content, engagement, and wagering will be the ones that thrive.”
Are operators maximising the revenue growth opportunities in the sports entertainment sector? What can be done to improve this going forward?
“Operators have spent billions making sure every sports fan knows their name, but there’s still a massive untapped audience – fans in legalised states who understand betting but haven’t been moved in a way that triggers their love of sports.
“These fans aren’t avoiding betting because they’re uninterested; they just haven’t been given a compelling reason to take that first step.
“For many, traditional sports-betting experiences feel transactional rather than immersive. Scrolling through endless bet types and odds tables doesn’t match how they engage with sports, reacting to big moments; debating what might happen next, and feeling the highs and lows in real-time.
“To convert these fans into bettors, operators need to meet them where they already are–within the sports content they consume–by seamlessly integrating dynamic betting opportunities into the viewing experience.
“Instead of waiting for these fans to seek out a sportsbook, operators should bring the action to them through real-time bet suggestions, in-game ‘Excitement Alerts’, and smart curation that connects their passion for sports with engaging, easy-to-understand betting opportunities.
“The future of growth isn’t about flooding fans with promotions. It’s about transforming their passion for sports into action, making betting feel like a natural extension of the game they already love.”
Editor’s Note:
The U.S. sports betting market might be one of the most difficult for outsiders to enter and succeed in, but, according to Mark, it’s also largely underserved, with market leaders DraftKings and FanDuel–who collectively share around 90 percent of the market–only servicing approximately 3.3 percent of the total U.S. adults eligible to bet.
This leaves a large, untapped audience who are ready to bet but haven’t been given a compelling reason to do so.
Mark believes that accessing future growth lies in converting these sports fans by offering a seamlessly integrated blend of content, engagement and wagering.
To do this, operators must reduce friction and bridge the gap between “watching and wagering”, embedding the betting experience into how fans consume sports.
Using smart tools, operators can offer the “right bet at the right time” and make betting feel like a “natural extension” of the game – not transactional or overwhelming.
