Alongside the partnership, Bruin Capital-backed FairPlay has made a strategic investment in WagerWire.
The deal gives FairPlay the ability to promote Wire Markets across a select group of its own brands and integrate it into its media network, putting the platform in front of sports fans who are already comparing odds and researching outcomes. Europe stands out for this kind of product, given how used the region’s betting audience already is to comparing prices for different iGaming operators. Wire Markets works by pulling together available order books into one marketplace and directing trades to the best price on offer, applying that same price-comparison habit to prediction markets.
By building Wire Markets into its media output, FairPlay is aiming to connect its content and audience data directly to a regulated marketplace, letting users act on predictions rather than just consume commentary. It’s a model the company sees as opening a new avenue for media brands to participate directly in the prediction market space.
Stuart Simms, Group CEO of FairPlay Sports Media, commented:
“Prediction markets are a natural fit for FairPlay Sports Media because they bring together many of the things we already do best: helping consumers make more informed decisions, connecting audiences with market-leading technology, and creating new ways for media brands to engage and monetise their users. Partnering with Wire Markets, FairPlay can provide users research and comparison tools, whilst accessing the best predictions. Together we believe we can bring these new capabilities to a wide range of media environments, creating more useful, engaging experiences.”
Zach Doctor, Group CEO of WagerWire and Wire Markets, added:
“Prediction markets are a new engagement layer for sports, politics and entertainment channels, and the race is now on to connect these markets with global audiences. Recent major acquisitions and funding rounds in predictions are a major signal of where the industry is headed; FairPlay’s investment in WagerWire reflects that same conviction on an international scale. FairPlay already sits at the point where millions of sports fans research, compare, and decide what they think happens next. By integrating Wire Markets, that intent can be converted into action directly on the platform, giving users a superior experience while unlocking a new high-growth revenue stream for FairPlay.”
Marketplace technology sits at the center of what WagerWire does, dating back to when the company first built a secondary marketplace for online sports wagers in the U.S. That same trading-focused approach has since been extended to global event contracts and prediction markets through Wire Markets, which recently received approval in principle from the HM Government of Gibraltar, making WagerWire the second company to receive that designation under Gibraltar’s dedicated regulatory framework.
