SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Spanish media giant MARCA, famous for its daily coverage of Real Madrid, has entered the social gaming arena thanks to a partnership with social betting technology supplier Oddslife Ltd. Using the Oddslife platform, MARCA has launched ‘MARCA EL GURU’ – a customised social sportsbook platform that allows users to engage and compete with each other using their knowledge of sports.
The partnership has seen Oddslife add fresh features and new devices to its social sportsbook solution to help motivate users and increase engagement, including:
- Missions
- Profile badges
- Virtual trophies
- Compelling storylines and narrative
- Memorable sports moments
- Levelling up and unlockable features
- Leaderboards and prize systems
- World Cup competitions
These features will be available across Web, iOS App and Facebook App with a single sign-on whereby users can have the same experience whenever and wherever they play.
MARCA Director Carlos Gonzalez said: “We have been very pleased at the reception that MARCA EL GURU has received from our users after just six weeks and we are already planning to take our engagement to the next level with the creation of apps for iPhone and Facebook. We are very excited about the World Cup version which we believe will attract many more users.”
MARCA has now joined a growing list of media companies from around Europe that have adopted Oddslife social betting solution, which includes Bold.dk in Denmark, Sportal.bg in Bulgaria and Greece’s Sport-fm.gr.
Oddslife CEO and founder Rasmus Sojmark praised the new partnership: “MARCA EL GURU really shows off the capabilities of our platform. Working with MARCA is a great coup for our team, as their brand and loyal following make them the ideal partner.”
Sojmark added: “We’re now searching for more media brands in other countries who want to get involved with the thrill of sports betting without having to invest the time and the expense involved in getting a full betting licence or developing their own social games. Our social sportsbook can be applied to both regulated and unregulated markets, as we are not taking real money bets.
“With the World Cup this summer providing an excellent opportunity for customer engagement, we have also created a product specific for the tournament, allowing media brands to dip their toe in and see what social sports betting is all about.”
