Yahoo purchased Nashville-based Wagr, a three-year-old social sports betting firm, today. Deal terms were not revealed.
TechCrunch, owned by Apollo-owned Yahoo, highlighted Wagr during one of its early investor demo days in 2020. Wagr is about sports fans betting together, including challenges, leaderboards, and short talks.
In the following years, Wagr raised $16 million from Greycroft, Seven Seven Six, Justin Mateen, and Kraft Group, owners of the New England Patriots.
Yahoo, along with ESPN and DraftKings, is one of the biggest fantasy sports companies in the U.S. By adding Wagr, the company hopes to accelerate its “vision to create and deliver the most compelling fantasy and gaming products” by fostering friendhood.
“While we know our fantasy leagues increase fan engagement and give people something to root for, the real value is keeping friend groups together through competition and camaraderie around the sports they love,” Yahoo Sports SVP Jon Shaw stated in a press statement. “Acquiring Wagr allows us to immediately expand into new group formats that can elevate engagement and friendly competition.”
Wagr will merge with Yahoo Sports after the transaction, which is now complete.