Playtech launches Apple Watch sports betting app

Online gambling software developer Playtech has launched a wearable sports betting app available to all licensees – including full Cash Out functionality – for the new Apple Watch which goes on sale today.

In an extension to its multi-year ‘Coral Connect’ Omni-Channel contract, the long-standing tier one Playtech licensee will be the first customer to offer the ‘iWatch’ app to its extensive UK and European player base.

A team of senior Playtech mobile developers has built on the company’s previous Android Wear sports betting release and worked intensively over the course of the last few months to develop the Apple Watch betting app, submitting it as soon as Apple opened its submission window at the beginning of April, a Playtech spokesman said Friday.

The app enables first adopters of the watch to initiate bets, browse live and forthcoming sporting events, monitor promotions, and receive alerts via technology linked to a user’s iOS mobile application.

Uniquely, and unlike other Apple Watch applications, once a bet is in progress Coral Players will have access to cash out functionality enabling them to instantly profit from winning positions in real-time, the spokesman claimed.

A player simply touches the Coral app on the Apple Watch and is given immediate access to a grid of eight initial sports including football and tennis.

After selecting a preferred sport they are able to view a list of ongoing and upcoming games complete with a series of betting options, as well as the choice of accessing ‘My Bets’ that displays current bet status and betting history.

Playtech is currently working with a number of other key licensees to launch further Apple Watch functionality, allowing hundreds of thousands more players in regulated markets to bet instantly from their wrists.

Keith O’Loughlin, sportsbook director, Coral, said: “This is a fantastic, industry-first development that allows us to immediately engage with our customers on an entirely new level and significantly enhances our Omni-Channel solution with Playtech, our principal technology partner.”