Casinos in California want to build up hype for sports betting with Soboba Casino Resort introducing its first social wagering platform
The Soboba Sports solution has been launched as a part of a joint effort with Sparket, a company that describes itself as a “social network,” which will seek to help the operator reach audiences across the state and offer them for-fun and free-to-play sports betting experiences.
Mostly, however, the new parimutuel betting platform is designed to cater to consumers who are already familiar with the Soboba product offering.
Soboba Casino Launches Dedicated Social Betting
To make things simpler and drive synergies with the casino’s business, Soboba Sports is available as part of the existing casino app.
Members of the Soboba Rewards can use digital currency to place wagers, as the casino seeks new ways to engage with customers, and is further exploring the opportunity to stay ahead of the bend by amping up excitement for sports wagering.
California does not yet regulate legal sports gambling and the activity is deemed illegal. However, an exemption is usually made for social and for-fun solutions the kind that Soboba Casino has now implemented through Sparket.
The new betting platform is different from existing models on the market, as it uses a parimutuel betting system and does not involve any real money or payments, so it’s in a sense less obviously gambling for profit than, say, sweepstakes casinos in the state.
The new solution now stands side-by-side with another popular local option, Fliff, which also promotes social sports wagering. Sparket also has some experience working in California, as it previously collaborated with the 29 Palms Band of Mission Indians to help them launch an individual sports betting contest that did not involve real money.
As to the Soboba Casino Resort, the resort is a prominent venue in the state, offering 2,000 slots, 29 table games, and much else. Now, sports betting has been added to the menu but with the caveat that you cannot win real money, and the platform is mostly restricted to people who already have the Soboba Casino app installed in the first place.
Social Betting Gathers Steam in California
Yet, social sports betting is not as outside of the box as some may suspect. In March this year, Rebet, a self-styled social sports wagering company, launched across 47 states in the US, including Texas and California, which are generous tougher nuts to crack.
Although momentum built on the East Coast and Florida now runs sports betting, California has remained neutral to these developments, with legal sports betting not likely to be available for years to come, perhaps not until 2028.
