Underdog Leaps Into Sports Betting with Today’s North Carolina Launch

Dec 9, 2023; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Mark Mitchell (25) reacts to a missed shot during the second half against the Charlotte 49ers at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY SportsUnderdog Fantasy CEO Jeremy Levine spoke with Sports Betting Dime before today’s North Carolina sports betting launchThe Underdog Sportsbook app launched entirely on the company’s own core tech stackUnderdog focusing on North Carolina before further sports betting expansion

Underdog Fantasy today opens its long-awaited foray into sports betting with its North Carolina launch and the debut of its Underdog Sportsbook app.

It’s an exciting start for Underdog’s move into the sports betting market, Underdog Fantasy CEO and Co-Founder Jeremy Levine told Sports Betting Dime, as it debuts its new sportsbook to the state at noon.

“Over the next few weeks and months you’ll see us building and launching features, functionality, and games faster than anyone has ever done in this space before,” Levine said.

Underdog Eyeing Sports Betting Space

North Carolina’s launch will showcase the debut of the Underdog Sportsbook app, which was developed entirely with the company’s own core tech stack.

“When we launch, we’ll be the first sportsbook in America to have ever launched entirely on our own core tech stack. That will be overlooked, something customers don’t understand, but is important to note. We made that choice knowing it would take a lot of time and be a lot of work, but allow us to build something different,” he said.

The Underdog Sportsbook app is clean, easy to use, and fully integrated with the Underdog Fantasy app, Levine said. Underdog still offers traditional daily fantasy sports draft contests in North Carolina and users will be able to sign into the sportsbook app with their fantasy accounts and transfer money and winning between either service.

Underdog applied for a North Carolina interactive sports betting operator license after agreeing to a partnership with McConnell Golf, which owns and operates Sedgefield Country Club, a private golf club, located in Greensboro and hosts the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship.

The sports betting landscape will allow Underdog to offer its customers more of what they want in a gaming experience outside of DFS contests, Levine said.

“We want to offer our customers whatever they want. We can now offer them game outcomes, things related to teams, they can make selections with players all from the same team, simple selections, all things they couldn’t do because of the fantasy laws. With the wider regulations of sports betting we can now offer them more. We get to offer them more experiences,” he said.

Underdog was awarded a license in February by the North Carolina Lottery Commission, its second sports betting license overall. It currently has a license to offer sports betting in Ohio but has not yet set a launch date, Levine said.

Underdog will move slowly into the sports betting market. The main focus is on North Carolina and building out the sportsbook product in the Tar Heel State before expanding into new sports betting markets, he said.

“That’s the focus for now. We’re still in a build phase, it took us three years to build out the back end of this sportsbook app. There is so much more to do in the front end with the customer experience, but what you’ll see now is a clear, simple start, with a lot that will come out really fast,” Levine noted.

Expansion Within North Carolina

With no imminent plans to expand into another state, Levine encouraged Underdog users to keep their eyes on the North Carolina market for future Underdog innovations and technologies.

“The message to customers is just watch this space. We’re going to be building stuff, launching technology, things nobody ever has before. That’s what we’re excited about. We want to build the best product for them, the American sports fan in 2024, which is something that nobody has ever done in this space,” he said.

More people in the state have used Underdog’s fantasy sports app than they have a sportsbook app, Levine said, so the technology, look, and feel of the new sports betting app will be familiar once launched.