Colombian betting product offers TV sports coverage a new lease of life
Imagine being able to watch a sporting event on TV, order snacks during a break in the action, and then buy gear from one of the teams – while never turning off or looking away from your TV.
In Colombia, you can do this through a fully integrated sportsbook on live television, via TAPPP, with support from BetPlay, and DirectTV.
“We needed to make sure that customers were more engaged, that they were not tempted by cord cutting or that they were comfortable moving into streaming services that they would not choose any other one,” said Mariana Goldvarg, Chief Executive of Vrio, during a Tuesday session at SBC Summit Americas in Fort Lauderdale, Floria.
Vrio is the US-headquartered company that manages the commercial operations of the Latin American branch of DirecTV.
“We felt like this was a very compelling offer for our customers because they do come to us for sports. We wanted it to be unique, we wanted it to be an exclusive platform where that could feel that way. We thought the solution was engaging, that they were going to give us the stickiness that we needed with customers, and it was going to be something new,” Goldvarg added.
The panel was moderated by Dr. Laila Mintas, the founder of Dr. Mintas Consulting.
TAPPP Chief Executive and Founder Sandy Agarwal said he had been thinking about this idea for years, and when Netflix came out with its subscription service, he began to think about possibilities. Solving the betting component was the hardest part, and once that was in place, everything came together.
“The most repeat customers were coming from betting on sports, we figured that was the hardest thing to do,” Agarwal said. “I’m happy to report, again thanks to all our partners, that last Saturday it happened, we went live in five Colombia (jurisdictions), and that’s the first of many things to come.”
Paola Echeverri, a board member for BetPlay, said because of her company’s investment in the passion of its customers, it was an easy decision to sign on to the venture. The return on investment also appears to be promising.
“It’s very important to us because we need to strengthen our value proposition, create more of an environment for the customers but obviously from a point of view where it makes sense as a business,” Echeverri said. “We’re creating a difference in the market as well, so that’s super exciting to us.”
Agarwal said the possibilities for the venture are limitless. A viewer can decide he likes a team’s jersey and order it. If he feels peckish, he can order food. And of course, also bet a parlay.
There are other possible deals being contemplated, including one with trading card company Panini.
“It’s training people now to start buying from television, and by television of course I mean any streaming device,” Agarwal said. “It gives us also another opportunity to do better sales apps because we do sell advertisements and when you do sell advertisements you sell the classical advertisements, you sell online advertisement so it’s another way of expanding our offering for those that want to advertise on television.”
Dig deeper
2025/05/14: BetPlay, TAPPP and DirecTV pioneer betting direct from live TV broadcasts
2025/05/12: Altenar extends MLB coverage with new in-play features
2025/02/06: Oregon Lottery offers Taylor Swift-themed sports bets ahead of Super Bowl LIX
2025/05/16: Women seek to level the field when it comes to sports betting, SBC Summit Americas panel says
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