French/West/Vaughan (FWV), a Raleigh-based independently-owned public relations, advertising and digital marketing firms, has been selected as agency-of-record by BlitzPredict, a Las Vegas-based start-up that has launched a global sports information platform with a focus on sports and esports betting markets, powered by blockchain technology. BlitzPredict is the first company to record sports predictions to the blockchain, time-stamped against true market odds, to provide a permanent, verifiable record of an expert’s success.
The BlitzPredict web app was released in June, launching analytics models for Major League Baseball and the FIFA World Cup. After the victory by France over Croatia in the final, the World Cup model ended up with a 36-28 record (56.5% success) and correctly called the winner in the title match. The platform also currently offers odds on Major League Soccer and MMA. BlitzPredict NFL content is scheduled to launch in August.
BlitzPredict will soon expand its focus to the eSports market, launching tournaments, and implementing “smart contract” betting functionality, enabling users to execute pre-set wagers when optimum criteria are met, similar to stock price triggers. The platform will eventually aggregate betting options from over 100 sportsbooks and prediction markets in real time, providing access to the best odds available at any given moment.
With the recent Supreme Court decision allowing states the jurisdiction to legalize sports betting, the BlitzPredict model is positioned to bring a new level of trust, transparency and credibility to the industry as it expands to new markets. Not only will transactions be secure, but blockchain technology allows BlitzPredict to verify the performance of the oddsmakers and predictors that it features, eliminating the risk of false claims by experts.
“In addition to being at the forefront of a newly legalized industry, we’re bringing truth to sports betting,” said BlitzPredict CEO Brett Richey. “Blockchain technology allows us to catalog the records of all the sportsbooks and predictors we work with, and we will only feature those with the best rates of success.”
For many users, BlitzPredict will be the first experience they have had with cryptocurrency and blockchain. FWV will lead the integrated marketing strategy designed to introduce the platform to industry observers and established bettors, as well as to those new to online wagering.
“Sports betting is one of the best applications for blockchain technology because of its capacity to reduce disputes and increase trust,” said FWV Chairman & CEO Rick French. “BlitzPredict is using a sophisticated Fintech model to bring powerful analytics and much-needed transparency to an industry that is poised for tremendous growth.”
