Bets of Mates social gambling site launched

Professional York City footballer Dave McGurk is hoping to score with his latest business venture, a new ‘social bet-work’, which will take on the bookies and, he claims, change the way sports fans bet on their favourite UK teams.

Bets of Mates.com enables friends to join for free and have a flutter against each other in a fantasy football-style league setting.

The concept behind the site is that for every stake, each participant receives 100 points which they can distribute on different bets, with a win, lose or draw prediction. The player with the highest score in the league ultimately wins the game.

Bets of Mates is equipped with social network-style message boards and alerts, making for an engaging, competitive environment between friends. The site will initially focus on domestic football leagues, but has plans to expand to other sports including darts, cricket and rugby.

McGurk, says: “Bets of Mates was conceived over a few beers and the football on a Saturday afternoon. My business partners and I had been talking for some time about how there was a need for a betting service that combined the banter and competitiveness of friends, along with a guaranteed prize fund – unlike an accumulator bet where one wrong result can mean no winnings.

“We’ve had phenomenal interest with strong week-on-week signups. I see that this is down to Bets of Mates challenging the status quo when it comes to sports betting, and offering something refreshing and new.”

Joining McGurk behind the venture are friends – and now business partners – John Hughes, and business development manager Adam Haywood.