EasyGroup Ventures into Sports Betting with EasyBet Launch

With a focus on offering consumers favorable odds and a seamless betting experience, EasyBet is positioned as a peer-to-peer betting platform powered by Matchbook’s well-established betting exchange infrastructure.

EasyBet’s core mission, according to EasyGroup, is to provide customers with the “best price for backing their team.” This initiative is made possible by Matchbook's investment in a robust management team and its adherence to high standards in compliance and regulatory measures. EasyBet will offer markets on various sports, from football and horseracing to cricket, tennis, and more, leveraging Matchbook’s peer-to-peer betting model, which enables users to bet against each other rather than against the platform itself. This model promises better odds for users, as Matchbook’s technology allows them to set their own odds or take those set by others on the platform.

Matchbook CEO Malcolm Graham highlighted the strategic benefits of the collaboration, emphasizing EasyGroup’s legacy of delivering quality and value to its customers. “EasyBet.net offers its customers industry-leading odds across a wide range of sports and geographic markets, offering a top-tier user experience,” Graham noted. He also shared that through the licensing fees paid to EasyGroup, Matchbook would be supporting founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s philanthropic initiatives, integrating a social impact dimension to the venture.

The entry of an EasyGroup brand into the sports betting market has been anticipated, given the trend of major UK brands entering the gambling industry. EasyGroup joins the ranks of other prominent names such as Virgin, Sky, The Sun newspaper, and Ryanair, which have all introduced or partnered on betting services in recent years. However, EasyGroup’s venture differs as this is the first official betting brand directly owned and operated by the company. Previously, other operators attempted to use the "easy" branding, prompting EasyGroup to pursue infringement cases to protect its brand identity.

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of EasyJet and architect of the “easy” brand family, expressed his enthusiasm for the launch. “We are delighted to welcome EasyBet.net to the ‘easy’ family of brands, which is a natural new market to complement our other large consumer brands in the UK and Ireland,” he stated. According to Haji-Ioannou, EasyBet, which launched at the beginning of October 2024, aims to give customers a fairer alternative to traditional bookmakers through its peer-to-peer betting model. “It allows you to bet on sports events—you can back what you think will win or lay what you think will lose. We believe this model offers fairer odds to the consumer,” he explained.

The timing of EasyGroup’s entrance into the sports betting market aligns with increasing betting interest in the UK and Ireland, especially following the popularity of NFL games held in London. Recently, Entain reported a substantial rise in NFL betting activity in these regions, indicating a flourishing market ripe for innovative and competitive betting platforms like EasyBet.

With EasyBet, EasyGroup aims to combine its brand's established values of customer focus and affordability with Matchbook’s dynamic betting technology, creating an option that could stand out in the competitive sports betting landscape. Through this collaboration, EasyBet is expected to leverage the strength of the “easy” brand to reach a broad audience, offering an attractive alternative in the fast-growing sports betting industry.