Detroit Pistons star Blake Griffin is appearing in an advertising campaign for WinView, an app that allows users to make predictions about what will happen in a game they are watching live in order to win prizes.
According to WinView, their app is currently legal in 39 states, but it is not yet a gambling platform.
WinView Officials See In-Play Betting as App’s Future
Instead, the current setup allows users to play in contests that can cost anywhere from $2 to $100 to enter. That puts it into a similar legal space as daily fantasy sports products, being marketed as a game of skill rather than as a true in-play betting app.
But WinView is hoping to find a partner that can help it move into sports betting in the near future, and hopes that their patents may allow them to control the in-play market in the United States, either via its own apps or through licensing agreements with other operators.
“We plan to monetize our intellectual property in the space,” executive chairman Tom Rogers told ESPN. “We don’t have any immediate plans.”
The first step is to increase the profile of the app in its current form, and Griffin appears set to play a big role in those efforts. The five-time NBA All-Star is appearing in a series of commercials for the company, each of which features the “Predict. Win. Watch Your Back” tagline.
The first of those ads has already been released on YouTube, and shows Griffin getting revenge on an office worker who successfully predicts that he’ll miss a free throw.
Griffin Sees App, Betting as Positives for NBA
According to Griffin, he was attracted to the app because it mirrored the very things he and other athletes do when they’re not on the court.
“This made sense to me because we, as players, when we’re watching games, we try to predict what is going to happen,” Griffin told ESPN. “That fans can actually do this is great.”
Griffin said that neither apps like these nor legalized sports betting impact how players feel about their on-court performance. In fact, he praised Adam Silver’s interest in putting the NBA at the forefront of efforts to capitalize on sports betting’s expansion in the USA.
“The NBA has been ahead on this, and I think it’s good for everyone,” Griffin told ESPN.
The 29-year-old power forward spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Clippers before he was traded to the Detroit Pistons in January. For his career, Griffin has averaged 21.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
While Detroit may not be as glamorous a destination as Los Angeles, Griffin seems to have found himself with the Pistons. Not only is he enjoying a resurgence after struggling with injuries for the past few years – he has averaged 27.3 points in the Pistons’ first seven games this season – but he says he is happy to be playing in Detroit.
“With everything we have going on, with a new arena and a new practice facility being built, to me this is a great time to be a Piston,” Griffin told The New York Times. “I’m not looking back.”