Better Collective Expands Global X Social Media Betting Partnership Following Strong Q1 Performance

(AsiaGameHub) –   The leadership of Better Collective believes its AI-driven Playbook “can become a core platform for sports bettors worldwide,” following the global extension of its partnership with the social media platform X.

Revealed late yesterday alongside the company’s Q1 2026 financial results, Playbook’s agreement with X has been broadened geographically. Originally launched in the United States, the collaboration is now a global official partnership.

Better Collective’s betting tools will now be accessible to X users around the world. The company pointed to “rapid user adoption” in the U.S. as a key factor in the decision to go global via X.

In a letter to investors within the Q1 report, Jesper Søgaard, CEO of Better Collective, stated the platform had “advanced further across user engagement, product development and commercialisation” during the period.

“Following the initial success we are excited to expand our partnership with X,” Søgaard commented. “This marks an important step in scaling Playbook internationally.

“Sports conversations increasingly happen in real time and on social platforms, and this partnership enables us to bring a more intuitive and relevant betting experience directly into that environment.”

X’s original partnership with Playbook last October occurred as Elon Musk’s platform increased its involvement in the betting and predictions sectors, having earlier inked deals with LiveScore Group and Polymarket.

Through this week’s expansion, X is introducing a new feature called Direct Message Playbook, enabling users to get a pre-filled betslip.

Users will also be able to share betting ideas or screenshots through the integration, in addition to features already trialed in the U.S., like image recognition and converting betslips into smart deep links for followers to monitor.

“Better Collective has been an incredible partner, delivering real value and a smooth experience for X users,” stated Chris Park, Global Head of Developer Platform at X. “We’re excited to expand the partnership globally with Playbook, adding new features that create a richer experience for the massive sports and fan community on our platform.”

However, merging gambling content with social media does attract criticism.

Betting marketing on platforms such as X has been criticized in nations like the UK, from both licensed and unlicensed operators.

Better Collective and X may need to proceed cautiously to avoid becoming entangled in the wider political discussions on gambling advertising, while also ensuring the integration complies with the legal standards of various international markets.

Playbook, Playmaker, and the Better Collective vision

As noted, Better Collective disclosed the X deal concurrently with its first-quarter financial figures.

The firm posted a 5% year-on-year revenue increase from Q1 2025, with quarterly revenue of €86m (£74.4m) versus €81m the previous year.

EBITDA increased 14% from €22m to €25m, and net profit after tax jumped over 54% from €4m to €7m. Revenue, EBITDA, and profit were all boosted by a rise in new depositing customers across its operations and partner operators, with North American revenue specifically surging 46%.

This North American performance was primarily fueled by Playmaker HQ, the Americas-focused media business acquired by Better Collective in 2023.

In his investor letter, Søgaard stated that Playmaker has “expanded its talent roster, strengthened its position in the North American sports podcast landscape, and built a highly attractive commercial platform around unique content generated by some of the biggest North American sports names”.

“We are seeing strong and consistent demand for its shows, not only from sportsbook partners, but also from a broader group of blue-chip brands seeking brand exposure to highly engaged sports audiences,” he added.

The group does anticipate that both EBITDA and profitability will be affected by tax increases in the UK and Brazil, however. This is expected to reduce operator marketing budgets in those markets – budgets that typically include spending on affiliates and media partners like Better Collective.

Despite these tax challenges in certain regions, the company still forecasts a broadly solid finish to 2026. Providing year-end guidance, Better Collective’s leadership expects revenue growth of 7-12%, EBITDA (before special items) growth of 8-18%, and net debt to be three times lower than EBITDA.

“We started 2026 with a return to organic growth of 5% or 9% in constant currencies, reaching €86m in revenue, driven by strong momentum in Paid Media, talent-led Media and North American revenue share,” the CEO concluded.