Q&A with Wanna Parlay: Building Community through Betting

PayNearMe is excited to announce that Wanna.com has chosen the PayNearMe platform for iGaming as its exclusive payments provider for their newest U.S. gaming app, Wanna Parlay. Wanna Parlay is a fresh take on daily fantasy sports, where players can compete against others to see who can build the best parlay and finish in the top 10 on any contest leaderboard to take home a substantial cash prize. Unlike traditional fantasy sports games that confine players to specific lineups, Wanna Parlay empowers users to create their own unique parlays with varying amounts and types of picks, making the competition more “dynamic and engaging.”

PayNearMe will be providing Wanna Parlay with a cashier of popular payment methods including credit, debit, Apple Pay, Google Pay and online banking (guaranteed ACH) with more methods to come in the near future.

In honor of this new partnership, our team sat down with Carson Coffman, co-founder of Wanna.com and Wanna Parlay, for a Q&A to discuss their newest brand and the innovative concept it provides to the iGaming market.

PayNearMe: To start off, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you started Wanna.com?

Wanna: So I’m a former college athlete and I’m super competitive. In college, my friends and I used to actually bet against each other on various different things, whether card games, golf, basketball—anything had to have a little money on it to get it to that next level of competitiveness. And it got really hard for me to get money from my friends and vice versa. It’s like everyone always had an excuse for why they didn’t want to pay. And we thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if there was some app that distributed the money so we didn’t have to make it awkward between friends?”

And then I met up with my partner, Jim Bob, and he had a similar idea. So we created the original version of Wanna, an app we launched in Brazil. It was this social media platform similar to Twitter or Facebook where you could give your opinions, argue with people and then bet directly against them. Since then, we’ve transformed that into a fantasy app that we’re bringing to the U.S. market.

PayNearMe: Piggybacking on that first question, how does your platform differentiate itself from others in the fantasy sports space?

Wanna: First off, we’re very community focused. A lot of our ideas for the app came from either in-person or social media interactions. We see how people engage on social media and within its communities, which differs from betting communities. In betting or fantasy play, individuals often bet alone, then have to screenshot their activity and share it in group texts. These two worlds feel completely separated.  So what we’ve tried to do with both of our products is merge those worlds into the same space. And so we make our app very social-forward and try to build community within the app.

PayNearMe: Very cool concept. So how do you think this rise of fantasy sports and online betting is going to shape the physical sports world?

Wanna: One of the things I’ve noticed on Wanna Parlay is that the WNBA has become super popular amongst our community. And most of these people aren’t WNBA fans. They’ve never watched a WNBA game before, but for some reason, they think they have an edge on WNBA—and a lot of them do. One of our past contest winners picked all WNBA games and he’s like, “Yeah, I’ve recently gotten into it just because of this product.” So I think that different sports and leagues can really benefit from embracing fantasy products and figuring out how to use them to make the league more popular.

There was a time when the NFL was struggling with viewership. I remember a Sports Illustrated article from the early nineties called, “Can the NFL Be Saved? 10 Ways to Revive a Boring League” Around that same time, fantasy football emerged, and the casual fan became superfans. I think this occurred because football is no longer an isolated event; it’s like, “Hey, my work group is doing this. We’re all talking about our fantasy teams. This is a way for me to connect and get involved.” Now, instead of watching two football games per year, I’m watching three or four every weekend, and the NFL has just exploded. I think the same thing could happen to WNBA, MLS or some of these less mainstream sports. If a fantasy or gaming product emerges, it can really draw attention to traditionally lesser-watched events and give people a reason to care.

PayNearMe: Right, yeah. People are drawn to the Olympics because there’s a social aspect of following along. Then people get exposed to all these new varieties of sports that they didn’t even know existed. If these fantasy sports options blow up for people, they get exposed to all these different leagues and all these different players that they never would have been interested in before, which I think is great for everybody.

Speaking of greater exposure, how has the rise of mobile technology impacted the way players engage with fantasy sports?

Wanna: The biggest trend in mobile technology is social media apps—nearly everyone has used one. These apps tap into our innate desire to stay connected. We’re looking to bring that same power of connection into gaming, enhancing fantasy sports and iGaming by leveraging what mobile technology does best: connecting people.

PayNearMe: Right. And you’re making fantasy sports more mainstream. Like, back in the day having to do fantasy drafts in person, have this big elaborate setup, it seemed intimidating. But then once these mobile apps came out, it was like wow, this is more accessible.

Wanna: Yeah. But on the flip side, one of the beautiful things of what you described with the original way that people did it was that they were like, “Hey, let’s set aside a full day and have a draft. We’re all together. We’re all having fun.” I think it’s really cool that there are still people that keep those in-person leagues because it maintains that connectivity that I mentioned earlier. And I think as technology has grown and we’ve been able to access it from different places, sometimes people become disinterested. Even though technology has made it more accessible, it kind of lessens the community feel, and we’re trying to bring that back in.

PayNearMe: Yeah, that’s definitely an important aspect and a very cool element. On that note, what features of your platform have you heard of players loving the most? And why do you think they resonate so much with your users?

Wanna: I think the social aspect of what we’re doing is really cool. One of the things that I’ve found encouraging is that a user will come on one day, they’re maybe intimidated or don’t know how to play. They’ll ask in the chat section like, “Hey, I’m new to this game. How do I play?” And they’ll get several responses helping them and telling them how to play. And then the next day, I’ll see that same user who joined yesterday, teaching another new person how to play. So, I think that has been beneficial to our users—just like, “Hey, I have a community that I can jump in and help out. I can teach other people how to play. They taught me how to play yesterday.” And I think that’s been super cool to see in our app.

And then the other thing people love is that we have so many contests that only cost $2 to enter. The purpose of these games is for entertainment, and we don’t want to break anyone’s bank. We just want to provide a platform for users to have fun. At $2 a pop, it’s easy to play and it’s not a strain financially.

PayNearMe: Jeremy [PayNearMe sales executive], I know you’ve dabbled in the platform. Can you weigh in here a little bit? What do you think makes Wanna special from a player perspective?

PayNearMe – Jeremy: Wanna is different in the sense that there’s this community around it. I get into contests and next thing I know, I’ve got these guys with these funny usernames DMing me. They’re telling me good luck, or so-and-so is gonna lose, blah blah blah. So that part of it for me is really cool.

I also really enjoy the $2 buy-in because personally, I’m a social player. And this is more geared toward the casual player. It’s fun. The social aspect for me is what really makes it the most fun because you’re not just putting your money into this dark pit. There is nothing more exciting than logging in—especially on parlays—and seeing you hit 5 out of 6.

And I think that’s the other aspect that makes it really cool. With Wanna, it’s not just same-game parlays. As Carson mentioned earlier, all of a sudden I’m betting on and watching soccer. I’m watching WNBA games. I wouldn’t normally watch, but now I’ve got a little bit of action on it. So personally, I think it’s one of the coolest sites that we’ve seen emerge in the gaming industry. It’s social, it’s friendly and it’s just easy to get into.

Wanna: You just reminded me of something that I didn’t bring up about the public nature of our app. I can see Jeremy’s parlays from the moment he creates them to the moment they end. I think with some other apps, it’s a little more suspicious. I see all the stuff on social media about these huge parlays hitting, and sometimes I wonder, is that just a marketing tactic or did that actually happen? So we wanted to make it real for everybody. There’s no question in my mind if there’s foul play. I can see this parlay from beginning to end, I can see it when there’s two legs left, and I can track it and follow it, and maybe try to enter more parlays if I think I’m gonna get beat. So that’s something that we’ve definitely focused on—just making the game fair, transparent and letting everyone see everyone else’s picks. That also adds another element of fun—I can talk trash if you’re losing!

PayNearMe: We’ve continuously seen the importance of trust with betting apps and how if there’s one instance of suspicion, you could lose loyalty with players. So I think that’s a great tactic.

I also like that you’ve  incorporated that element of social interaction and peers helping each other the way they might already be accustomed to doing on platforms like Reddit.

Wanna: Yeah. It gives people an extra sense of purpose—belonging to a community. Our customer support team could certainly reach out and help the person, but it’s nice to empower users in our community to do that as well.

PayNearMe: Definitely. And since we just mentioned trust, we know that the payment process plays a big role in overall brand trust. Have you encountered problems with payments specifically on your platform? And how are you addressing those?

Wanna: Yeah—as a new app, people are looking for trust and credibility. The more seamless we make payments, the easier it is to gain new players’ trust. When I use apps, I notice when payments work smoothly, but most people shouldn’t even have to think about it. They only notice when something goes wrong. Ideally, like with Uber or other seamless payment experiences, payments should be so smooth that they go unnoticed. Reaching the point where players don’t even think about payments is the ultimate goal.

PayNearMe: Definitely, 100%. We’ve found that the rising expectation players have for online betting payments is for them to be as simple as with Uber or Amazon.

So while we’re talking payments, why did you choose PayNearMe to be your exclusive payments provider?

Wanna: Honestly, because of the people. We’ve worked with a lot of different vendors, and one of the things that frustrates me the most is people failing to take responsibility or passing blame on to others. I get that there’s going to be problems that happen; it’s just part of the business. Jeremy Enke and Leighton Webb [PayNearMe VP of iGaming] are the people that I’ve communicated with the most at PayNearMe. The understanding of the industry and the humility they both have is one of the main reasons why we chose PayNearMe.

Leighton actually just called me recently to apologize about a problem that had happened. And that makes me know that we made the right decision. It’s the fact that he cares enough to reach out and say, “Hey, we’re gonna make sure that this is right.” I’m very satisfied with my decision to choose PayNearMe.

Also, since making that choice, PayNearMe has done a good job at helping us get approved for financial institutions with your existing relationships. PayNearMe has helped get us approved quickly and up and running a little faster than we expected.

PayNearMe: That’s really great to hear. And now that you’re up and running—is there anything Wanna has in the pipeline in terms of product updates or exciting new features that you can talk about?

Wanna: I am excited about a new feature, but I can’t share specifics; however, it’s going to be revolutionary. No one’s doing this right now, but that feature—and most of the new features that I’m excited about—all center around community. We’re focused on how to make our community more focused and social. So, that’s the direction that we’re heading.

PayNearMe: And lastly, Jeremy, I wanted to include a little bit about your Wanna Parlay win because I feel like it says a lot about the Wanna experience and community; plus it’s just a great story.

PayNearMe – Jeremy: As Wanna was getting started, I got into a few of their contests. I’m an avid parlay bettor because it’s fun. One of their parlay contests had a trip to Brazil for the NFL game as the prize, so I jumped into that. I picked a bunch of random legs for my parlay, including Cubs baseball, some Olympic sports, soccer, etc. Then I wake up after the weekend and I’m like, “Holy cow—I have an eight or nine leg parlay and I’m six into this thing.”

So then I got really excited and started watching these games. Well, next thing you know, I’m one leg away from winning this trip to Brazil, and there’s another guy with me on top of the leaderboard. Now, mind you, he and I are going back and forth the whole time. I’m like, “Dude, are you gonna go on the trip? Hey, man, do you think this is gonna happen?” Well, I had the LA Galaxy to win some random game two weeks down the road. So it was a long sweat just waiting for this game. Well, the game starts and the LA Galaxy are doing terrible in the first half, like they weren’t scoring. I’m thinking, well, I’m out, but I had a good run. The next thing you know, they score a goal, but there’s barely any time left, and they have to get one more. Sure enough, they got one more. Wanna actually had a guy at the Galaxy game making a video about the contest! They posted on all their social channels and their whole team is rooting me on, and that’s kind of the part where it makes you feel the community aspect of the app. Sure enough I won, and the Wanna team brought me to Brazil. It was easily one of the coolest gambling experiences, but also just one of the coolest life experiences I ever had. I’m confident that Wanna will continue to offer experiences like this in the future. As a long-time recreational gambler, I know you can win $1,000 today and lose it by next week. But the memories from the Brazil trip—the experiences, the pictures—are stories I’ll be telling for the rest of my life.

Check out a recap of Jeremy’s memorable win in Wanna’s video below: