New Real-Time, AI-Priced Risk Mitigation Tool Debuts to Create a Brand-New Revenue Stream for Sportsbooks
FinTech innovator gripAI has officially introduced Play Insurance, a patented, AI-driven B2B risk product designed to convert losing bets into long-term player retention. Developed in collaboration with sports data powerhouse LSports, the solution offers players a frictionless way to protect their wagers. At the same time, it introduces a completely new, margin-protected revenue stream for sportsbook operators.
The product targets a persistent pain point in the sports betting cycle: player churn triggered by heartbreaking, close-call losses, such as a multi-leg parlay or straight bet ruined by a single goal in stoppage time.
How Play Insurance Works: Scaling Refunds by Close Margins
Traditional sportsbook retention models rely on cash-back promotions or free bets, which function as cost centers that eat into an operator’s Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR). In contrast, Play Insurance generates upfront revenue while building player loyalty at the exact moment of a near-miss loss.
The user journey is entirely automated. First, the player places a standard wager. Right after, they are offered an insurance option on their slip, with the premium priced live by gripAI’s engine. If the player purchases the insurance and the bet subsequently wins, they collect their winnings as normal. However, if the bet loses, they receive a cash-back refund that scales dynamically depending on how close their selection came to winning.
The table below contrasts standard industry promotion models with the new Play Insurance framework:
| Retention Metric | Legacy Sportsbook Promotions | Play Insurance (Powered by gripAI) |
| Financial Structure | Cost center (operators give away free play/bonus cash). | New revenue stream (players pay an upfront premium). |
| Pricing Model | Flat-rate cashback or generic bonus-back caps. | Dynamic AI pricing scaled in real-time per player and per bet slip. |
| Losing Experience | Player receives nothing or generic bonus credits. | Scaled cash-back refund based on how close the bet was to winning. |
| Cash Out Integration | Typically incompatible with active bonuses. | Fully compatible; players can cash out and keep the insurance active. |
| Integration Complexity | Requires deep core platform changes. | Standalone plug-and-play overlay that does not replace existing features. |
The Tech Under the Hood: Precision Pricing Powered by gripAI
Behind the product’s simple user interface lies gripAI’s proprietary, patented risk-management engine. The artificial intelligence model has been trained on a massive dataset of over two billion historic bets.
Instead of applying a flat cashback percentage, the algorithm evaluates live match variables in real time to calculate the premium. These variables include:
- Live, changing in-play odds.
- The total number of selections on the slip.
- The individual player’s risk profile.
- Live, in-game performance statistics.
If the wager fails, the engine instantly calculates the refund. A bettor whose selection lost by a single corner kick or a stoppage-time goal receives a significantly larger portion of their stake back than a bettor whose selection lost by a wide margin. This ensures that players walk away with a positive, protective experience, encouraging them to stay active in the app.
Executive Perspective: Deepening Engagement and Growing Revenue
The partnership combines gripAI’s proprietary insurance technology with LSports‘ global reach and sports data distribution network.
Yoav Ziv, speaking on behalf of the partnership, commented on the market rollout:
“Bringing Play Insurance to market means combining two strengths: gripAI’s breakthrough insurance technology and LSports’ reach, data, and relationships across the global betting industry. Together, we’re putting a genuinely new category in front of the operators who can act on it fastest. This is exactly the kind of innovation our partners ask us for — one that grows revenue and deepens engagement at the same time.”
