The Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association named PlayerProps.ai Sports Betting Business of the Year for 2025. It is the first company other than FanDuel and DraftKings to win the award.
The AI-powered sports betting education and analytics platform is “designed to help bettors make informed decisions.” I sat down with CEO Trevis Waters this week to hear how he is trying to educate novice gamblers and grow the business.
Waters explains that the vast majority of the market have “suboptimal betting literacy” because there has never been anyone or anything to teach them properly. While many betting research apps are aimed at more sophisticated gamblers with high betting literacy, PlayerProps.ai targets beginners, aiming to make “sports betting smarter, safer, and more accessible for everyone.”
And there is a real need for betting education among casual gamblers, says Waters.
“I have one of, if not the largest, Facebook groups of US sports bettors, with about 200,000 people in it. The majority of those members are on the lower end of that betting literacy scale,” Waters explains.
“I’m seeing on a daily basis throughout the day the worst humanly possible decisions. Decisions that I didn’t even think were possible in terms of people are betting on things that they don’t even know what has to happen in the actual game for that bet to win,” he adds.
Proactive Education vs. Reactive Mitigation
While critics might argue that encouraging a group of uneducated bettors to gamble is irresponsible, Waters argues the opposite. Rather than responsible gambling measures, which tend to focus on reducing problem gambling after harm has occurred, he is aiming to proactively educate the casual bettor so they do not reach that stage of harm.
“Responsible gambling is a bunch of firefighters who are trying to put out fires. I am teaching you how to cook so you don’t set your house on fire in the first place,” he says.
Some groups have shifted focus towards prevention rather than treatment. For example, Tracy Schrans, CEO of Focal, told us that, “It is easier, less costly, and less stigmatizing to help people before harm develops or escalates than to respond after the fact.”
However, many regulators and operators only actively promote responsible gambling to users who are already showing signs of problems.
Waters says he aims to combine his years of experience in education, sports betting, and live entertainment to educate all gamblers, not just those categorized as high risk.
“Let me just combine all of my entire resume into being the person that’s creating the handholding, the education layer, to essentially curb problematic gambling as much as possible. I believe these bettors with suboptimal betting literacy are the most likely to develop bad habits because they’ve never had the opportunity to know what to do and what not to do. For example, bet all of your money on 15-pick parlays and things of that nature,” Waters says.
While responsible gambling groups typically separate bettors based on their risk of developing gambling problems, Waters has different categories.
“There’s just two types of bettors,” he says. “There’s bad bettors that make bad decisions, and there’s smart bettors that make good decisions. You have a choice. Which category do you want to be in?”
First Step: Financial Literacy
One of the foundational lessons he teaches is strict bankroll management, specifically a guideline he calls the “20-80-20 rule.” The first absolute rule of the system dictates that a user must never risk more than 20% of their total bankroll at any given time.
Additionally, wagers should be allocated primarily to “safe” bets, with only a small portion of the bankroll going on higher-risk bets, such as parlays.
Waters notes that most casual bettors don’t even realize they need to manage a bankroll in the first place.
“I’ve had about 105,000 users register an account on my app. If you were to ask any of them who’ve been in the system for at least six months or more, what’s the number one thing that changed their life, I think 99% to 100% would say it’s my bankroll management guideline,” Waters says.
PlayerProps.ai charges almost $500 for a yearly subscription, a fee Waters says most bettors should see as good value.
“For 99.99% of bettors risking more than $10/day, it’s a no-brainer. The annual cost breaks down to about $1.37/day. Pay the cost of a cup of coffee, and you can significantly curb betting losses,” he says.
But after users learn the importance of managing their finances, some conclude that it is wiser not to pay this fee.
“Trevis, you are right. I don’t have money I can afford to lose,” one user wrote to Waters. “I need to step away from all things sports betting for now.”
Although he admits he does not want to lose revenue, Waters says this is a perk of making a difference in people’s lives. He also adds, “If that person ever gets back in a good spot financially, I’m the only app they’re ever going to use again because I got them to that point of recognizing their situation.”
Waters says he has also cut down his own betting, as he reinvests all his own funds in the company. He is seeking investment and hopes to close a seed funding round in August.
“Because all of my funds are going into the company, I do not have money that I can afford to lose,” he says. “The other thing as well is that the high that you get from winning a bet has been replaced. Three years ago, if I turned $100 into $200, just a simple double up, that was great. Where I’m at now is I actually get more excited—much more excited—for somebody in my community turning $1 into $2.”
Limiting Losses Rather Than Promising Riches
One of the main things PlayerProps.ai does for now is highlight bets not to make. Waters says he does not promise that users will turn a profit.
“We’re not going to make you millionaires,” he admits. “I don’t promise you’ll be rich, and you can quit your job, but I can make sure you don’t lose your house. You just have to follow these guidelines.”
Part of it is “rewiring someone’s brain to what a success looks like when it comes to sports betting.”
Recently, I talked to Professors Robert Scott and Mikhail Sher, who emphasized that consistently making a profit from gambling is far harder than most people believe. “I tell people, it’d be way easier to go to college, medical school, become an orthopedic surgeon, make a million dollars a year to become a multi-millionaire than it is to become a professional sports gambler,” said Scott.
Waters similarly preaches that immediate profit from betting is unrealistic, but gamblers can at least place smarter, well-informed wagers.
“I teach people that there are two types of losses,” he explains. “There are avoidable losses, and then there are losses due to bad luck or variance. If you can make it to where the only losses that you have in sports betting are bad luck or variance and not bad decision-making, then your losses shrink exponentially.”
AI Powering Recommendations
The app uses AI technology to assist bettors. It analyzes stats, identifies trends, and, if users follow the bankroll guidelines, they can feel more confident in their decision-making when placing bets.
AI is growing in sports betting. FanDuel launched Ace AI, an AI-powered betting assistant. DraftKings has plans for something similar. ChatBet is another tool that helps gamblers place wagers.
Waters believes the company is well-positioned to utilize AI to benefit bettors. The company is developing an AI coach to help users follow its golden rules, such as bankroll guidance.
The next version of the app will integrate the community, currently on Discord, into the platform. Waters says he is moving “away from Discord to allow infinitely more customizable features for the community.”
“I’ve grown this community, and I hold users to a certain standard. I have more guardrails on what you can and can’t do in my community than anybody else in sports betting. There’s no toxicity, nobody makes fun of you for asking questions,” Waters says.
However, he notes that many users are reluctant to ask questions. That is why he is launching an ask AI feature, which may help users feel less embarrassed about raising doubts about their betting.
There are many other plans in the pipeline, including WiserWager, a Duolingo-style tool that teaches people the fundamentals of sports betting. All of the tools are designed to assist bettors, helping them to limit losses and maybe even turn a profit.
The common cliché in betting is “the house always wins,” Waters says. He wants to make it so that the house doesn’t always win, or at least the bettor’s house isn’t set on fire or sold to pay off gambling debts.
