ChatBet AI’s plans to build sportsbooks inside WhatsApp and Telegram

When Josh Swerdlow talks about ChatBet AI, the enthusiasm is unmistakable. The Liverpool-born founder (now building from Israel) joined the BettingStartups Podcast fresh off to celebrate what he described as a big milestone for the company. ChatBet AI, which lets operators take bets directly inside apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, is starting to make the leap from promising demo to live product.

At its core, ChatBet AI positions itself as “an agent AI bookie.” It lives entirely inside the messaging interfaces bettors already use, turning natural-language conversations into regulated, compliant sportsbook wagers. That distinction matters, Swerdlow emphasized. Unlike prediction bots, and single-agent systems, ChatBet is built on a network of specialized models working in tandem: one focused on user history, one on markets and odds, another on tone and brand voice, and even one tuned to a user’s personality or cultural idioms. During a recent demo with an Australian operator, Swerdlow noted how the system leaned into more colloquial phrasing like “no worries”—personalization that helps the experience feel intuitive rather than mechanical, he says.

The go-to-market strategy reflects that same pragmatism. “We’re plugging into platforms and using that leeway to take it to operators,” he said. ChatBet is already fully integrated with Digitain and Kambi, with additional conversations ongoing. The pitch is simple: operators can offer a frictionless chat interface that converts casual user queries—typed or even voiced—into regulated bet slips without redirecting users back into traditional front-end funnels.

What makes the product compelling, though, is what happens after operators switch it on. Because usage happens entirely in chat, Swerdlow can observe every interaction in detail, something he says is transformative for product iteration. “It's not like an app or website… it's conversational,” he explained. Without UI pathways or drop-off heatmaps, the team watches real messages in real time: how early adopters start with menu commands, how returning users become fluent, and how naturally bettors begin to treat ChatBet as a familiar betting companion.

That behavioral shift is part of a larger thesis ChatBet has been vocal about: that the era of web-first sportsbooks is fading. If the browser was the interface of the last decade, messaging may well be the interface of the next. As Swerdlow put it earlier this year, “web betting is dead.” It’s the type of bold claim that resonates as operators look for ways to differentiate in increasingly commoditized front ends.

With two clients live, more integrations underway, and usage patterns accelerating, ChatBet heads into 2026 with real traction and a sharpened identity. Not as an add-on, not as an AI gimmick, but as a new surface area for how fans place bets—and how sportsbooks build relationships with them one message at a time.

Listen to the full podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.