FancyBet
Sports betting that feels social, not like a spreadsheet with odds
The brief
Where we started
FancyBet wanted to break from the dark, data-heavy look of traditional sportsbooks and build a betting platform that felt fun, social, and approachable for a younger, casual audience.
Design a sportsbook that feels playful without sacrificing the data serious bettors expect
Reduce the taps-to-bet from browsing a match to placing a wager
Add social features that turn solo betting into a shared, competitive experience
The challenge
What we were up against
Traditional sportsbooks are built for professionals — dense odds tables, minimal color, zero personality. That works for hardcore bettors but alienates the large, growing segment of casual sports fans who want to bet on the game with friends without feeling like they need a finance background to read the interface.
FancyBet's challenge was doing this without gutting functionality: a 'fun' betting app that hides odds movement or match context isn't useful to anyone, casual or not — the playfulness had to sit on top of real, fast, accurate data.
5 → 2
taps to place a bet on the legacy concept, cut to 2 in the redesign
What was at stake
A platform that felt too serious would lose the casual audience to more playful competitors; a platform that felt too gimmicky would lose credibility with anyone placing real money.
Our approach
How we tackled it
We studied how casual bettors actually talk about sports online to define a tone the interface could reflect without becoming a caricature.
Step 1
Audience & Tone Research
We studied how casual bettors actually talk about sports online (group chats, meme culture, banter) to define a tone the interface could reflect without becoming a caricature.
Step 2
Brighter, Still-Legible Palette
A more playful color system than typical sportsbooks, tested to make sure odds and match data stayed instantly scannable at a glance.
Step 3
One-Tap Bet Slip
The bet slip stays persistently accessible from anywhere in the app, cutting the average path to placing a bet down to two taps.
Step 4
Social Layer Prototyping
Leaderboards and shared bet slips were prototyped and tested to validate that the social layer added engagement without adding friction to solo betting.
The solution
The work, up close
The final UI covers a home feed with trending matches, sport-specific lobbies (football, basketball, tennis, esports), live betting with animated match trackers, a persistent bet-slip builder, a user profile with betting history, and a promotions section — all working across mobile and desktop from one design system.
Live matches use lightweight real-time-feeling animations on score and odds changes, so the platform feels alive during a game without resorting to distracting motion. Social features — leaderboards and shareable bet slips — sit alongside the core betting flow rather than replacing it.
Persistent One-Tap Bet Slip
The bet slip follows the user across the entire app, cutting the average bet-placement flow to two taps from a five-tap legacy baseline.
Live Match Trackers
Lightweight animated score and odds updates make live matches feel alive without introducing the visual noise typical of live-betting screens.
Social Leaderboards
Shareable bet slips and friend leaderboards turn solo betting into a group activity, adding a retention lever beyond odds and promotions.
Design details
Under the hood
Typography
A rounded, friendly display face for headlines paired with a highly legible tabular sans for odds — playful tone, zero ambiguity in the numbers.
Color palette
Components
45+ component design system spanning match cards, bet slips, and live trackers.
Responsive design
The persistent bet slip collapses to a bottom-sheet pattern on mobile, keeping the same one-tap accessibility in a thumb-friendly position.
The results
What it delivered
45+ screens across mobile and desktop
Bet-placement flow cut from 5 taps to 2
Social leaderboard + shared bet-slip system designed and tested
Unified design system across 4 sport verticals
A modern sportsbook interface that makes betting feel like a social sport — approachable for casual bettors, deep enough for enthusiasts, and visually distinctive in a sea of dark, generic platforms.
“Placeholder client quote — replace with real words before launch.”
Tools & technologies
What we built it with
FigmaFigma Prototyping
