Tom John Or-Paz, FIRST.bet: “UltraCup reflects exactly where we believe sportsbook technology is going”

Tom John Or-Paz, from FIRST.bet., shares details about the company’s new product, a player-engagement sportsbook engine for the World Cup.

Exclusive interview.- Sportsbook technology provider FIRST.bet recently launched UltraCup, a player-engagement sportsbook engine for the World Cup. The product brings the tournament and the betting journey into one place: standings, knockout brackets, outrights, Blind Bets, and automatic Bet Builder boosts.

In an exclusive interview, Tom John Or-Paz, from FIRST.bet, shared details about the company’s new product, how it works, its main features, and player engagement in different markets. He also commented on what comes after the football tournament and how UltraCup can be applied to different competitions.

UltraCup was built to solve operators losing players to rival apps mid-tournament. How did you identify that pain point?

We saw a very simple pattern: during a World Cup, players do not only open a sportsbook to place a bet. They check the group table, the bracket, who can qualify, who their team might face next, the top scorer market, the outright odds, the live score and the match context.

In most sportsbook products, that journey is broken. The player checks one app for scores, another place for the bracket, another place for stats, and then maybe comes back to bet. Every time they leave, the operator loses attention. And in the World Cup, attention is the asset.

That is why we did not build one isolated feature. A tournament is not a list of matches. It is a full story from the first group game to the final. UltraCup brings the tournament and the betting journey into one place: standings, knockout brackets, outrights, Blind Bets and automatic Bet Builder boosts. The goal is simple: keep the player inside the operator’s sportsbook when intent is at its highest.

Blind Bets are arguably the most innovative feature in UltraCup. How does that mechanic work in practice?

Blind Bets are possible because FIRST.bet is not just displaying markets from the outside. We have our own traders, our own models, our own algorithms and our own pricing logic. That gives us the ability to calculate future tournament scenarios before the exact matchup is known.

In practice, the system looks at the possible paths inside the tournament: who can finish first or second in a group, who can meet in the next round, what the probability is for each matchup and how the odds should move as the tournament develops. These calculations are not simple. You need to model thousands of possible outcomes, simulate the different paths and then price the market properly.

The player experience is very strong because they can bet before the fixture is confirmed. That creates suspense. Then, when the opponent is revealed, the bet becomes even more engaging. Operators immediately understand the value because it turns tournament progression itself into a betting mechanic, not just a fixture calendar.

“The goal is simple: keep the player inside the operator’s sportsbook when intent is at its highest.”

Tom John Or-Paz, from FIRST.bet.

The 2026 World Cup has 48 teams and 104 matches, 50% more than previous editions. How does that change the way an operator needs to think?

More matches do not automatically mean more revenue. They mean more opportunity, but also more pressure.

The 2026 World Cup is not a short spike. It is 48 teams, 104 matches and one continuous peak with almost no recovery window. Operators need to think about it as a full tournament operation, not as a marketing campaign around a few big matches.

That volume creates more betting inventory, more live moments, more outrights movement, more qualification scenarios and more reasons to re-engage the player every day. But without the right product, it becomes noise. Players need clear navigation, tournament context, fast betting flows, strong promotions and reliable performance under sustained load.

So yes, the opportunity is bigger. But operators will have to work harder. The winners will be the ones who turn the scale of the tournament into a better product experience, not just more events on the screen.

Auto Boost Builder applies automatic boosts directly inside the bet slip. How much control does the operator have, and how complex is implementation?

The operator has very strong control. They can configure boosts by sport, tournament, league, market, customer segment and live or pre-live state. They can also set the commercial logic: minimum number of legs, minimum combo odds, minimum odds per selection and the boost percentage they want to apply.

The important point is that this is not just a basic combo bonus. In Bet Builders, selections can be highly correlated. You cannot simply say, “three legs gets a boost” and ignore the risk. The product has to understand the price, the correlation and the risk logic behind the bet.

For operators, the experience is simple. Auto Boost Builder is built directly into the bet slip, so there is no separate user journey and no heavy operational lift. The operator sets the rules, FIRST.bet handles the sportsbook logic, pricing and risk management behind it. That is the difference between a nice promotion and a real trading-led product feature.

FIRST.bet powers 75+ live operators across LatAm, Europe and Africa. Are there meaningful differences in how players from different regions will engage with UltraCup?

There are differences in behavior, but not in demand. The World Cup is the World Cup. In some markets, players are more football-native. In others, they may focus more on basketball, ice hockey or American football during the regular year. But when the World Cup starts, especially with this edition in North America, football becomes the main event.

The differences are more about how players engage. Some markets will be stronger on national-team betting. Some will lean heavily into live betting. Some will use more Bet Builders. Some will be very responsive to boosts and first-bet promotions. Mobile behaviour, session length and favourite bet types can also vary by region.

That is why UltraCup is built as one core tournament framework, but with operator-level control. A partner in LatAm, Europe or Africa can use the same engine and shape the experience around their own players, markets and commercial strategy.

UltraCup is built to live beyond the World Cup. What does the roadmap look like after the final whistle on July 19th?

The World Cup is the launch moment because it is the biggest test in football. But UltraCup was never built as a one-off World Cup campaign.

After the tournament, the same framework can be applied to the competitions that matter in each market. An operator in Peru can use it around the Peruvian League. An operator in Italy can use it around Serie A. In Brazil, it can support the Brasileirao, Copa do Brasil or other major local competitions. The same logic can also extend into basketball, tennis and other tournament formats.

The principle is the same: take the way fans naturally follow a competition and connect it directly to the betting experience. Standings, brackets, outrights, qualification scenarios, future matchups and promotions should not sit in separate places. They should work together as one continuous engagement engine.

So the roadmap is clear: World Cup first, then leagues, tournaments and recurring calendar events across multiple sports.

“The World Cup is the launch moment because it is the biggest test in football. But UltraCup was never built as a one-off World Cup campaign.”

Tom John Or-Paz, from FIRST.bet..

FIRST.bet was named Sportsbook Supplier of the Year at SBC 2025 and EGR LatAm 2025. To what extent does UltraCup reflect that product vision, and what sets it apart from competitors?

UltraCup reflects exactly where we believe sportsbook technology is going: operators need more than markets, odds and a standard bet slip. They need a complete product experience that lets them compete with the biggest B2C operators, including those that have built their own sportsbooks internally.

That is what sets FIRST.bet apart. We are a Tier-1 B2B sportsbook technology provider with a full sportsbook engine, trading, models, risk management, engagement tools and managed services. We are not stitching together disconnected features. We can take a complex idea like Blind Bets, price it properly, manage the risk, connect it to the tournament journey and deliver it inside the product.

UltraCup is a strong example of that product vision. Live standings are useful. Brackets are useful. Outrights are useful. Boosts are useful. But the real value comes when everything works together in one sportsbook experience. That is how operators stop looking like a generic betting site and start competing with the strongest consumer-facing sportsbooks in the market.

The awards validate the direction, but the product is the real proof.