LSports Play Insurance: How AI Bet Insurance Works for Sportsbooks

LSports has partnered with insurtech firm gripAI to launch Play Insurance, an AI-priced bet-protection product that lets sportsbook players insure a wager for a small real-time premium and receive a partial refund when a losing bet comes close to winning. Announced on 16 July 2026, the product is aimed squarely at the "near-miss" moment, the point where a bettor watches a bet fail by a whisker and often walks away. Instead of an all-or-nothing loss, Play Insurance pays out on a sliding scale tied to match statistics, and LSports says early data shows 37 percent of players take the insurance offer while 39 percent of those buyers come back for more.

What is LSports Play Insurance?

Play Insurance is a bet-insurance product that refunds part of a losing stake based on how close the bet came to landing. Built by AI insurtech company gripAI and distributed globally by sports-data provider LSports, it sits inside an operator's existing betslip. A player pays a small premium when placing a bet, and if that bet loses, the payout is scaled to the closeness of the result rather than paid as a flat cashback. The two firms describe it as a way to "turn every loss into player retention and new revenue," according to the joint announcement carried by iGaming Business on 15 July 2026.

How does Play Insurance work?

The core mechanic is a real-time premium and a graded refund. When a bettor adds insurance to a wager, gripAI's pricing engine calculates a bespoke premium for that specific player and that specific bet. If the bet loses, the player still receives a payout, with the amount scaled to how near the selection came to winning, measured through live match statistics rather than a simple win or lose flag. That is the feature the developers argue changes the psychology of betting, because a bet that misses by one goal or one point is no longer a total write-off.

• Premium: a small fee added at bet placement, priced live per player and per bet.
• Trigger: the bet loses, but match statistics show it was close.
• Payout: a partial refund scaled to the closeness of the result.
• Compatibility: works alongside Cash Out, so a player can cash out and keep insurance in place.

Key facts and numbers

• 2.5 billion bets: the volume of historical betting data gripAI's pricing engine has been trained on, per LSports and gripAI (2026).
• 37 percent: the share of players who accept the Play Insurance offer when it is presented, according to LSports (2026).
• 39 percent: the share of insured customers who buy the product again, according to LSports (2026).
• 16 July 2026: the public launch date reported by SBC News.

Why does the near-miss matter to sportsbooks?

The near-miss matters because it is one of the most common points at which a bettor loses faith and stops playing. Operators pour heavy acquisition spend into signing up players, so churn at the emotional low point of a narrow loss is expensive. Play Insurance is designed to convert that moment into a reason to stay rather than a reason to leave. Yoav Ziv, Chief Revenue Officer at LSports, framed the problem directly.

"Retention is one of the hardest problems our operators face, and the near-miss is where they lose players," said Yoav Ziv, Chief Revenue Officer at LSports.

How is the premium priced?

The premium is priced dynamically by gripAI's patented engine rather than set as a fixed rate. The system weighs live odds, the number of selections on the slip, and the individual user profile to produce a premium in real time. Because the price reflects real risk on each bet, the model is built to protect operator margin rather than erode it the way blanket cashback promotions can. gripAI positions this as fair, risk-based insurance, and its chief executive contrasted it with the traditional structure of betting.

"Betting has always been all-or-nothing, and that is exactly what we set out to change," said Tal Hayon, Chief Executive Officer at gripAI.

How does it differ from parlay insurance and cashback offers?

Play Insurance differs from familiar parlay insurance and cashback offers because it is priced per bet and pays on a graded scale rather than a fixed trigger. Traditional parlay insurance, offered by major US sportsbooks, typically returns a bonus or refund only when a specific condition is met, such as one losing leg on a multi-selection parlay of a set size. Cashback promotions usually hand back a flat percentage of net losses over a period. Play Insurance instead charges a live premium and settles on closeness to winning, which the developers argue keeps the economics sustainable for the operator.

Play Insurance vs traditional bet-protection offers

Feature	Play Insurance (LSports and gripAI)	Typical parlay insurance	Typical cashback
Cost to player	Live per-bet premium	Free promotional add-on	Free promotional add-on
Payout logic	Scaled to how close the bet came to winning	Fixed refund on a set losing condition	Flat percentage of net losses
Pricing	AI-calculated per player and per bet	Standardised rule	Standardised rule
Operator margin	Designed to preserve margin	Marketing cost	Marketing cost
Cash Out compatible	Yes, runs alongside Cash Out	Varies	Not applicable

Who are LSports and gripAI?

LSports is a global provider of real-time sports data solutions that supplies feeds, trading tools and player-engagement products to sportsbooks worldwide, and it acts as the distribution partner bringing Play Insurance to operators. gripAI is an insurtech company focused on fair, data-driven insurance products for betting and gaming, and it built the pricing engine at the heart of Play Insurance. The pairing combines LSports' operator reach with gripAI's risk-modelling to package insurance as a plug-in feature rather than a bespoke build.

How will operators integrate it?

Operators integrate Play Insurance through a lightweight connection designed for rapid deployment, according to LSports. Rather than rebuilding the betslip, sportsbooks add the insurance option as a layer that draws on gripAI's pricing engine and LSports data, which lowers the technical barrier to going live. The product also runs in parallel with Cash Out, so operators do not have to choose between the two engagement tools and players can use both on the same wager.

What does it mean for player retention?

For retention, the pitch is that a graded refund keeps a bettor engaged past the point where they would normally quit. The early figures LSports has shared, a 37 percent take-up rate and a 39 percent repurchase rate, suggest that when the option is offered many players use it and a meaningful share return to it. Retention has become a defining battleground in mature betting markets where acquisition costs are high and understanding how much bookmakers make from big events depends heavily on holding onto customers between them.

What does it mean for operator revenue?

On revenue, the product is positioned as additive rather than a giveaway. Because each premium is priced to the real risk of the individual bet, the insurance line is intended to generate income while still paying fair refunds, which is a different economic model from a promotion that simply returns money to losing players. If the take-up and repurchase rates hold across a wider operator base, insurance premiums could become a standalone revenue stream layered on top of standard betting margin.

Where does Play Insurance fit in LSports' wider strategy?

Play Insurance extends LSports' push beyond raw data feeds into engagement and monetisation products. The launch follows the company's recent expansion in Latin America, including a multi-year data agreement with Mexico's Caliente Interactive, as the firm builds out a broader portfolio for operators. Adding an AI-priced insurance product signals an intent to sell outcomes, retention and revenue, rather than only the underlying statistics that power them.

What are the responsible-gambling considerations?

Any product that softens the sting of a losing bet invites scrutiny on responsible gambling, and operators deploying Play Insurance will need to weigh how a graded-refund mechanic sits alongside their safer-gambling controls. Insurance that reduces the finality of a loss can be framed as consumer-friendly, but regulators and responsible-gambling advocates typically examine whether such features encourage continued play. As with any engagement tool, the onus falls on licensed operators to keep it inside their affordability, monitoring and 18-plus safeguards.

Frequently asked questions

What is LSports Play Insurance?

Play Insurance is a bet-protection product from LSports and gripAI that lets a player pay a small AI-calculated premium to insure a wager and receive a partial refund when the bet loses but comes close to winning, based on match statistics.

When did Play Insurance launch?

LSports and gripAI announced Play Insurance on 16 July 2026, with LSports distributing it to operators globally.

How is the premium calculated?

gripAI's patented pricing engine sets the premium in real time for each player and each bet, factoring in live odds, the number of selections and the user profile, and it is trained on 2.5 billion bets.

Does Play Insurance work with Cash Out?

Yes. Players can cash out a bet and keep the insurance in place at the same time, so the two features run alongside each other.

How is it different from parlay insurance?

Parlay insurance usually gives a fixed free refund when a set condition is met, while Play Insurance charges a live per-bet premium and pays a graded refund scaled to how close the bet came to winning.

Updated July 2026. Reporting based on announcements from LSports, gripAI, SBC News and iGaming Business.