The problem
Losing feels worse when you almost won. A near-miss on a Power Play lineup: where the average win rate sits at just 25%: left members with no recourse. No way to cut losses. No way to lock in a partial win. Once submitted, the only option was to wait. That passivity was eroding trust and pushing users toward competitors who gave them more control.
Retention risk
Members who experienced frequent losses were significantly more likely to switch to a competitor
Decision anxiety
High-engagement users wanted real-time decision-making tools: the product wasn't giving them any
Revenue volatility
Concentrated bets on popular projections created high variance in hold
What I designed
Early Payout lets members settle an active lineup before it fully completes. Once at least two players are in action, a dynamically-priced payout value appears on eligible lineups. Members swipe to accept and the payout is instantly credited: no waiting for games to finish.
Key decision
Swipe to confirm
A deliberate gesture: not a tap: that creates intentionality before a financial action. Harder to trigger accidentally, harder to regret.
Key decision
Dynamic value display
The offer updates in real time as player performance shifts: so checking back on the lineup feels rewarding, not anxious.
Impact: 90 days post-launch
Early Payout launched October 2025. The 90-day lookback revealed the feature wasn't ending sessions: it was extending them.
The key insight
Of the $58.3M paid out via Early Payout, 92.2% ($53.8M) was already recovered through recirculation and future play within 90 days. This isn't money leaving the ecosystem: it's money moving faster inside it.
Total paid out
$58.3M
paid to users via Early Payout since launch
Recirculated
92.2%
$53.8M recovered
returned through future play within 90 days
Handle per deposit
+1.6%
Early Payout users play more per dollar deposited
Re-entry rate
~60%
place another lineup within 30 minutes of cashing out
Time in My Lineups
+22%
Early Payout users spent more time in the Sweat tab
Page interactions
+3.6%
Lift in interactions: users checking back on their payout value
Session behavior
↑
Turns "I'm done for tonight" into "Let me fire one more"
Retention: the quiet power
Early Payout users retained at meaningfully higher rates than standard win users: not just for a week, but for months. The gap widens over time.
Week 1
vs 94% standard win
Week 4
vs 86% standard win
Week 8
vs 79% standard win
Early Payout doesn't end the session: it extends it. It turns "I'm done for tonight" into "Let me fire one more."
What's next
30-min hot window
Surfacing targeted prompts in the 30 minutes after a cashout to capture the re-entry behavior already happening organically
Expand availability
Extending Early Payout to more stat types and leagues beyond the initial rollout
Discoverability
Making Early Payout eligible lineups more visible through the feed and player packs