Clever Advertising Acquires Pickswise From Spotlight

Key Points

• Clever Advertising finalised its purchase of Pickswise back on November 2. No one’s willing to reveal how much it cost them.
• The Pickswise name stays, the apps stay the same, and the social channels remain untouched. The new boss has promised to get the NBA and MLB Playzone games up and running too.
• Pickswise already lets you know that it picks up commissions from operators, but the question now is, who’s in charge of that cash cow?

Clever and Pickswise have been working together for a year now, and they’ve managed to rebuild the app and whip up some decent content in that time. But come November 2, Clever just went out and bought the whole shebang, without letting anyone know the price tag. One exec at Clever had an interesting comment to make on the deal, it’s worth taking a closer look.

Deal Done and Dusted, but No Word on the Price, Just a Promise to Keep Things the Same

From what Gamblers Connect were saying, the sale went through on November 2. Pickswise will keep doing what it’s been doing, with nothing changing as far as users are concerned. Pickswise launched back in 2019, covering all the big US sports, the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football and basketball, soccer, and the UFC. It’s big on daily picks, best bets and giving users the lowdown on live odds at all the major US sportsbooks.

It seems Pickswise is churning up about 1.4 million visits a month, but we don’t know when that was or how they came up with the figure.

Why a Marketing Agency Wanted in on the Action?

Before this purchase, Clever had its sights set on the paid media and search stuff for licensed operators. These routes rely on other platforms to bring in the audience, and they charge for the privilege.

But Clever sees itself as a bit more than just a marketing agency, they claim to be performance marketing specialists for the top-shelf iGaming operators out there. With over 350 specialists on the team, they say they’re all about revenue share and CPA deals with no fees and no minimums.

Now that they own Pickswise, they get to tap into a different kind of audience, folks who are already keen on sports and want to know the reasoning behind a pick before they lay down some cash to bet. According to Rui Meireles, chief publishing officer, that’s exactly the kind of crowd the licensed operators are after. He says Pickswise is their most important US asset now.

He made another interesting point, there are two groups at play here: people who want to know why a particular pick is recommended, and the operators who want to reach those people. Clever is banking on Pickswise being the key to getting to both of those groups.

And as for future plans, Clever is promising to invest in the Pickswise brand, starting with some new Playzone games for the NBA and MLB. Still no word on a launch date for those.

Spotlight Gives Pickswise to Focus on Racing

Spotlight Sports Group CEO Mark Renshaw called Clever “the right owner” for the site’s next chapter.

As cited by iGB Affiliate, Renshaw commented that the sale has allowed the group to “sharpen [its] focus on Racing Post.” Racing Post is the group’s racing magazine that covers the UK and Ireland.

Pickswise was created in 2019 by Spotlight. It is now not in the group’s focus area that covers only the world of racing.

A Year of Preparations Behind the Handover

The deal had been in process for some time. According to the iGB Affiliate, the cooperation began in late 2025 when Spotlight and Clever announced their strategic partnership.

In the framework of that agreement, Clever served as the equal partner in creating the improved Pickswise application. It was mentioned that the brand recently ranked among the 100 best US sites for sports betting content.

Among other things, there were also figures related to Clever’s 2024 performance. The company registered more than 25.6 billion impressions and almost one million new depositors. The numbers came directly from the company.

Racing Post had already become part of the two companies, and Renshaw called Clever “an innovative, results-driven partner.”

Thanks to the agreement, the company got Playzone. It started with NFL Career, which is a free football simulation offering players a 20-season career.

In early 2026, Clever acquired a stake in the SEO affiliate company iGamingNuts, which works in the regulated market of Poland. Together with Pickswise and iGamingNuts, this shows that the company adds content assets to its marketing services.

What Changes for Readers and Operators?

The most immediate change for readers seems to be minimal: Pickswise retains its website, apps, and social accounts. The company promised not to change anything at the moment of the sale.

For operators, the situation changes due to the fact that they now cooperate with the marketing agency that owns a site with sports betting content. Bettors use Pickswise to evaluate picks and compare the odds to decide where to place their bet. Clever provides paid media and influencer campaigns to operators. In this way, it reaches out to the same audience through its own site.

Campaign tracker, compliance dashboard, and data integration are other tools offered by Clever.

What the Announcements Don’t Say?

The purchase price is still a secret. According to the iGB Affiliate, Clever ended up snapping up the whole lot, a 100% stake, before the deal was done.

The traffic figures also need to be taken with a grain of salt. In the 2025 announcement, Spotlight described Pickswise as getting a big chunk of “millions of monthly visits” but then the November update reports 1.4 million, same monthly visits, same reporting method, but no mention of which month it’s for or how they’re counting things.

The promise that life will go on as usual for users doesn’t have an end date and the announcements were made. It only covers the situation at the time the handover happened, not any long-term direction the site might take.

The announcements we looked at don’t even go so far as to say who’s going to be in charge of Pickswise’s picks team now that Clever has the reins. Clever has announced it’s going all-in on NBA and MLB Playzone games as its first investments in the brand, but still no word on when they’re going to launch.

Expert Opinion: Can You Ever Really Trust a Free Picks Site?

We reckon the question of transparency deserves a lot more attention than the actual sale. Pickswise has been upfront about its affiliate disclosure, that it might earn a bit of cash if readers click through and sign up to one of the operators it’s partnered with.

It also says that its picks and editorial opinions are entirely independent, not swayed by the fact that it’s getting paid by the operators. Readers are given a heads-up on the fact that they’re earning commissions from the bookies they refer customers to.

Pickswise’s terms go even further, they say the site gets paid every time someone moves from the site to an operator and signs up for a new account.

So it seems the commission model was already in place under Spotlight, just the name of the boss pocketing that income has changed. Some readers might say “So what?”, The change is just the name of the owner behind the curtain.

We don’t quite agree. A company that gets paid for sending players to operators has a pretty clear incentive to push picks that convert into sign-ups; that’s not necessarily wrong, but it does create a conflict of interest. Nothing in the purchase announcements suggests anything dodgy has gone on though.

Trust is what matters here, readers rely on the site’s advice when making their betting decisions. We don’t see any research from the executives saying how readers feel about the brand or its picks.

Defenders of the arrangement have a point too. Pickswise says its affiliate income helps keep the lights on, pays for the people who do the editorial work, and the money doesn’t come directly from readers. Clever’s specialist ownership might even improve things, they’ve launched an app that lets people react to each pick.

The disclosure text we looked at doesn’t mention Clever, and fair enough, given the deal was only recently done. But if they wanted to be completely transparent, they could easily add a clear ownership statement right next to the picks.

Ultimately though, readers can also make their own judgment about how the site presents its recommendations.