Week 38, 2023

Hello and welcome! We’re a day late this week since I was on a plane yesterday with no wifi… the horror 😱

In this issue:

• SBC First Pitch winner announced

• A case study of a pivot that led to $1m ARR

• 3 new opportunities in the Deal Corner - including 1 M&A

This issue is brought to you by GeoComply, a leading provider of cutting-edge anti-fraud and geolocation solutions that detect location fraud and help verify a user’s true digital identity.

Now let’s jump in… ⤵️

📰 Headline news

• SnapOdds wins the First Pitch competition at SBC Barcelona, and takes home a €60,000+ prize package. (Link)

• Betr announced that player account balances from now-defunct fantasy platform No House Advantage will be transferred to Betr Picks. (Link)

• nVenue partners with Vibra Solutions bring micro-bets to Brazil. (Link)

• The Betting Startups Podcast launches new series called The Gamble & The Glory, featuring founders that have successfully led their companies to scale. (Link)

• Wager API launches to provide better data and tooling to betting app developers. (Link)

• The fantasy saga continues: Underdog, Betr, and PrizePicks receive cease-and-desist letters in FL:

Are you an industry startup with news to share? Send us your PR for inclusion here.

Are you an iGaming founder or senior executive launching a business in the US?

We know that building a successful startup is hard and it’s not easy to do it alone, so we’re here to help.

The Challenger Series Summit is a unique networking opportunity to learn from US iGaming founders and entrepreneurs, who will be sharing the hacks, tips, and tricks to achieve high growth.

RSVP to attend the Las Vegas Summit on Oct 8, 2023 before making your way over to G2E!

💬 Ink & airwaves

The best of what we read and listened to last week:

• 🎙️ Ep. 83 of The Betting Startups Podcast featured Matt Deutsch, founder of Bettor Sports Network. Matt discusses his 17-year career as a professional sports broadcaster, his view of the sports content space, and how he’s working to innovate in the space. Listen now (31:20): Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Web

• 🎙️ The Gamble & The Glory, the latest sub-series under The Betting Startups umbrella, released Ep. 01 with GeoComply co-founder David Briggs. Hear David discuss his career in the industry, the trials and tribulations in GeoComply’s early days, and many pieces of advice for other entrepreneurs in the space. Listen now (49:42): Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Web

• 🎙️ The ‘Double Down with Breslo’ podcast featured industry investor Tom Waterhouse. Listen now (41:49): Apple Podcasts | Spotify

• 📚 Davis Catlin from Discerning Capital shared his thoughts on “the gamification of everything”. (Link)

• 📺 Evan Kirkham, CEO of popular betting app Outlier, shares his 5-step framework for how Outlier approached pivoting to find PMF and reach almost $1M ARR in under a year ⤵️

• 📚 The ‘G2E Survival Guide for Founders’ includes useful tips and advice for first-time founders attending the big show next month in Vegas. (Link)

Are you reading (or writing) something that you think belongs here? Hit reply and send it to us for inclusion

💼 Great gigs

3 of the top jobs we saw last week with early-stage companies in the space:

• Sparket just posted a new role for a customer success manager. (Link)

• The newest sportsbook on the block - Prime Sports - is looking for a sportsbook support host within its NJ office. (Link)

• Popular social betting app Pikkit is looking for a Product Engineer to join its New York-based team. (Link)

🗓️ Industry event calendar

Upcoming events relevant to early-stage companies in the space:

• G2E is only 2 weeks away! Join over 25,000 industry professionals and 350+ exhibitors for this all-in-one experience in Las Vegas. Use code BSP for a FREE expo hall pass using this link ($269 value!).

• SBC Summit Latinoamérica is coming to Miami Oct 31 - Nov 2! Don’t miss this conference and trade show for senior executives in the Latin American betting and gaming industry.

  Use code BETTINGSTARTUPSVIP for 50% off your Full Event Pass ($300 discount!) Event Tickets

• NEXT Summit New York returns March 6-7, 2024 in a new state-of the-art venue in Manhattans financial district. The summit is focused on connecting startups with investors and operators with suppliers, which makes it THE conference where serious business gets done. Ticket prices increase on October 1 - secure your early-bird pricing now! Ticket info.

🤝 Deal corner

3 new deals hit our inbox this week, including an M&A opportunity!

Founders: want to get your deal in an upcoming issue? Submit details here.

• 🆕 For sale: iOS real-time fantasy sports gaming application with full licensing, payment processing, and legal opinions to operate. Successful IOS beta ran on NFL playoffs, integrated with Sportradar real-time data feeds. Low-six figures worth of software, looking for mid-to-high 5 figure exit. Offers accepted until October 5th.

• 🆕 Raising: No Rake poker platform seeking 250k pre-seed investment. Playable first version live in 2 weeks.

• 🆕 Raising: B2B engagement and skill product providing transactional monetization for ANY streaming content across multiple streaming platforms. Developed product and wallet services, legal opinion and actively sourcing customers with multiple LOI’s in place.

Existing deals that are still open:

• (9/18) Early-stage sports betting startup just launched worldwide on the app store. Early to a trend that has yet to sweep the USA. Actively seeking capital to hit key milestones and accelerate growth. Looking to raise $1.5m-$2m seed round.

• (9/18) Socially-driven DFS platform raising $750k. Beta launching in early November. Fantastic founding team backed by multi-exited and celebrity board members.

• (9/18) London-based B2B iGaming platform provider raising up to £1.3m to scale best-in-class Player Account Management system and add an innovative rewards suite. Currently onboarding first customer and in discussions with 5 additional potential customers.

• (9/18) Differentiated + revenue-generating betting platform looking for additional investors to join its $1m+ seed round. Limited space remaining. Holds a patent and founders have domain expertise.

• (9/11) Early stage startup building golf's first real-money super app. Launched real-money gaming app this summer, acquired over 7k golfers, and processed over $250k in gross payment volume. Closing pre-seed round in the next month, less than $100k unsubscribed, $10k minimum check.

• (9/11) B2C app and the ultimate beginner-friendly funnel into sports betting. Gamification generates retention and vitality with Gen Z audiences. Over $300k TTM revenue with incredible ability to scale. Seeking low-six figure investment to grow and build adjacent revenue streams.

• (9/11) iGaming startup in SF Bay area seeking seed money for white label tech that can drive handle and profitability for operators. Tech already built. User testing via Free to Play product. Seeking investors with existing network to operators. Minimum $25k.

Are you an investor that wants more details on these opportunities? Hit Reply and we’ll tee up an intro.

(also: our lawyers told us to say that none of this is investment advice, and we have not vetted the opportunities presented here. DYOR.)

That’s it for now - see ya again next Monday! (promise we won’t be as late with it 🫣)