Week 33, 2023

Hey! The Betting Startups Newsletter is back in your life, bringing you last week’s key updates from the betting industry’s early-stage ecosystem… and there’s a lot of ‘em.

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 get rolling… ⤵️

📰 Headline news

• This doesn’t technically count as a startup ‘round these parts, but we’re making an exception for this one: Fanatics Sportsbook launched its long-awaited mobile sports wagering app in 4 states. (Link)

• Matthew Berry’s media company Fantasy Life raises $2m seed round from investors that include Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow. (Link)

• SportsVisio raises $3m seed round for AI-driven basketball analysis. (Link)

• Former NFL Pro Bowler Vernon Davis backs AI sports prediction platform Smart Picks. (Link)

• BeyondPlay receives its B2B supplier license in Ontario to officially enter the North American market. (Link)

• World Jai-Alai League partners with ALT Sports Data to enable betting on the world’s fastest ball sport. (Link)

• New betting exchange Novig has signed a partnership with US Integrity to monitor betting activity on its platform. (Link)

• Sporttrade reaches the milestone of 1 million shares traded on its platform:

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 start-up 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. 78 of The Betting Startups Podcast featured Chris Reynolds, co-founder and CEO of Epoxy.ai, which is an AI-driven personalization technology company. Listen now (34:20): Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Web

• 🎙️ The Business of Betting Podcast released a new episode with Vinit Bharara from Mojo, who hints at a new product launching soon for the NJ-based operator. Listen now (34:50): Spotify 

• 🎙️ The SeventySix Capital Sports Leadership Show welcomed Dylan Robbins, CEO of Lucra, who talks about the work Lucra is doing around pickleball. Listen now (18:53): Spotify | YouTube

• 📚 Val Martinez from BettingLadies.com explores how sportsbook operators can bring traditionally underserved female bettors into the fold. (Link)

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

Psst! If you like this newsletter, then we bet you’ll also like The Hype Report 👇

🗓️ Industry event calendar

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

• SBC Summit Barcelona is September 19-21, and it’s shaping up to be the biggest yet. The packed agenda includes First Pitch, which brings together some of the most exciting industry startups to compete for a prize package valued at over €60,000.

  Use code BETTINGSTARTUPSVIP for 50% off your Full Event Pass (€300 discount!) Event Tickets | Apply to First Pitch

• G2E is returning on October 9-12. Join over 25,000 industry professionals and 350+ exhibitors for this all-in-one experience in Las Vegas. Ticket info.

• Registration now open for NEXT Summit New York 2024! The much anticipated iGaming NEXT New York event 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. Limited tickets available at super early bird rates! Ticket info.

🙌 Something useful

The team at iGaming NEXT just released a nifty app for Slack and Teams that delivers industry news headlines directly to your workspace.

Free to install and use! Learn more.

💼 Great gigs

New jobs from leading early-stage companies in the space:

• 🆕 Kero Sports is on the hunt for Data Science / ML Engineers on its fully distributed team. (Link)

• Lucra Sports is looking for a senior software engineer. Fully remote and open to all US locations! (Link)

• Prophet Exchange is hiring business development interns in NJ. A great way to get a foot in the door! (Link)

That’s a wrap on last week’s updates! See ya again next Monday ✌️