- Betting Startups News
- Posts
- Weeks 39 & 40, 2023
Weeks 39 & 40, 2023
2 M&A deals announced, 3 new startups in our Deal Corner, and a new operator with an old school approach
Betting Startups
October 04, 2023
Hello and welcome to Q4! 🥳
Pushing this one out a bit late this week as we’re taking next week off for G2E, so wanted to pack the issue extra full.
Speaking of G2E, I’ll of course be there, and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.
In this issue:
2 M&A deals announced today 👀
A new operator that’s doing things the old school way
3 new opportunities in the Deal Corner
Btw: if you enjoy this newsletter even a little bit, can you do me a solid and share it with just 1 person? I appreciate it.
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
🗞️ Hot off the press today: Fantasy Spin Games makes strategic acquisition of BettorFantasy (Link)
🗞️ Also hot off the press today: Odds On Compliance and US Integrity confirm merger to redefine compliance. (Link)
Layup, a challenger bank offering prize-linked savings accounts for sports fans, raised a $2.3 million seed round. (Link)
Blazesoft introduced its latest venture, Zula Casino, and revealed a $10m investment into its upcoming sports venture. (Link)
BeyondPlay and Play’n GO signed a new strategic partnership. (Link)
Moneyline Sports launched its AI betting platform, SportstraderAI.com, and a new crowdfunding campaign. (Link)
ALT Sports Data launched a new trading solution to bring alternative sports markets to more operators. (Link)
WagerWire entered into a new partnership with sportsbook platform provider SB22. (Link)
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.
Reservations are now closed. See you there this Sunday!
💬 Ink & airwaves
The best of what we read and listened to last week:
🎙️ Ep. 84 of The Betting Startups Podcast featured Ricky Gold, founder of Juice Reel. Guest hosted by Benjie Cherniak, Ricky talks about his experience bootstrapping, B2B sales cycles, and reaching the milestone of over $1 billion in bets tracked in the Juice Reel app. Listen now (29:57): Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Web
🎙️ iGaming NEXT dropped the latest edition of its Vested Interest series, which contained lots of useful nuggets for industry founders. Worth a spin! Listen now (67:59): Apple Podcasts | Spotify
📚 A new operator that’s doing things the old school way: Startup focus on Prime Sports. (Link)
📚 WaterhouseVC dropped its September newsletter, which did a deep dive on the Brazilian market (possibly the most talked-about market right now?!) (Link)
📚 The Earnings & More newsletter (you should subscribe!) published its always-excellent Startup Month issue. (Link)
📚 Business Insider published its list of the top 26 VCs and investors who are supporting startups in the sports tech space. Paywall. (Link)
📚 The ‘G2E Survival Guide for Founders’ includes useful tips and advice for first-time founders attending the big show next week 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 awesome growth-stage companies:
🗓️ Industry event calendar
Upcoming events relevant to early-stage companies in the space:
🚨 G2E is next week! If for some reason you don’t already have a ticket, grab a free expo hall pass on us. 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 info.
🤝 Deal corner
3 new deals hit our inbox this week! Take a look 👇
(Psst, founders: want to get your deal in an upcoming issue? Submit details here)
🆕 Raising: Social Betting Platform with a robust user base and celebrity endorsement. Backed by a dynamic community and strategic partnerships in media, this company has recently reached milestones opening greater scale and growth to capture more market share in sports gaming.
🆕 Raising: Early-stage online casino game studio based in the U.S. Its two founders have over 25 years of gaming experience. Has raised over half of its $900k rolling pre-seed round.
🆕 Raising: Pre-seed startup that allows anyone to legally create or join communities of people who bet against each other. Live product with revenue. Raising 500k, 10k minimum.
Existing deals that are still open:
(9/25) 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.
(9/25) Raising: No-rake poker platform seeking 250k pre-seed investment. Playable first version live in 2 weeks.
(9/25) 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.
(9/18) Raising: 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) Raising: Socially-driven DFS platform raising $750k. Beta launching in early November. Fantastic founding team backed by multi-exited and celebrity board members.
(9/18) Raising: 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) Raising: 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.
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.)
You’re all caught up! 🏁
As a reminder, the newsletter will take next week off for G2E, so keep an eye for the next issue on October 16th.
Safe travels to those going to Las Vegas, and hope to see many of you there! ✌️