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This week: Jackpot.com lines up $10M to fuel nationwide digital lottery expansion

Also: Sporttrade seeks CFTC approval in nationwide expansion, and InsightPlay’s vision to become the “gold standard” of industry AI.

February 05, 2026

Jackpot.com lines up $10M to fuel nationwide digital lottery expansion

The news: Jackpot.com has secured a $10M revolving credit facility to support its nationwide expansion and accelerate user acquisition across regulated U.S. markets. The facility is provided by House Advantage Fund, the specialized user acquisition financing strategy offered by Discerning Capital and PvX Capital.

Zoom in: The credit facility gives Jackpot.com access to dedicated capital to scale growth in existing states while continuing its expansion into new markets. CEO and Co-Founder Akshay Khanna said the decision was driven by HAF’s flexibility and its ability to tailor financing around Jackpot.com’s acquisition strategy, combining real-time insights from PvX’s platform with Discerning’s experience structuring growth-oriented solutions. The partnership is designed to support aggressive scaling while navigating the lottery sector’s complex regulatory environment.

Why it matters: The deal highlights growing investor conviction in digital lottery as one of gaming’s largest “under-digitized” opportunities. As Discerning Capital Partner David Williams noted, traditional financing often falls short for companies pursuing growth in highly regulated markets—making alternative structures like user acquisition financing increasingly attractive. For Jackpot.com, the facility adds another lever to scale efficiently as it pushes to modernize a century-old category and expand access to mobile lottery play across the U.S.

Sporttrade seeks CFTC approval as winds shift toward federal regulation

The news: Sporttrade has formally submitted applications to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to become both a Designated Contract Market and a Derivatives Clearing Organization, the company shared on Wednesday. If approved, the move would allow Sporttrade to operate under a federal regulatory framework while continuing to run its existing state-licensed sportsbook business. The company expects a decision sometime this year.

Zoom in: Sporttrade has been licensed as a sports betting operator since 2022, operating in states including New Jersey, Colorado, and Virginia, but says federal oversight would better align with its exchange-style trading model. The company has long positioned itself closer to financial markets than traditional, house-priced sports betting models, emphasizing tighter spreads, transparency, and price discovery. CFTC approval would allow Sporttrade to deploy its full exchange, clearing, and brokerage stack at a national level.

Why it matters: Increasing state-level pressure is driving operators to seek greener pastures through federal regulation. Sporttrade follows Novig in turning toward the CFTC to go nationwide in what is increasingly emerging as the path of least resistance for newcomers and incumbents alike.

Sponsored by NEXT

The news: BettingStartups is partnering with NEXT.io for NEXT Summit: New York, bringing startup and early-stage innovation front and center at one of the industry’s most important U.S. events. The partnership spans NEXT Focus: Emerging Verticals (March 9) and the full Summit (March 10–11), with a shared goal of elevating new ideas across betting, gaming, and adjacent formats.

Why it matters: For founders, distribution and visibility are everything—and this partnership is about creating a real platform to be seen, heard, and connected early. NEXT Summit: New York brings together operators, investors, and decision-makers at scale, while BettingStartups ensures startup voices don’t get lost in the noise. 

Tickets are expected to sell out soon, so secure yours now before prices increase (and use code BETTINGSTARTUPS10 at checkout to get 10% off your full event pass)

InsightPlay’s vision to become the “gold standard” of industry AI

The news: InsightPlay.ai is positioning itself as an infrastructure-first AI platform for real-money gaming operators, focused on embedding AI directly into how teams acquire, retain, and reactivate players at scale. Fresh off announcing a $500K seed round, the founders say the momentum is coming from getting AI right beyond point solutions. “We see ourselves becoming the gold standard of the startup that got AI right in the industry,” co-founder Cristian Barbosa said on The BettingStartups Podcast this week.

Zoom in: InsightPlay’s product is a suite of conversational AI agents purpose-built for player acquisition, retention, and reactivation, designed to plug directly into existing CRM and engagement workflows. The agents automate high-volume player messaging while remaining compliance-first and fully governable across regulated markets. The platform is already live with operators and affiliates across Latin America, Europe, and North America, where scale, language, and regulation often strain traditional CRM approaches.

Why it matters: Barbosa, who previously led iGaming sales within Better Collective’s portfolio, said the opportunity emerged from seeing how difficult it was for operators to scale engagement without introducing operational or regulatory risk. As acquisition costs rise and player journeys fragment, InsightPlay is betting that AI’s real value won’t come from novelty, but from reliability, governance, and infrastructure operators can trust.

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