The Next: Volume 23 with XST Capital Group

XST Capital Group presents The Next, a recurring series featuring founders, CEO’s, and key industry thought leaders to discuss the companies shaping innovation with the digital gaming sector. In this edition, XST Capital Group founder Joel Simkins speaks with Dan Zimmermann, CEO of Verse Gaming. This interview originally appeared on the XST Capital Group website.

“You recently made the strategic decision to sunset Verse Fantasy in favor of launching Verse Picks. Could you walk us through the key factors that led to this significant pivot, and what were the most valuable takeaways from operating the fantasy product that directly informed the design and launch of the new parlay platform?”

Verse Fantasy proved the technology worked. LeagueSync was the first time anyone could risk and win on their actual fantasy league matchups, and players loved it. But running DFS under real-money rules put us in a small corner of the map - 25 states, heavy compliance burden, expensive licensing. The pivot came down to two things: (1) wanting national scale from day one, and (2) seeing that prediction markets were blowing up in culture but weren’t built for casual players. The sweepstakes model solved both problems. We took the biggest lessons from DFS - users want parlays, users love betting on what they are personally interested in, users need simple UI - and rebuilt it into a product that’s available in 40+ states, with a viral-friendly content layer built in.

“Walk us through the user experience of Verse Picks. What is the core product, and how does your differentiated platform carve out a unique position in the active prediction space?”

At its core, Verse Picks is a gaming platform where users predict outcomes across sports, politics, pop culture, and breaking news. Every eligible selection is a prediction, and users can either take single entries or parlay 2–8 predictions on one slip.

The core differentiator is that we are the first and only platform (at least at the time of writing) that allows fully custom parlay building across all prediction categories. On prediction markets, the exchange dynamics limit them from offering parlays. We can.

The other core element that I’d highlight is that we are gamifying predictions. It really is as simple as that - we make predictions feel like games, like DFS or best ball. That’s what we really want to build for the playerbase - a recognizable game that feels like fun, not investing.

“The LeagueSync feature is a unique element, allowing users to connect their league to Verse. What has been the user feedback on this feature, and how do you see it evolving to deepen the connection between your platform and the broader fantasy community?“

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive - LeagueSync is sticky. Users love seeing their fantasy matchups priced out like Vegas lines, and it turns every Tuesday - Sunday slate into a week-long sweat. The biggest takeaway: fantasy managers feel validated when they can “bet on themselves.” Going forward, we’re doubling down: making parlays available across synced matchups. We see LeagueSync as the Trojan horse that keeps Verse tied to fantasy football even as we expand way beyond it.

“The new platform operates on a sweepstakes model. How does this model change your operational and marketing strategies compared to the previous real-money DFS approach? What are the key benefits and potential challenges of the sweeps model for Verse Gaming?“

The sweepstakes framework flips the map. DFS meant 25 states; sweeps means ~41 states plus DC. Operationally, that’s fewer licenses, lower legal overhead, and more flexible payout structures. Marketing-wise, it unlocks virality.

The benefits are accessibility, scale, and cost efficiency. The challenges are educating users (since VerseCoin ≠ real money) and making sure the dual-currency system makes sense. That’s why we built VerseCash rewards directly into engagement flows.

There are a lot of interesting sweepstakes products out there these days, and Verse has joined the ranks.

“Given that you've described Verse Picks as "a platform so compelling, we're confident enough to close down our DFS operation on the eve of the NFL season," what specific performance metrics or user behaviors are you tracking through the NFL season to measure success of the product-market fit?“

We’re looking at three main buckets:

1. Engagement: daily active users, average parlays per user, LeagueSync retention.

2. Conversion: % of free VerseCoin users converting into sweepstakes play with VerseCash.

3. Virality: content-driven acquisition, cost per signup, and cost per depositor staying well under $10/$100 (a key benchmark we hit in DFS).

The NFL season is the perfect stress test. If we see users consistently stacking parlays across sports + fantasy + news, and content continues driving signups at scale, we’ll know Verse has true product-market fit.

“Can you share any insights into your user data so far? What are the most popular types of parlays, and how is this data informing your long-term strategy for content creation, product development, and acquisition?”

Early data shows two clear winners: (1) parlays that mix sports with culture (e.g., “Chiefs to win + Will Trump be impeached”), and (2) pure fantasy football slips where users parlay their fantasy matchup with their friends fantasy teams in their league. Those are sticky because they combine entertainment with identity - your team, your opinions, your predictions.

Strategically, it tells us content should lean into cross-over moments. Product-wise, we’re prioritizing tools that make parlays faster to build and more fun to share (screenshots, auto-share templates). Acquisition-wise, it means we’ll keep seeding markets that blend sports + culture, since those are the ones that go viral.

“You've emphasized the importance of content creation and organic growth through Verse Media. How does this division support Verse Gaming's core business, and what role does content play in building brand recognition?”

Verse Media is our marketing engine. 70% of our signups have historically come through viral content. We treat TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts like free ad inventory - we publish memes, breaking odds graphics, and live streams that pull millions of views, then channel those eyeballs directly into the app.

Content does three things for us: it builds trust (people see us everywhere), drives organic acquisition (our CAC is razor thin), and keeps the brand relevant in daily discourse.

We like to use the phrase subliminal marketing with our viral content. You may not know exactly who we are, but you have seen us before.

“You've discussed "DFS 3.0" extensively, including recently in our 2025 sports betting sector roundtable, The Playbook. How does Verse Gaming's current product align with your vision for this next era of gaming, and what role will the Verse Picks features play in the long-term?”

DFS 1.0 was DraftKings/FanDuel - salary caps and lineups. DFS 2.0 was PrizePicks / Pick’ Em - sports betting versus the house products, fantasy sports wrapper layer.

DFS 3.0 is P2P product, sports betting wrapper.

Verse Picks is a new category entirely. We are in the midst of Predictions 1.0. Verse represents Predictions 2.0 - the gamification of predictions. That’s the “next era” I’ve been talking about: turning prediction into a social currency, where games are as much about sharing your ticket as winning it. Long-term, we see Verse Picks becoming a mainstream way of playing in the predictions space.

“You've written about the "prediction wars" and the race for market share. How do you view your position in this competitive landscape, especially with major players like FanDuel and others entering the space?”

The reality is that Kalshi and Polymarket are building incredible products, but they’re boxed in by regulation. They can’t offer the one feature that actually drives the entire sports betting economy: parlays. And without parlays, you can’t deliver that “risk a little, win a lot” experience that keeps users engaged week after week.

That’s the gap Verse fills. We aren’t trying to be a derivatives exchange for traders - we’re building a consumer app for players. Verse Picks is designed to give users the parlay experience across everything - sports, politics, culture, and their own fantasy leagues - while staying compliant under a sweepstakes model. So while prediction markets fight uphill battles with the CFTC over whether they can even mimic a sportsbook, Verse already has the most compelling part of the sportsbook product live in 40+ states.

That’s why we see ourselves not as just another challenger in the “prediction wars,” but as the company redefining what prediction gaming actually means.

“Looking at the product roadmap for Verse Gaming, how do you see the platform evolving in the next few years, and what are your main priorities in product development?”

Roadmap priorities:

1. Deeper gaming features: bigger rewards, boosted odds, smart-suggested combos, and more gamification.

2. Expanded market coverage: more sports, more entertainment, and live-in-game predictions.

3. Social layer: friend leaderboards, DM-shareable slips, and Verse Nation rankings at scale.

In three years, Verse should feel like the default “predict anything” layer of the internet - a mix of social app and prediction gaming.

“Beyond the realm of parlays, predictions, and content creation, what are some things that genuinely interest you outside of your career?”

Well for the longest time, I was obsessed with being right. It sounds silly, but I always found the idea of predicting the future and having some form of evidence to prove I did was what I enjoyed.

A lot of times that meant running Madden or NBA2k franchise simulations to see how new trades or free agent signings would work. I still like to game with friends or on high difficulties against the computer.

I also am a big current events / politics junkie, so the overlap of prediction markets and that passion is convenient. I spend a lot of time reading and listening to content in that space, and I’ve started making some of my own culture commentary content.

Thank you for the fascinating discussion on your recent shift and your goals for Verse Gaming. With all my questions for you, I think it’s only fair to now turn the tables on me. Go ahead and ask me anything you want on the industry.

Sure. Joel, I’ll flip it: how do you see the regulatory climate shaking out for prediction markets in the U.S. over the next five years? Do you think the CFTC ever opens the door wider, or is sweepstakes going to remain the only viable framework for scaling a consumer-facing product like ours?

Dan, thanks for taking your time to be in The Next. I’m trying to restrain my laughter as its been hard enough to predict the last 5 months of change in this sector let alone the next 5 years.

I do think we are in the most “Wild West” times I’ve seen in gaming since I was beginning to visit the casinos in Macau as their boom kicked off in the mid-2000’s. Bottom line, I think boundaries and norms of doing business in the sector will be pushed and stretched until we see court cases and other challenges exhausted or culminate in some boundary setting. Whether you are an incumbent or a challenger, we are clearly in the “innovate” or be left behind phase of the sector. Dynamic times for sure and standing still isn’t a strategy.

Dan Zimmermann - Biography

Dan Zimmermann is the CEO and co-founder of Verse Gaming, a next-generation sports entertainment company operating at the intersection of prediction gaming and digital media. Verse Gaming spans two core business verticals: Verse Picks, the first and only platform where players can win big on parlays across sports, pop culture, politics, breaking news, and fantasy football; and Verse Media, a rapidly growing sports and culture media brand that drives over 10 million monthly views across social channels.