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Ex-Polymarket team launches The Clearing Company with $15M seed round

The news: The team behind Polymarket has resurfaced with a new venture called The Clearing Company, which raised a $15M seed round led by Union Square Ventures with participation from Haun Ventures, Variant, Coinbase Ventures, Compound, and others. Co-founders Toni Gemayel, Liam Kovatch, Nira Eyal, Nick Emmons, and Jayavardhan Munnangi are building onchain, permissionless prediction markets designed to meet regulatory standards while remaining accessible to retail users.

Zoom in: The Clearing Company is framing prediction markets as “a new kind of news,” surfacing live forecasts with built-in incentives for accuracy since being wrong “carries a real cost.” Unlike predecessors that operate in regulatory gray areas, the startup is gearing itself toward compliance and transparency. “The next era of prediction markets will be shaped by the collective creativity of the internet,” the blog post reads. “To scale, markets must be fun to create, seamless to trade, and supported by novel structures that unlock liquidity.”

Why it matters: Prediction markets have long promised to aggregate collective intelligence more effectively than polls or punditry, but their regulatory status has kept them niche. With heavyweight backers and a focus on compliant infrastructure, The Clearing Company is gearing itself for mainstream adoption—without the regulatory headaches others have faced.

What Flutter looks for in the next big betting startup, and what they’ve learned from nearly 100 pitch decks

The news: What does Flutter look for in the next great affiliate startup? After reviewing nearly 100 pitch decks for Affiliate Draft 2025, the team behind Alpha Hub shared what’s stood out—and what’s falling flat. The program is focused on startups rethinking user acquisition, retention, and engagement across sports betting, and the latest cohort zeroes in on three key areas: social and community-driven betting, API-first integration, and free-to-play gaming mechanics.

Zoom in: According to Alpha Hub lead Daniel Wyles, the strongest applicants “don’t just outline the problem and their solution—they map out exactly what a partnership with Flutter would look like.” That includes showing real traction, clarity on how the solution scales, and alignment with Flutter’s Play Well strategy to ensure users are empowered with safer gambling tools. He says that while earlier rounds are focused on problem/solutoin fit, the focus later shifts to the team, including “their chemistry, their ability to take on feedback, and their hunger to always learn more.”

Why it matters: With traditional acquisition models under pressure and consumer expectations evolving, Flutter is partnering with startups to help shape what comes next. Finalists will travel to Dublin this October for an in-person pitch to Flutter leadership. Selected teams will unlock access to real-world pilots, direct support from product and affiliate teams, and potential commercial partnerships across Flutter’s global brand portfolio. Applications close August 30—apply now.

BullRush CEO on the opportunity between trading, betting, and fantasy

The news: BullRush founder and CEO Trent Hoerr joined The BettingStartups Podcast to talk about building at the intersection of trading, sports, and betting. The platform lets users enter peer-to-peer competitions with a virtual bankroll, competing for real cash prizes. “We’ve blended fantasy sports and sports betting into what I call fantasy betting,” Hoerr said.

Zoom in: BullRush has leaned heavily into gamification—badges, XP, and certificates that keep players engaged even when they lose—and listening to the right users. Early surveys skewed toward free players, a mistake Hoerr said they’ve since corrected by shifting feedback collection to its paid users, or as he puts it, “the target demographic you actually want in the product.” The platform now counts more than 150,000 users across trading and sports contests, with a sharper focus on the latter as BullRush pivots beyond its trading roots and capitalizes on “significant” parallels between the two audiences.

Why it matters: BullRush is emblematic of a bigger shift: the blurring lines between trading, betting, and fantasy. As Robinhood pushes into NFL markets and prediction platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket gain traction hedging bets on anything from elections to the weather, BullRush is staking out its lane as a skill-based, social alternative. Its bet is that competition, and not just money, will keep users coming back—adding that for some users, “it’s just about proving that you’re good at something and competing against other people.”

Listen to the full podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

Sponsored by Flutter Alpha Hub

The news: Flutter is seeking cutting-edge startups positioned to disrupt the affiliate ecosystem through social betting, tool-based integrations, and gamified experiences for its Affiliate Draft 2025. Finalists will travel to Dublin in October to pitch their big idea in-person. This is run through Alpha Hub, Flutter’s startup partnership program.

Why it matters: Through collaboration with partners like BettingStartups, Bettor Capital, and more, Flutter’s Affiliate Draft is designed to give startups an accelerated path to scale with the world's leading online sports betting and gaming company. Selected teams get direct access and mentorship from Flutter’s affiliate and product leaders, real-world testing across multiple brands, and a shot at exclusive commercial partnerships—for startups, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. Applications are free, and close on August 30—apply now.

News, money, and alpha

• Cryptocurrency casino BetHog has partnered with Optimove to enhance its marketing.

• Dub Streak debuted its iOS app, offering free-play sports prediction gameplay for all ages.

• ZOOT Studios launched with 50 in-house developed instant games designed to be "interactive, fun, and culturally relevant."

From the studio

Catch up on the latest episodes of The BettingStartups Podcast.

• The convergence of financial trading and sports betting w/ Trent Hoerr from BullRush

• SBC Summit First Pitch Preview 

• Scaling through a multi-brand rollup strategy w/ Reid Rooney from Betsperts Group

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Are you a startup in real-money gaming looking to announce a new product launch, partnership, or funding round? Get it on our radar! Email: [email protected]