WagerGames scores First Pitch win at SBC Americas 2025

The news: Wager Games, which integrates short-form content directly into sportsbook and DFS apps, took home the top prize at SBC Summit Americas 2025 in Fort Lauderdale, winning this year’s First Pitch competition and a $100,000 prize package.

Zoom in: Founder Kelson Quan delivered the winning pitch, leaning into a broader trend of sector-agnostic shift to video experiences and how its shaping companies from Peleton to Nike. That helped persuade a judging panel comprising investors and executives from Open Venture Capital, Cardinal Sports Capital, and Land Vegas. The company edged out four other finalists including Sidebetz, Staked AI, Prompt Bet, and Gamewagrs. 

From the source: First Pitch judge Paris Smith said the caliber of companies continues to get “stronger and stronger” each year. “WagerGames stood out to the judging panel not only for the traction they are seeing and the value they are providing to their operator partners, but Kelson's pitch was crisp and engaging.”

Why it matters: Events like First Pitch continue to underscore the real-money gaming industry’s appetite for new ideas, and how quickly the early-stage ecosystem is advancing. Also, from this year’s pool of First Pitch contestants, it’s clear there’s a concerted effort to pinpoint where and how AI fits into the mix.

“I think all of the startups are building something so cool,” Quan said after winning. “There’s a lot of great AI technology coming out,” adding that First Pitch gave him and others in the audience a chance to see how this new tech was being applied to the space. 

Quan also credited Zero Labs—a gaming-focused accelerator he went through alongside Staked AI—for helping refine the company’s pitch and strategic direction. “You take a weekend to sit down with your co-founders and figure out what the story is, what it looks like,” he said. Quan added that the venture fund’s in-house betting expertise was “super, super helpful.”

Wager Games originally started as a B2C app, but pivoted to a B2B model as traction grew working directly with partners, something Quan credits to flexible thinking and leaning into a team’s strengths.

“What's the actual work that you want to do and the things that you want to enter,” he said. For me, B2B fits our company… I love working with our clients. I love spending time with them, trying to solve all our problems.”

First Pitch will return at SBC Summit Lisbon in mid-September.

Ahead of First Pitch, BettingStartups sat down with all five finalists and recorded a video podcast dropping early next week. Subscribe to our YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music to get notified when the episode is published.