Betting Startups News for the week of September 9, 2024

The Betting Startups Newsletter is back in your life, and your inbox 🤝

NFL season has officially kicked off, bringing yet another busy week for all builders working to ride the wave of enthusiasm, excitement, and expectations for the new season. GL to all!

Here’s our rundown from last week in the real money gaming industry’s early-stage ecosystem ⤵️

📰 Headline news

• Sporttrade received its Virginia sports betting license ahead of a planned October launch in the state. (Link)

• YC-backed Novig launched its sweepstakes betting platform nationally across 42 states. (Link)

• DubClub raised a $7.5m Series A to help amateur sports bettors win more. (Link)

• Trio of industry veterans launched Defy the Odds, a startup launchpad for gaming innovation. (Link)

• RoboBot AI launched its beta to redefine fantasy sports with AI-driven insights and strategies. (Link)

• Linemate, “the Expedia for sports betting”, launched its Parlay Trends research tool. (Link)

• Verse Fantasy announced ‘VerseOdds’ integration with FantasyPros and RotoWire. (Link)

• Field Vision launched its football analytics app to provide game and player-specific predictions and analysis. (Link)

Are you an industry startup with news to share? Send us your PR for inclusion here.

💬 Ink & airwaves

The best of what we’ve read, watched, and listened to lately:

• 🎙️ Ep. 130 of The Betting Startups Podcast featured Chase Richardson from Full Pull, which is growing the sport of truck and tractor pulling. Hear him explain the sport, why he thinks it’s perfectly suited for betting, the recent launch of their real-money gaming product, and how his background as an NCAA Div 1 basketball coach helped him prepare for business and entrepreneurship. Watch or listen now (31:09): YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

• 🎙️ The NEXT.io podcast dropped an awesome episode last week with the always impressive Karolina Pelc, founder of BeyondPlay (acquired by Fanduel earlier this year). This episode focused on the lack of work-life balance for founders, with Karolina opening up about her own struggles and challenges leading BeyondPlay before the acquisition. Worth the watch! (1:21:52): YouTube | Spotify

• 📚 Sharp Alpha Advisors, the VC firm specializing in sports, gaming, and entertainment, published a new article called “Type I vs. Type II Errors in Venture Capital”. Read it here.

• 📚 A new report published by Bettormetrics (recent guests on e128 of The Betting Startups Podcast) details how operators lost over $160m in revenue last NFL season. Read it here.

💼 Great gigs

Big opportunities with awesome growth-stage companies:

• 🆕 SharpStakes, which builds sports betting tools for Gen-Z audiences, is looking for a Sales Operations Analyst. (Link)

• 🆕 Underdog is searching for a Senior Manager, Promotional Strategy to join Scott’s team. (Link)

• 🆕 YC-backed Novig is on the hunt for a Finance & Operations Director to work within its NYC offices. (Link)

🗓️ Industry event calendar

Upcoming events relevant to early-stage companies in the space:

• The Challenger Series, hosted by GeoComply and Citi, returns to Las Vegas on October 7 to kickoff G2E week. It’s a can’t-miss event for every industry founder, but space is limited and it’s over 90% full so RSVP now!

• SBC Summit rolls into Lisbon in 2 weeks, attracting 25,000+ attendees from Sep. 24-26. “The great show in gaming” once again features the First Pitch competition - hosted by Jesse - which will see one industry startup receive a prize package valued at over €100k! If you still need a ticket, use discount code BETTINGSTARTUPSVIP for €300 off yours. Event Info | Buy Ticket

• ZeroLabs is running the 3rd cohort of its Innovation Launchpad in Las Vegas on the weekend before G2E, and is now accepting applications from founders and startups. Program Info

• G2E returns to The Venetian in Las Vegas from October 7-10. 2024. Event Info | Buy Ticket

🤝 Deal corner

2 new deals for your consideration in this week’s issue ⤵️

The Deal Corner is presented by XST Capital Group, the industry’s leading financial strategists.