This week: Xpoint scores fresh funding for geolocation product development, global deployment

Xpoint scores fresh funding for geolocation product development, global deployment

The news: Xpoint has secured a new growth investment led by existing backer Bettor Capital, as the geolocation and compliance provider accelerates product development and global deployment across real-money gaming markets. The capital will be used to expand Xpoint’s product and engineering teams and fast-track its R&D roadmap as demand for compliant location technology continues to rise.

Zoom in: Built specifically for real-money gaming, Xpoint combines high-precision geofencing with advanced fraud detection to prevent spoofing, block unauthorized wagers, and surface suspicious activity in real time. Recent momentum includes active and pending deployments with operators like bet365 and PrizePicks in North America, alongside live clients in Brazil and the UAE, including the UAE Lottery.

Why it matters: As real-money gaming expands into more jurisdictions and formats, geolocation has become one of the most mission-critical layers of the stack—and one that increasingly influences conversion, retention, and operational efficiency. Bettor Capital’s continued backing signals confidence that infrastructure players like Xpoint can evolve from regulatory necessities into competitive advantages as operators scale across fragmented, highly regulated markets.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story referenced outdated information and was published in error. 

Coinbase doubles down on prediction markets with new acquisition

The news: Coinbase has agreed to acquire The Clearing Company, doubling down on its recent entry into regulated prediction markets. The deal comes one week after Coinbase launched prediction markets through a partnership with Kalshi. Terms were not disclosed, though The Clearing Co. had previously raised a $15M seed round and applied to become a derivatives clearing organization with the CFTC.

Zoom in: The Clearing Co. was built as infrastructure, not a consumer-facing product, focusing on the clearing and mechanics behind compliant event-based contracts. Led by founder Toni Gemayel, the team brings experience from both Kalshi and Polymarket, with a mandate to help scale prediction markets inside larger trading venues. Under Coinbase, that expertise now sits alongside an existing trading stack and millions of active users.

Why it matters: Prediction markets have rapidly moved into the mainstream and appear poised for another breakout year in 2026. By year-end, industry heavyweights FanDuel and DraftKings had both launched their own prediction products, signaling growing conviction in the category—both from consumer appetite and regulatory confidence. Coinbase’s move suggests prediction markets may ultimately sit closer to financial exchanges than sportsbooks—and that controlling the underlying infrastructure could prove to be the real strategic advantage

The industry weighs in with their 2026 predictions

Last month, we reached out to the BettingStartups community with a simple question: where is the industry actually headed next? We pulled together a handful of our favorite perspectives from the responses and included them below. (Note: Comments have been edited lightly for length and clarity). 

Adam Small, Founder & President, Third Planet Media: I think people (broadly speaking) are going to start paying a lot more attention to what's going on in the crypto casino space.

Adam Rosenberg, Co-founder, Handigraphs: DraftKings and FanDuel prediction market tools will bring the concept into the mainstream as people pivot from “I want to bet” to “can I bet on that?” mentality. It will mass scale the concept, which will effectively train people to gamify everything around them at a level we haven’t seen since Words with Friends. 

Thomas Leone, Co-founder, Parlaymint: The next breakout in betting won’t be a feature, but a format. When bettors build slips together, share outcomes, and aren’t punished for being right, behavior changes: parlay-groups reform, retention rises, and betting starts to look more like a social graph than a transaction, think: “instagram for bettors.”

Adam Chernoff, Former Canada Country Manager, Yolo Group: Affiliate brands will continue to create AI influencers on X as a way to optimize content delivery and avoid high streamer deal fees, controversy to follow.

Sam Molloy, Commercial Lead, HEROIC: The esports vertical will continue to see impressive growth and more blue chip operators will take note (more than they are now).

News, money, and alpha

• ICE Barcelona will feature 12 gaming startups through its ‘Pitch ICE’ program.

• Sharp Alpha has revealed an investment partnership with FDJ UNITED Ventures.

• Betting Hero President and Co-founder Jai Maw shared he will step down from his post and transition into the chairman role.

From the studio

Catch up on the latest episodes of The BettingStartups Podcast.

• Why web betting is dead w/ Joshua Swerdlow from ChatBet AI

• Inside the Retention Shift w/ Irakli “Marcus” Davarashvili from Promofy

You’ve made it to the end of the newsletter—seems like you should probably subscribe if you haven’t already.

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]