This week: Xtremepush brings loyalty in-house with Scrimmage acquisition

Also: Betlabs closes seed round for dynamic parlays, and we answer your most burning questions by way of an AMA in this week’s podcast.

Author

Cody Luongo
January 08, 2026

Xtremepush brings loyalty in-house with Scrimmage acquisition

The news: Xtremepush has acquired Scrimmage, a U.S.-based loyalty platform, as it accelerates the rollout of XP Loyalty—its native, real-time loyalty engine. The deal brings Scrimmage’s technology directly into Xtremepush’s unified data layer, complementing its existing CRM, CDP, and free-to-play products. Scrimmage CEO Dan Taren has joined Xtremepush as Head of Loyalty Product to lead the integration and product roadmap.

Zoom in: The acquisition is aimed at solving a familiar industry problem: loyalty programs that operate as disconnected bolt-ons with limited impact on retention or lifetime value. XP Loyalty is being positioned as a fully integrated engine controlled by CRM and marketing teams, enabling live personalisation across points, missions, challenges, levels, operator currencies, and custom widgets. By embedding loyalty directly into real-time customer journeys, Xtremepush says operators can reduce wasted incentives and drive faster returns on player LTV.

Why it matters: The move signals a broader push toward consolidation in the engagement stack, as operators face rising taxes, tighter regulation, and fewer levers for differentiation. With loyalty now native to its platform, Xtremepush is betting that unified, real-time engagement will define the next phase of player retention. It’s also something of a full-circle moment for Taren, who outlined the underlying thesis on the BettingStartups Podcast in 2023: “surprisingly, money is less of a motivator for people than you might think… you need a specialized loyalty program” to drive long-term engagement.

AMA: Prediction markets, smarter bettors, and founder lessons

The news: This week’s episode of the BettingStartups Podcast took a slightly different shape. Instead of a single startup story, the team opened up the inbox for an AMA-style conversation with its founder Jesse Learmonth, tackling questions from founders, operators, and builders across the betting ecosystem. Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.

John Wright, StatsDrone

Q: After interviewing hundreds of founders and investors, what are the biggest lessons you’ve taken away?

A: The founders who consistently have an edge are the ones who worked in the industry before starting a company. That experience gives you nuance, context, and relationships you just can’t get from the outside. Distribution also matters more than ever, and some of the biggest opportunities aren’t the sexy consumer ideas—but the unglamorous infrastructure that actually enables the industry to function.

Shivam Shorewala, Rimble

Q: What happened in 2025 that caught you completely by surprise but ended up being highly impactful?

A: The obvious answer is prediction markets. They went from being on the periphery to dominating the conversation, especially once sports contracts launched. What really surprised me wasn’t just their emergence, but how they blurred the line between gambling, financial trading, and speculation—forcing us to rethink what “betting” even means.

Adam Rosenberg, Handigraphs

Q: Are bettors getting smarter—and what will they be looking for in 2026?

A: Bettors already have more tools and edge than ever. The real problem isn’t information—it’s execution. Getting limited or restricted is the biggest ceiling on success, which is why prediction markets have been a welcome development. They don’t guarantee an edge, but they do let bettors actually get a bet down.

Tom Lemke, SavageTech

Q: What keeps you motivated after four years of doing the podcast, and what are your plans for 2026?

A: What keeps me going is hearing from founders who say the podcast makes the journey feel less isolating. For 2026, I’m thinking much bigger than just a podcast—doubling down on content while expanding into events and launching a tech platform designed to better connect founders, investors, and operators across the ecosystem.

Betlabs closes seed round for dynamic parlays

The news: Betlabs has closed a fully funded seed round backed by SportsContentCo LLC, a licensed U.S. sports betting supplier with approvals across nearly every regulated state. The investment pairs capital with regulatory reach and operator access as Betlabs scales distribution of its Dynamic Parlays product.

Zoom in: Dynamic Parlays rework the traditional parlay model by allocating payouts based on how many legs win, rather than requiring a perfect card. CEO & Founder Johnny Coetzer previously articulated the problem Betlabs is solving on the BettingStartups Podcast back in March 2024: “Why isn’t there a sports betting market where I can place my bets on my team and the better my team performs, the bigger my payout becomes?”

Why it matters: For early-stage betting startups, distribution and licensing are often harder to secure than product-market fit. Betlabs will gain a faster path to U.S. operators by partnering with a fully licensed supplier, while positioning Dynamic Parlays as a lower-variance, higher-engagement alternative to standard parlay formats.

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