Ep. 123 is our quarterly Investor Vibe Check, where we chat with 3 industry investors to get their perspective on the landscape from their side of the table. The vibe check for Q2 features Chris Grove (Acies Investments), Roger Ehrenberg (Eberg Capital) and Davis Catlin (Discerning Capital). Hear them discuss: Reflections on Q2 and the six-year ann…

Ep. 122 features Björn Nilsson from FTDx, which is transforming blocked traffic. Hear him discuss: His career journey through various payment and operator roles, including consulting for Betfair, Unibet, and others. The origins and evolution of Triggy, a product aimed to convert fans into bettors. The founding of FTDx, focusing on monetizing non-lo…

Ep. 121 features Kelson Quan from Wager Games, which is the social content plugin for sports betting apps. Hear him discuss: Growing up in San Francisco, and his background working in tech at companies like Apple Why he thinks the betting industry hasn’t received more attention from Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and investors How Wager Games is usin…

Ep. 120 features Nic Sulsky from The Curling Group, which is focused on transforming and promoting the sport of curling. Hear him discuss: His journey from co-founding Monkey Knife Fight and working at PointsBet to leading The Curling Group How he put together the deal to acquire the Grand Slam of Curling from Sportsnet The untapped potential of cu…

We're back with Ep. 7 of The Gamble & The Glory, where we meet founders that have built their companies to become stalwarts of the sports betting, fantasy, and iGaming industry. In this one, we speak with Jai Maw & Jeremy Jakary from Betting Hero. Hear them discuss: How their backgrounds laid the foundation for Betting Hero The origin story of Bett…

Ep. 119 features Zack Panos from 4casters, which is the future of sports betting. Hear him discuss: His backstory and early interest in betting The challenges and learnings in starting an exchange 4casters today and how they operate Taking an organic approach to growth with a focus on being prepared for the U.S. market His thoughts on what will dri…

Ep. 118 features Thomas Coiner from BettingStartups.com, the authoritative source for everything related to the early-stage ecosystem within the real-money gaming industry. Hear Thomas and Jesse discuss: Thomas’ background in sports media and how he entered the startup scene. The motivation behind Jesse opening up the GM role and how he filled it. …

Ep. 117 features John Maylam from 7Qz, which is a free-to-play and pay-to-play sports prediction game. Hear him discuss: Why he sees a gamified, P2P experience as the answer to many of the existing issues with sports betting His product design philosophy of making 7qz “easy enough for your grandmother to play” The story of overcoming his own sports…

Ep. 116 features Desiree Dickerson from THNDR, which is payments tech reducing risk for greater reward. Hear her discuss: Her recent experience pitching THNDR at the SBC Summit North America conference in New Jersey The origin story of how her team built THNDR to solve their own problems as developers of mobile games How the immediacy and low-cost …

Ep. 115 features Matthew Gilbery & Rob Davis from Optimove, which is the #1 CRM marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Hear them discuss: Rob’s background as co-founder of Graphyte, a personalization startup that exited to Optimove in 2022 The synergies between Graphyte and Optimove, and why the acquisition made sense for both sides How Optim…

Ep. 114 features Steven Astrachan and John Goehrke from 916 Gaming, which bring skill, interactivity, and engagement to iCasino content. Hear them discuss: Winning the $40k prize package at the 2024 First Pitch competition at the SBC Summit North America on May 9 The high-risk, high-reward approach they took to delivering their winning pitch Why th…

Ep. 113 features Lloyd Danzig from Sharp Alpha Advisors, which is a venture capital firm specializing in sports, gaming, and entertainment. Hear him discuss: Reaching the milestone of oversubscribing Fund II, and how he is feeling now that the fund has closed The similarities and differences in the process between startups raising money from VCs, a…

Ep. 112 is the official First Pitch preview episode, where we will meet the 5 startups selected to present at SBC Summit North America on May 9. In this episode, you will hear from: John Goehrke and Steven Astrachan from 916 Gaming John Pereira and Ben Howard from EdgeSports Calvin Konya from Linemate Shawn Tucker from StatX Sports Desiree Dickerso…

Ep. 111 features Andrew Pace from inplayLIVE, which is the #1 in-play sports investing platform. Hear him discuss: His background earning a living betting on sports, and how that journey has evolved over the years The “aha” moment he had during Covid to build a community of people dedicated to in-play betting How inplayLIVE has applied an e-learnin…

Ep. 110 is our quarterly Investor Vibe Check, where we chat with 3 industry investors to get their perspective on the landscape from their side of the table. The vibe check for Q1 features Connor Williams (Velo Partners), Andrew Ehrenberg (Eberg Capital) and Robin Reed (HappyHour.io). Hear them discuss: What they make of the uptick in 2024 Q1 fundi…

Ep. 109 features John Leekley & Paul Dorian from Home Run Forecast, which is an index rating that measures the favorability of conditions for ball fight. Hear them discuss: How Paul fused his background as a meteorologist with his passion for baseball to develop the Home Run Index What goes into developing a model like the Home Run Index, which is …

Ep. 108 features Chris Shreeve from Locker Room Labs, which are sports app development specialists. Hear him discuss: His background owning a marketing services agency, and the lessons he learned running a services-based business How Locker Room Labs is taking a different approach as a services business by “providing value first before aggressively…

We're back with Ep. 6 of The Gamble & The Glory, where we meet founders that have built their companies to become stalwarts of the sports betting, fantasy, and iGaming industry. In this one, we speak with Rasmus Sojmark, CEO & Founder of SBC. Hear him discuss: How his interest in the psychology of sports betting led him to study it in university, w…

Ep. 107 features Johnny Coetzer from BetLabs, which is reinvigorating the sports betting experience for bettors while helping operators elevate their game. Hear him discuss: The lessons he learned playing chess and tennis growing up, and how they prepared him for life as an entrepreneur How his idea for Boost Bets was derived from the spread bettin…

Ep. 106 features Noah Bernstein from Locker, which is getting fans off the bench and in the game. Hear him discuss: The million dollar offer he received to drop out of college to start his first company - which he didn’t take on the advice of his Mom How Locker is blending mechanics from HQ Trivia and traditional fantasy sports to create a live sec…

Ep. 105 features Trevis Waters from PlayerProps.ai, which is a new app fully powered by AI for all things player props research. Hear him discuss: How his passion for fantasy sports led him to write an ebook in 2011, which was the catalyst for him focusing his career on producing educational content within the space His journey as co-founder and CO…

Ep. 104 features Matt Rum from LoopGolf, which is golf’s premium betting app. Hear him discuss: How Matt and his co-founder conceived the LoopGolf concept while working together at Square How LoopGolf is streamlining the competitive nature of golf by facilitating popular game formats with integrated payments The regulatory complexity of the payment…

Ep. 103 features Calvin Konya from Linemate, which is sports analytics for everyone. Hear him discuss: His vision for how Linemate will become “the Expedia of sports betting” Iterating the Linemate product from its origins as a “research and analysis” tool to now helping users with “the discovery aspect” of betting How they generated 100,000+ organ…

We're back with Ep. 5 of The Gamble & The Glory, where we meet founders that have built their companies to become stalwarts of the sports betting, fantasy, and iGaming industry. In this one, we speak with Charles Gillespie & Kevin McCrystle, CEO & COO of Gambling.com Group. Hear them discuss: The go-to-market plan for launching the business in 2006…

Ep. 102 features Andrew & Ethan Ehrenberg from Eberg Capital, which help creators and their fans develop closer, more authentic relationships across sports, gaming and the arts. Hear them discuss: The origins of Eberg Capital, which they started alongside their father after graduating from university Their thesis on the betting industry, and why th…

Ep. 101 features Chris Spagnuolo from Probly, which helps bettors win more and lose less. Hear him discuss: His background in content and helping to grow Barstool “from a regionalized sports blog to a national powerhouse” Learning to use data to become a successful DFS player while working at Stokastic How Probly is using data to help people make e…

Ep. 100 features John Gordon from Incentive Games, which is the leading free-to-play games provider. Hear him discuss: The progress that Incentive Games has made since John appeared on Ep. 1 of the podcast, which includes partnerships with tier-1 operators like Fanduel and bet365 Why focusing heavily on player retention has helped Incentive Games p…

Ep. 99 features Greg Dean & Gianni Settino from HotStreak, which is AI-powered sports gaming technology. Hear them discuss: Their backgrounds at other startups, including Gianni’s time as the first engineer at Draft before its acquisition by Paddy Power Betfair The origins of HotStreak as an NFT-based collectibles game that they pivoted into the cu…

Ep. 98 features Pierre Lindh from Next.io, which is a content-driven conference company that focuses on both in-person and online events. Hear him discuss: His reflections on 2023, which included new investment, a major re-brand, and a doubling of the headcount of the NEXT.io team Rising up to meet the new challenges that come with being on a growt…

Ep. 97 is our quarterly Investor Vibe Check, where we chat with 3 industry investors to get their perspective on the landscape from their side of the table. The vibe check for Q3 features Jeffrey Haas (Dreamcraft Ventures), Quinton Singleton (Zero Labs) and Tom Waterhouse (Waterhouse VC). The investors reflect back on a Q4 that saw more funding ann…

We're back with Ep. 4 of The Gamble & The Glory, where we meet founders that have built their companies to become stalwarts of the sports betting, fantasy, and iGaming industry. In this one, we speak with Pini Yakuel, Founder & CEO of Optimove. Hear him discuss: Life in Israel right now, and how the Optimove organization is adapting to the realitie…

Ep. 96 features Kyle Wiltshire from Testa, which is crowdsourced quality testing built for the iGaming industry. Hear him discuss: His 10+ year background in the industry, and how that experience led him to discover the problem that Testa is now solving The challenges faced by operators to localize the customer experience, and the role that crowdso…

Ep. 95 features Jonathan Strause from Invincible GG, which is AI powered virtual sports. Hear him discuss: How InvincibleGG is combining AI, NFT’s, and horse racing to create a new category of “competitive gaming” The multi-year journey building the Invincible GG technology, and how he feels about the impending beta product launch The process to ge…

Ep. 94 features David Isaacson from Spectrum Gaming Capital Tech Exchange, which is helping connect gaming industry companies and investors. Hear him discuss: His background as an investment banker in the real-money gaming industry for the last 10+ years How the SGX platform is giving industry founders a new channel to reach investors with zero cos…

Ep. 93 features Shubs Kausal & Jaiden Sarai from SharpStakes, which turns your passion for sports into profits. Hear them discuss: Their passion for business and entrepreneurship, which led them to co-founding SharpStakes as full-time university students How they’re taking a different approach to building betting tools specifically targeted towards…

We're back with Ep. 3 of The Gamble & The Glory, where we meet founders that have built their companies to become stalwarts of the sports betting, fantasy, and iGaming industry. In this one, we speak with Omer Sattar, co-founder & CEO of Sightline Payments. Hear him discuss: The importance of putting in the work, and why “10,000 hours is not enough…

Ep. 92 features Ty Masterson and Dan Gentile from Bettle Fantasy Sports, which is the future of social sports gaming. Hear them discuss: The stickiness of the season-long format, as evidenced by their 20+ years playing in the same fantasy league How Bettle is enhancing the season-long player experience by introducing DFS-style mechanics to it The g…

Ep. 91 features Mike Salvaris from Pro League Network, which is betable live sports. Hear him discuss: How thoroughbred racing inspired the idea for Pro League Network by creating betable content during off-peak times What it looks like to launch and operate a “portfolio of leagues” like the World Putting League, Carjitsu, and Slapfight Championshi…

Ep. 90 features Malcolm Wilkinson and Steve Steck from We The Bookie, which is Ireland’s only truly socially-responsible bookmaker. Hear them discuss: Integrating social impact into stigmatized industries, including gambling Their unique model that sees We The Bookie share its profits with customers that have a losing month Why they picked Ireland …

Ep. 89 features TJ Ross from Splash Sports, which is the leading sports gaming platform for peer-to-peer contests. Hear him discuss: His background working in tech in the Bay area, including as founder of a startup in the 500 Startups accelerator Seeing opportunity in real-money gaming, and the “tremendously underserved” category of office pools Wh…

We're back with Ep. 2 of The Gamble & The Glory, where we meet founders that have built their companies to become stalwarts of the sports betting, fantasy, and iGaming industry. In this one, we speak with Jason Trost, founder & CEO of Smarkets. Hear him discuss: His 16+ year journey starting and growing Smarkets, which has grown to become a £20m pe…

Ep. 88 features Rourke Struthers from GameBlazers, which is empowering sports fans to create and manage their own experiences. Hear him discuss: The origins of GameBlazers as the ‘NFT League’, and the eventual pivot away from being a web3 product GameBlazers’ unique concept as a hybrid between fantasy sports and non-fantasy game, which brings toget…

Ep. 87 features Torey Korsunsky from Units, which is daily fantasy sports for the curious fan. Hear him discuss: His recent experience as a first-time attendee of G2E in Las Vegas Always having the itch to start something of his own, but why he decided to “get a bit of professional experience under [his] belt” before founding a company How Units is…

Ep. 86 is our quarterly Investor Vibe Check, where we chat with 3 industry investors to get their perspective on the landscape from their side of the table. The vibe check for Q3 features Dave VanEgmond (Bettor Capital), Jon Von Deylen (Drive by DraftKings), and Lloyd Danzig (Sharp Alpha Advisors). The discussion goes deep on the shifting operator …

Ep. 85 features Joe Brennan and Adam Bjorn from Prime Sports, which is bringing an old-school bookmaking approach to the US market. Hear them discuss: Being at the forefront of the lobbing effort that eventually led to PASPA’s repeal in 2018 Why they see big opportunity in bringing an old-school bookmaking approach to the US “Doing a really crazy t…

Ep. 84 features Ricky Gold from Juice Reel, which is optimizing the sports betting industry and enriching the sports betting experience. Hear him discuss: His experience bootstrapping Juice Reel for the first two years while working full-time at his day job How Juice Reel is helping people on their path to becoming sharper bettors Reaching the mile…

BettingStartups.com presents its newest sub-series, The Gamble & The Glory, where we meet founders that have built their companies to become stalwarts of the sports betting, fantasy, and iGaming industry. In this debut episode, we speak with David Briggs, co-founder & Director of GeoComply. Hear him discuss: His start in the industry launching Ladb…

Ep. 83 features Matt Deutsch from Bettor Sports Network, which is Sports Talk 3.0. Hear him discuss: His 17-year career as a professional sports broadcaster, and starting “the first ever radio channel dedicated to fantasy sports” on Sirius XM in 2010 How Bettor Sports Network is bringing more innovative ways for sports fans to engage Acquiring the …

Ep. 82 features Sim Harmon from Kutt, which is the social betting platform. Hear him discuss: The issues he sees with the current state of sports betting, and how he’s addressing it with Kutt’s peer-to-peer model Why he believes that focusing on social and community features will help Kutt to differentiate The opportunity he sees with bets on polit…

Ep. 81 features Megan Lanham from Rithmm, which is a personalized predictive analytics tool for sports betting. Hear her discuss: Her 10-year career as a Division 1 basketball coach, and how that experience prepared her for competing in business How she came up with the original idea for Rithmm while studying at MIT The opportunity she sees in “pro…