Ep. 80: 20 years of launching businesses in the US online gambling industry w/ Cal Spears from RotoGrinders

Ep. 80 features Cal Spears, serial industry entrepreneur who joins to take us through his history in the US online gambling industry before PASPA’s repeal in 2018.

Hear him discuss:

• The online poker boom in the early 2000’s, which led him to co-found PocketFives.com in 2005
• The passage of UIGEA in 2007, which prompted him to sell PocketFives and relocate to Costa Rica with his co-founders
• Launching RotoGrinders 2010 after observing the emergence of daily fantasy sports tournaments from startup companies such as DraftKings and Fanduel
• The pivotal moment known as Black Friday in 2011, which led to him re-acquiring PocketFives, and pivoting it from an affiliate to a subscription-based business
• Negotiating a revenue share deal with Jason Robins during DraftKings’ first year in business, which “was the best financial decision [he’s] ever made”
• The 2015 DFS scandal that involved a former RotoGrinders employee, which led to the US government trying to regulate the DFS industry
• The repeal of PASPA in 2018, which paved the way for RotoGrinders’ sale to Better Collective in 2019
• Cal’s advice for younger entrepreneurs entering the space today

 

This episode was guest hosted by Cooper Lycan, founder of Sobet, which you can learn more about in Ep. 35 from last August.

 

Learn more 👇

➡️ Cal Spears on Twitter

 

Episode host:

➡️ Cooper Lycan on Linkedin

 

This episode is brought to you by GeoComply, a leading provider of cutting-edge anti-fraud and geolocation solutions that detect location fraud and help verify a user’s true digital identity.

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