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Episodes
Tuesday Feb 17, 2026
Tuesday Feb 17, 2026
Ep. 198 features Pierre Lindh, founder of NEXT.io, returning for his fourth appearance on the Betting Startups Podcast. Pierre reflects on NEXT.io’s breakout year, the transition from scrappy startup to growth-stage business, the role of investigative journalism in iGaming media, and why emerging betting products may go global in 2026.
Hear them discuss:
How 2025 became a “12-year overnight success” after more than a decade of compounding momentum
The shift from runway preservation to investing aggressively in growth
Why founders inevitably become bottlenecks and how to let go without losing vision
The importance of finding a true operational counterbalance as a visionary leader
Why sustainable scaling beats short-term overexpansion in a cyclical industry
How AI is reshaping media and why human journalism may become more valuable, not less
The commercial trade-offs of integrity-led investigative reporting
Game theory, AI acceleration, and why safety may lose to competitive pressure
The explosive growth of NEXT New York and what makes it a senior-level dealmaking event
His 2026 prediction: emerging products like prediction markets and sweepstakes expanding globally
If you don't have a ticket for the Next.io Summit in New York event yet, use discount code BETTINGSTARTUPS10 for 10% off your full event pass. Grab your ticket here: https://next.io/summits/newyork/
Catch the video version of this episode here.
Learn more 👇
➡️ Next.io website
➡️ Pierre Lindh on Linkedin
📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/
Tuesday Feb 10, 2026
Tuesday Feb 10, 2026
Ep. 197 features Benson Bleier and Daniel Prior, Co-Founders of Regen, an automated savings platform built specifically for sports bettors. break down how Regen helps bettors automatically save money on every bet — win or lose — and why they believe savings and investing can become a core part of sustainable gaming.
Hear them discuss:
Benson and Daniel’s paths from consulting, VC, and professional poker into building a betting-adjacent fintech startup
How the founders met in Argentina through padel and decided to launch Regen
How poker bankroll management inspired the original idea behind Regen
What Regen does: automated savings triggered every time a sports bet is placed (win or lose)
How the product works, including sportsbook connections, bank integrations, and user-set saving rules
Why users save on both wins and losses and how typical saving percentages are set
How Regen aggregates betting activity across multiple sportsbooks to provide simple performance insights
Why Regen positions itself as a fintech, “gambling-adjacent” product for operators and bettors
How Underdog’s Guard Dog fund discovered Regen and why it invested
Regen’s roadmap, including operator integrations, investing products, and its vision for sustainable betting and financial education
If you don't have a ticket for the Next.io Summit in New York event yet, use discount code BETTINGSTARTUPS10 for 10% off your full event pass. Grab your ticket here: https://next.io/summits/newyork/
Catch the video version of this episode here.
Learn more 👇
➡️ Regen website
➡️ Ben Bleier on Linkedin
➡️ Daniel Prior on Linkedin
📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/
Tuesday Feb 03, 2026
Tuesday Feb 03, 2026
Ep. 196 features Javier Troncoso and Cristian Barbosa, Co-Founders of InsightPlay.ai, an AI-powered engagement platform using autonomous agents to help operators acquire, retain, and reactivate players at scale.
Fresh off a busy ICE Barcelona and a newly announced seed round, Javier and Cristian join Jesse Learmonth to break down how Insight Play is redefining player engagement through conversational AI and what it takes to build an AI-native startup in global gaming.
Hear them discuss:
Javier and Cristian’s paths from media, affiliates, and iGaming into building an AI-native startup
How InsightPlay.ai was founded and why they went all-in on autonomous AI agents
What InsightPlay.ai does: conversational AI agents that drive acquisition, retention, and reactivation
Real-world use cases including win-back campaigns, VIP engagement, onboarding, and support
A live demo showing AI agents making personalized outbound calls to bettors
Why conversational AI changes sportsbook UX from static interfaces to 1:1 interaction
Early traction in LATAM, rapid deployments, and lessons from launching with real operators
Performance metrics, reactivation success, and how AI complements CRM and call centers
Closing a $500K seed round, choosing strategic investors, and founder fundraising realities
The roadmap ahead, global expansion plans, and why the World Cup is a major growth catalyst
If you don't have a ticket for the Next.io Summit in New York event yet, use discount code BETTINGSTARTUPS10 for 10% off your full event pass. Grab your ticket here: https://next.io/summits/newyork/
Catch the video version of this episode here.
Learn more 👇
➡️ InsightPlay.ai website
➡️ Javier Troncoso on Linkedin
➡️ Cristian Barbosa on Linkedin
📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/
Wednesday Jan 28, 2026
Wednesday Jan 28, 2026
Ep. 195 features Jonathan Baxandall and Gavin Puszczalowskyi, Co-Founders of Bettortainment, for a deep dive into live betting watch-alongs, sportsbook retention, and why most operators still underinvest in in-play engagement.
Hear them discuss:
Jonathan’s decade-long career in iGaming, B2B data and acquisition teams
Gavin’s 20+ years in radio broadcasting and early in-play content work with William Hill
The origins of Bettortainment and why “live” is the most valuable moment to engage bettors
What a betting watch-along really is and why it’s more than just commentary
Why retention consistently matters more than acquisition, yet remains underserved
How sportsbooks lose customers during live play and how to prevent it
The balance between data, entertainment, and betting prompts in live content
Why community-driven engagement outperforms passive content
The limitations of AI in live sports content and the importance of human reaction
Bettortainment’s white-label approach and making premium content accessible to smaller operators
How affiliates can use live content to drive engagement and differentiation
Bootstrapping the company, founder risk, and early startup realities
Why the 2026 World Cup represents a massive opportunity for live betting content
If you don't have a ticket for the Next.io Summit in New York event yet, use discount code BETTINGSTARTUPS10 for 10% off your full event pass. Grab your ticket here: https://next.io/summits/newyork/
Catch the video version of this episode here.
Learn more 👇
➡️ Bettortainment website
➡️ Jonathan Baxandall on Linkedin
➡️ Gavin Puszczalowskyi on Linkedin
📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/
Tuesday Jan 20, 2026
Tuesday Jan 20, 2026
Ep. 194 features Noah Fulk, Founder and CEO of EWagers, for a deep dive into building compliant, skill-based wagering infrastructure and the hard lessons learned from pivoting a gaming startup from B2C to B2B.
Hear him discuss:
Noah’s background as a lifelong gamer and the early inspiration behind Ewagers
The original B2C vision for peer-to-peer wagering and why the model ultimately failed
The pivotal decision to pivot from consumer-facing product to B2B infrastructure
What Ewagers does today, including payments, KYC, geofencing, and compliance tooling
The underestimated complexity of building regulated gaming infrastructure
Fundraising lessons, early structural mistakes, and navigating tougher capital markets
Why profitability doesn’t necessarily make scaling easier
The importance of advisors and experienced operators in avoiding costly errors
Key signals that confirmed the pivot to B2B was the right move
What’s next for Ewagers and the long-term vision for the platform
Catch the video version of this episode here.
Learn more 👇➡️ EWagers website
➡️ Noah Fulk on Linkedin
📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/
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This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry.
Tuesday Jan 13, 2026
Tuesday Jan 13, 2026
Ep. 193 features Scott and Warren, founders of PokerLab, for a deep dive into the evolution of online poker and how PokerLab is positioning itself as a modern “Poker as a Service” platform built for today’s operators and players.
Hear them discuss:
PokerLab’s origin story and the founders’ decades-long careers in poker and iGaming
What “Poker as a Service” really means and how PokerLab differs from legacy poker platforms
Why poker remains one of the stickiest products in gambling despite years of decline
The rise of short-form poker and why attention spans are changing product expectations
The overlap between poker players, sports bettors, DFS users, and prediction market participants
Why poker can serve as a powerful acquisition and retention tool for operators
Regulatory considerations, taxes, and the divide between professional and recreational players
The upcoming Canadian Poker Network launch and what PokerLab hopes to prove
Lessons learned from building multiple startups and navigating timing, conviction, and risk
Catch the video version of this episode here.
Learn more 👇➡️ PokerLab website
➡️ Scott Wilson on X/Twitter
➡️ Warren Dombowsky on Linkedin
📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/
---
This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry.
Thursday Jan 08, 2026
Thursday Jan 08, 2026
Ep. 192 features Jesse Learmonth in a special "Ask Me Anything" edition of the Betting Startups Podcast, where he flips the script and answers questions from founders, operators, and builders across the gaming ecosystem.Hear him discuss:
The biggest lessons from nearly 200 podcast episodes, including why industry experience and distribution matter more than ever for startup success
What surprised him most in 2025: prediction markets, the blurring lines between betting, finance, and speculation, and what that means for founders
Common mistakes founders make, from confusing personal pain points with real market opportunities to poorly framing “use of funds” in pitch decks
How bettors are evolving, why access (not tools) is now the biggest constraint, and how prediction markets are changing the landscape in 2026
Jesse’s vision for Betting Startups in 2026, including new products, events, a tech platform, and plans to raise strategic (non-institutional) capital
Catch the video version of this episode here.
Learn more 👇
➡️ Jesse Learmonth on Linkedin
📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/
---
This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry.
Wednesday Dec 17, 2025
Wednesday Dec 17, 2025
Ep. 191 features Joshua Swerdlow, from ChatBet AI, an AI-powered sports betting platform built to deliver smarter, more personalized betting experiences through data and conversational technology.
Hear him discuss:
Josh’s background and the leap he took moving from England to Tel Aviv
What ChatBet is and how he is using AI to reshape the sports betting experience
What his go-to-market strategy was and major lessons from launching
Why Josh believes that the user experience sits at the center of ChatBet’s product philosophy and why it is so key
The realities when it comes to gaining capital in the start up world
How Josh has navigated the startup ecosystem from working with startups to now running his own
How Chat Bet AI uses data-driven insights to create better outcomes for bettors
Key lessons learned as a first-time founder
The vision for 2026 and ChatBet’s long-term growth and engagement strategy, hint the World Cup is involved
Catch the video version of this episode here.
Learn more 👇
➡️ ChatBet AI website
➡️ Joshua Swerdlow on Linkedin
📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/
---
This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry.
Friday Dec 12, 2025
Friday Dec 12, 2025
Ep. 190 features Irakli “Marcus” Davarashvili, Founder & CEO of Promofy, for a deep dive into the global rise of AI-powered gamification and how operators are rethinking loyalty, engagement, and retention.
Hear him discuss:
His 13-year journey across advertising, brand building, and iGaming leadership and how operational pain points at scale inspired him to build Promofy
What Promofy is: an AI-driven, no-code gamification platform that lets operators launch loyalty systems, missions, sports predictors, prize drops, kiosks, and full-page engagement experiences in minutes
How Promofy’s rapid traction and product innovation led to winning “Launch of the Year” at the Starties, and why that recognition validated the team’s vision and executio
Why global operators misunderstand “gamification,” and how true gamified ecosystems differ from simple bonuses, cashbacks, and tournament
The massive market shift away from bonus-led retention to personalized and behavior-driven engagemen
Regional adoption trends across LATAM, Europe, Asia, CIS, and North America plus why gamification is becoming “must-have” instead of “nice-to-have
How Promofy differentiates itself with AI design tools, content generators, sports prediction engines, casino loyalty, and a full library of mechanics that operators can test and optimiz
The challenges and realities of fundraising as a first-time founder, why saying “yes” and “no” matter equally, and what kinds of investors Promofy is seeking today
The transition from operator to entrepreneur expectations vs. reality, resilience, failure tolerance, and why agility is a survival skil
Why 2026 will be a breakout year driven by global expansion, new product launches, and massive demand heading into the World Cup
Catch the video version of this episode here.
Learn more 👇
➡️ Promofy website
➡️ Irakli Davarashvili on Linkedin
📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/
---
This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry.
Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
Ep. 189 features the three co-founders of Golden Camel, Artie, Ben, and Ryan, for a lively deep dive into building a sports-betting lifestyle app rooted in community, fun, and authenticity.
Hear them discuss:
How a series of career pivots led them to partner up on Golden Camel a number of years after the original idea was sparked
Why Golden Camel rejects “beat the house” culture, instead leaning into fun and community - while also still providing utility
Why they see brand as a differentiator within the betting tools category, and how they plan to leverage that to acquire users
The state of U.S. betting culture in 2025, the rise of prediction markets, and why they feel they're in the right place at the right time with Golden Camel
Their go-to-market strategy in Arizona, and why authentic content + in-person community building is their biggest growth engine
Why they think that Silicon Valley VC's have largely been absent from the sports betting industry, and how they see that evolving
Catch the video version of this episode here.
Learn more 👇
➡️ Golden Camel website
➡️ Artie Baxter on Linkedin
➡️ Ben Ramirez on Linkedin
➡️ Ryan Magrum on Linkedin
📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/
---
This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry.