The Betting Startups Podcast

The Gamble & The Glory: Ep. 2 - Jason Trost, Smarkets

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 per year business
How his background in financial trading gave him the idea to launch Smarkets in 2007 to compete with Betfair in the UK
Taking 7 years before Smarkets "turned the corner" as a business, which required "the right combination of extreme hubris with extreme work ethic"
How his passion for politics led Smarkets to become one of the largest global prediction markets for politics
Why he thinks "with the benefit of hindsight, [he] really screwed up the strategy in the US"
Why the current state of the betting industry makes him "quite sad" and "bums [him] out"
Taking over as host of The Business of Betting podcast, and why he thinks about podcasting as "the next generation of AM radio"
 
Learn more 
➡️ Smarkets website
➡️ Jason Trost on Linkedin
➡️ Jason Trost on Twitter
 
The Gamble & The Glory is made possible by Segev LLP, a full solutions law firm purpose built for the gaming and betting industry. To learn more, visit: www.segev.ca 

Ep. 88: Making a game of fantasy sports w/ Rourke Struthers from GameBlazers

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 together “the best of two worlds”
Bringing the thrill of pack opening to a digital experience, and the need to ensure that it remained “very engaging and… tactile”
How the product gameplay was designed to allow users aged 13+ to access it in a compliant manner
The iterative process of designing a game from the ground up, and how they decided which mechanics to incorporate into the game
The importance of having a long-term time horizon and the ability to iterate and adapt within it
His experience raising capital from a single angel investor, and the trade-offs he sees with that strategy compared to raising from institutional investors
Learn more👇
 
➡️ GameBlazers website
➡️ Rourke Struthers on Linkedin
 
 
This episode is brought to you by the much anticipated NEXT Summit New York event, which returns March 6-7 2024 in a new state-of the-art venue in Manhattans financial district.
With 1,000 senior  delegates expected, the summit is focused on connecting startups with investors, and operators with suppliers, which makes it THE conference where serious business gets done.
Tickets are now available at www.next.io

Ep. 87: Adding narrative and storytelling to DFS w/ Torey Korsunsky from Units

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 combining DFS with “helping fans focus in on the narratives that are most interesting”
His take on the current regulatory scrutiny being placed on DFS platforms, and what that means for his ambitions with Units
What he sees as “the 3 most important things in raising money” that led to him closing a pre-seed round for Units
Why he puts so much time and effort into investor updates, which are “some of the best investor updates” that his stakeholders have seen
 
Learn more 👇
➡️ Units website
➡️ Torey Korsunsky on Linkedin
 
This episode is brought to you by the much anticipated  NEXT Summit New York event, which returns March 6-7 2024 in a new state-of the-art venue in Manhattans financial district.
With 1,000 senior  delegates expected, the summit is focused on connecting startups with investors, and operators with suppliers, which makes it THE conference where serious business gets done.
Tickets are now available at www.next.io

Ep. 86: Investor vibe check for Q3!

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 landscape in Q3, the increasing role of AI and what excites them about it, and some actionable advice for founders looking to raise in a challenging environment
 
As always, if you're building within the space, the Investor Vibe Check is a must-listen episode.
 
Learn more 👇
 
➡️ Dave VanEgmond on Linkedin
➡️ Jon Von Deylan on Linkedin
➡️ Lloyd Danzig on Linkedin
 
This episode is presented by The Betting Startups Newsletter, which is the easiest way to keep up with the betting industry's early stage companies. 
It's a free weekly publication that gives you all the headlines around new fundings, partnerships, and product launches. It also includes the extremely popular deal corner, where we share investment opportunities in industry startups that are looking to change the game.
Take 10 seconds and subscribe now.

Ep. 85: Bringing old-school bookmaking to America w/ Joe Brennan & Adam Bjorn from Prime Sports

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 thing ahead of launching” and talking directly to customers that felt underserved by incumbent operators
The non-obvious reason why cutting into the existing operator market share isn’t their primary objective
Their long-term approach to Prime Sports, and why they won’t begin to think about it as a success or failure until after World Cup 2026
Why they see the current market leaders as being “the McDonald's and Burger King of betting”
Their #1 piece of advice for new entrants coming into the betting industry
The most surprising thing to each of them about how the regulated US market has unfolded
 
Learn more 👇
➡️ Prime Sports website
➡️ Prime Sports on Twitter
➡️ Joe Brennan on Linkedin
➡️ Adam Bjorn on Linkedin
 
This episode is presented by The Betting Startups Newsletter, which is the easiest way to keep up with the betting industry’s early-stage companies.
It’s a free weekly publication that gives you all the headlines around new fundings, partnerships, and product launches. It also includes the extremely popular Deal Corner, where we share investment opportunities in industry startups that are looking to change the game.
Take 10 seconds and subscribe now at news.bettingstartups.com

Ep. 84: Tracking over $1 billion in bets w/ Ricky Gold from Juice Reel

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 milestone of over $1bn in bets tracked on the platform
His ideas for how data generated by the JuiceReel platform can be productized for adjacent use cases
The challenges of B2B sales cycles, which was the biggest surprise to him as a founder
The camaraderie that gets developed with other founders in the space that got started around the same time
Which other industry startups and founders have impressed him the most
Learn more 👇
➡️ Juice Reel website
➡️ Ricky Gold 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.
 
Going to G2E Las Vegas? Claim your free expo hall pass ($269 value) by using promo code BSP when you register using this link. 

The Gamble & The Glory: Ep. 1 - David Briggs, GeoComply

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 Ladbrokes' first digital offering in 1999
Launching GeoComply to support New Jersey's iGaming rollout in 2013, which was "the most stressful time in [his] career"
The "very difficult, hard yards" of GeoComply's first 5 years, and "grinding out the smallest incremental bits of growth" during those years
How GeoComply prepared for PASPA's repeal in 2018, and David's thoughts on the first five years of regulated online gaming in the US
The importance of being committed in business and in life, and why "commitment is its own reward"
How he thinks about work-life balance, and why having it "isn't the same as being half-assed about your career"
Embracing rejection as an entrepreneur, and the importance of maintaining humility 
GeoComply's first acquisition of OneComply earlier this year, and why it was "a very natural first acquisition"
Championing The Challenger Series event, and why he wants "to bring a bit more power back to founders"
 
Learn more 
➡️ GeoComply website
➡️ David Briggs on Linkedin
 
The Gamble & The Glory is made possible by Segev LLP, a full solutions law firm purpose built for the gaming and betting industry. To learn more, visit: www.segev.ca 

Ep. 83: Building a modern sports talk network w/ Matt Deutsch from Bettor Sports Network

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 Fantasy Alarm app earlier this year, and the role of gamified experiences in content
Why he thinks the content space isn’t yet saturated - even though it’s crowded
The importance of “leaving on a good note” when you make career changes, and how that’s paid off for him
Current efforts to raise a $1.25m round, and the type of investors he is looking for to join the cap table
 
Learn more ⤵️
➡️ Bettor Sports Network website
➡️ Matt Deutsch 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.
 
Going to G2E Las Vegas? Claim your free expo hall pass ($269 value) by using promo code BSP when you register using this link. 

Ep. 82: Building a peer-to-peer social betting platform w/ Sim Harmon from Kutt

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 politics, entertainment, and other non-sports markets
Bootstrapping Kutt “until he couldn’t anymore”, and the challenges associated with fundraising
The personal sacrifices required to take an idea from zero-to-one
His predictions for the Superbowl - which might have been compromised after week 1!
 
Learn more ⤵️
➡️ Kutt website
➡️ Sim Harmon 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.
 
Going to G2E Las Vegas? Claim your free expo hall pass ($269 value) by using promo code BSP when you register using this link. 

Ep. 81: Making predictive analytics accessible to all w/ Megan Lanham from Rithmm

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 “providing access to incredibly complex analytical models” in an intuitive user experience
Competing as a subscription-based B2C product in the ‘betting tools’ category, and the B2B opportunities she sees for Rithmm
Her experience raising $3.75m over the last year from investors that include Boston Seed
The importance of being “targeted and disciplined with staying the course” as an early-stage startup
 
Learn more ⤵️
➡️ Rithmm website
➡️ Megan Lanham 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.
 
Going to G2E Las Vegas? Claim your free expo hall pass ($269 value) by using promo code BSP when you register using this link.