A significant round of fundraising
Sports betting exchange startup Sporttrade has secured $36m in funding. The Philadelphia-based company revealed details of its latest round of funding in a statement on Tuesday.
A number of notable investors from the gaming and finance sectors committed funds, including former MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren and former Nasdaq Stock Exchange CEO Tom Wittman. Firms like Jump Capital, Hudson River Trading, Impression Ventures, and Tower Research Ventures also got involved.
will go toward expanding into more states, acquiring customers, and continuing to invest in its team
In addition to raising these funds, Sporttrade also issued some convertible debt to Nasdaq Ventures. The money that Sporttrade raised will go toward expanding into more states, acquiring customers, and continuing to invest in its team.
Plans to go live soon
Speaking about this recent round of funding was Sporttrade CEO and founder Alex Kane, who said that the fundraising will help the company achieve its goal “to elevate the sports betting industry by applying capital markets principles and technology and to place the customer at the forefront.”
Jump Capital partner Yelena Shkolnik spoke about why the firm invested in Sporttrade. She said: “The US bettor will finally have a transparent open market of sports betting wagers to trade, and we couldn’t be more excited to be a partner.”
Sporttrade has not yet launched in the US market; it seeks to be the only sports betting exchange in the country. It is currently awaiting licensing and regulatory approval from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. This would be through one of Bally’s Corporation’s online sports betting skins. Once it gets the green light, Sporttrade plans to have its iOS app up and running in the Garden State during the second half of 2021.
A new form of betting in the US
Sporttrade began in 2018 and plans to offer bettors an open marketplace in which they can trade sporting events with one another in a similar way that people trade stocks. It claims that its platform will offer enhanced liquidity and tighter spreads, as well as some unique features, including the ability to always be able to trade in and out of wagers.
While Sporttrade will not accept any bets, it will take a cut of a person’s winnings from a given wager. CEO Alex Kane previously stated that the commission would initially be around the 1% mark. He also said that the commission would hopefully drop to 0.1% in three years.
