The sports betting market is booming.
In 2023, sports betting and gambling companies raised over $150 million from VCs.
Between new incumbents such as ESPNBet, and Fanatics Sportsbook, 38 states legalizing some aspect of sports betting, and more emerging startups in the space than ever before, it’s an amazing time for the industry.
Surprisingly, it’s only been five years since the US Supreme Court cleared the way for all 50 states to offer sports betting, though feels as though it has been part of our culture for a much longer time.
Here are some interesting facts to consider according to Statista:
- Sport betting apps in the US brought in over $9 billion in revenue in 2023
- The worldwide gambling market is expected to reach $133.9 billion by 2028
- The NFL generated the most revenue for sports betting apps in the US in 2023
- About one in five US adults say they have personally bet money on sports in some way in the last 12 months
- Soccer is the most bet-on sport in the world
Several major acquisitions took place during the year as well:
- Dave Portnoy acquired Barstool Sports back from Penn Entertainment for $1
- Fanatics purchased PointsBet for $225 million
- Flutter acquired MaxBet for €141 million
- Entain CEE acquired STS Holding for £750 million
- Yahoo purchased Wagr
Giants such as FanDuel and DraftKings have led the way with over 70% market share of the online sports betting sector, but several other companies, many of which are early-stage, are also vying for a piece of this multi-billion industry.
Let’s dive into some of the up-and-coming players in the space…
Here Are 15 Sports Betting Startups To Keep An Eye On
Boom Entertainment
Founders: Stephen A. Murphy
Website: https://www.booment.com/
Location: New York City, NY
Year Founded: 2015
What they do: Boom Entertainment is building the next generation of free-to-play, real-money sports betting, and casino products. Working with professional sports leagues, media companies, casinos, sports books, and retail companies — using our platform and gaming technology to help our partners achieve their overarching objectives, whether that’s regarding fan engagement, digital freemium monetization, loyalty programs, or sports betting and real-money monetization.
Previous raise: $5.9 million Series B
PlayerProfiler
Founders: Matthew Kelley
Website: https://www.playerprofiler.com/
Location: Fairfield, CT
Year Founded: 2014
What they do: PlayerProfiler helps sports fans make faster, more informed gaming decisions with the industry’s most powerful SaaS tools and mobile apps.
Previous raise: $2.5 million Seed
Kero Sports
Founders: Tomash Devenishek
Website: https://www.kerosports.com/
Location: Miami, FL
Year Founded: 2019
What they do: Kero Sports powers in-game micro-betting experiences using proprietary in-house algorithms. The technology converts real-time play-by-play data into highly contextual micro bets – delivering new bets every 30 seconds for an immersive and consistent betting experience.
Previous raise: $5 million Seed
Rithmm
Founders: Megan Lanham
Website: https://www.rithmm.com/
Location: Boston, MA
Year Founded: 2022
What they do: Rithmm is for anyone who wants to make smarter bets. Effortlessly build your own custom analytical model in seconds. Using your instincts as a starting point, our powerful back-end handles the tough stuff for you. Your custom model then provides predictions for every game, complete with your recommended picks, scores, win probabilities, and edge on the market.
Previous raise: $2 million Seed
Fanup
Founders: Tejas Bodiwala & Cary Weir Lytle
Website: https://fanup.app/
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Year Founded: 2020
What they do: FanUp is the fastest-growing fandom and fantasy community where sports & pop culture fans win social experiences with their favorite athletes, celebrities, and brands.
Previous raise: $4 million Seed II
Betr
Founders: Joey Levy & Jake Paul
Website: https://www.betr.app/
Location: Miami, FL
Year Founded: 2022
What they do: Betr is the first direct-to-consumer micro-betting-focused sports betting company. Betr is setting out to disrupt legacy gambling and legacy media to make sports and betting better.
Previous raise: $35 million Series A
Prophet Exchange
Founders: Dean Sisun
Website: https://www.prophetbettingexchange.com
Location: New York City, NY
Year Founded: 2018
What they do: Prophet Exchange is a high-frequency sports betting exchange.
Previous raise: $15 million Series A
Alt Sports Data
Founders: Joe Dunnigan, Todd Ballard & Michael Jordan
Website: https://www.altsportsdata.com/
Location: San Diego, CA
Year Founded: 2021
What they do: ALT Sports Data is a proprietary sports trading and customer data company that offers alternative sports disciplines.
Previous raise: $2 million Seed
Bet Caddy
Founders: Tony Ryan & Braden Gebavi
Website: https://betcaddy.tv/
Location: Chicago, IL
Year Founded: 2023
What they do: Bet Caddy guides users through their sports betting and fantasy plays, automatically syncing with their sportsbook accounts to keep track of individuals’ bets, fantasy, and DFS lineups. The platform alerts users to pivotal moments impacting their stakes before they are shown on TV and provides direct links to games, allowing Bet Caddy users to watch the action as it unfolds in real time.
Previous raise: $200,000 Pre-Seed
NextGen Games
Founders: Shawn Budd
Website: https://www.nextgengames.co
Location: Sydney, Australia
Year Founded: 2023
What they do: NextGen Games is an online sports betting, casino, and machine learning platform.
Previous raise: $100,000 Pre-Seed
Vault Sports
Founders: Caleb Dykema
Website: https://www.vaultsportshq.com/
Location: Austin, TX
Year Founded: 2020
What they do: Vault Sports helps sportsbook affiliates by providing media and technology solutions that help them drive more conversions and revenue.
Previous raise: Yes but not disclosed
Juice Reel
Founders: Ricky Gold
Website: https://www.juicereel.com/
Location: New York City, NY
Year Founded: 2019
What they do: Juice Reel built the most robust sports betting tool on the market, capturing data and attention from sports bettors, which powers their B2B and B2C businesses. Beyond the app, really unique and interesting data — $3.1B of bets synced into their app so far which is massive for a small startup, data is being used by Truist and JMP Securities right now
Previous raise: Around $5 million
InPlay.ai
Founders: Gianni Settino & Greg Dean
Website: https://www.inplay.ai/
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Year Founded: 2021
What they do: InPlay.ai builds AI-powered sports gaming technology. Our fully automated micro-markets, odds origination, and risk management are live in the HotStreak Fantasy app (top 100 in the US App Store)
Previous raise: $9 million since 2021
Fanblock
Founders: Johan Greeff
Website: https://www.fanblock.com
Location: United Kingdom
Year Founded: 2023
What they do: Fanblock allows all fans to collect and build their own history by purchasing digital blocks of their team’s home pitch.
Previous raise: $2.75 million in 2023
Sparket
Founders: Evan Fisher
Website: https://www.betsparket.com
Location: New York City, NY
Year Founded: 2019
What they do: Sparket has created Social Betwork, a bet-on-anything platform that democratizes live event wagering with community-based pools. We help our B2B partners acquire users and increase revenue through new content offerings from traditional sports to reality TV, golf clubs, and alternative events via our free-to-play whitelabels and real-money gaming integrations.
Previous raise: $1.8 million pre-seed through 2023
