Sports betting operator Sporttrade announced it raised $36 million in funding from private investors from the financial services and gaming sectors to strengthen its position in the US.
Attracting Investor Interest
The Philadelphia-based fintech company received funding from Jump Capital, Impression Ventures, Hudson River Trading, and Tower Research Ventures, as well as from former CEO of MGM Resorts International Jim Murren and former NASDAQ CEO Tom Wittman.
Sporttrade also issued convertible debt to Nasdaq Ventures to complete the funding and generate capital for customer acquisition, expansion into other states and investment in talent to further strengthen its position as a sole operator of sports betting exchange in the US.
“Our mission is to elevate the sports betting industry by applying capital markets principles and technology and to place the customer at the forefront. Today marks a significant broadening of our coalition to achieve that mission.”
Alex Kane, Founder and CEO, Sporttrade
The fintech company, founded in 2018 with the aim to revolutionize sports betting, applies principles from the capital markets utilized in stock trading to make gaming more responsible and democratize customer experience by leveraging technology advancements into its platform.
“We are thrilled to back Alex and his amazing team at Sporttrade. They have built a retail trading solution for betting, reflecting pricing based on win probabilities and allowing users to easily trade in and out of any position.”
Yelena Shkolnik, Partner, Jump Capital
Revolutionary Sports Betting Venture
Sporttrade’s open marketplace considers sports betting as stock trading, offering participants tighter spreads, more liquidity and some unique features like the option to trade in and out of bets at any time, as well as “always on” in-play trading.
“To enable low-cost wagers, they’ve assembled a team from across capital markets and betting, locking in partnerships with institutional market making partners to enable a powerful and liquid exchange. 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.”
Yelena Shkolnik, Partner, Jump Capital
According to another participant in the funding round, co-founded by David Frohardt-Lane and Brandon Moran company Delavan Lake Investments, the aim to “leverage the benefits of stock market investing for the recreational sports trader” and Sporttrade CEO’s “drive to apply financial markets principles” for the benefit of the customer were the main drivers behind the company’s decision to participate in the funding and take part in this “revolutionary venture”.
Operating out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sporttrade is continuously investing in acquiring new talent from the fintech, trading, and sports betting industries and is currently boasting a team of over 50 professionals.