Betcha bags $4m in funding from influential industry figures
Social betting start-up bolsters DFS app after financial backing from leaders including 888 founder Eyal Shaked and Tekkorp Capital CEO Matt Davey
Betcha – the real-money gaming start-up backed by several sports betting heavy hitters – has raised a further $4m in angel financing.
The social betting platform is described on its official website as a four-way cross between sports betting, fantasy, Twitter and esports. Its DFS app is now available on iOS and Android.
The $4m cash injection was achieved via financial backing from some of the industry’s most influential figures, including 888 founder Eyal Shaked.
Former SG Digital CEO Matt Davey, now CEO of Tekkorp Capital, also contributed funds, as did former MD of Don Best Sports Benjie Cherniak.
Oakvale Capital partner Sandford Loudon and former DraftKings head of sportsbook Sean Hurley completed the funding round, which added to prior investment from Sinai Ventures and Muse Capital.
The firm’s DFS app includes simple player props supported by social and gamification features.
For example, Betcha offers player props like ‘LeBron James to score more or less than 28.5 points’ across traditional sports and esports, with a social feed of picks and odds boosts for playing alongside friends, while there are also weekly leaderboards resulting in cash prizes.
The start-up’s proprietary tech stack includes an in-house Player Account Management (PAM) platform that integrates into its own DFS platform with capability for extension to third-party sportsbooks and casinos.
“I’m impressed by Betcha’s transformative vision for digital gaming combined with their ability to execute on bootstrapped resources to date,” said Shaked, who founded London-listed 888 Holdings in 1996.
“While Betcha has gone to market with a disruptive consumer gaming experience, they’ve also built a best-in-class tech platform that enables the ability to cut out expensive third-party revenue shares.”
Betcha promotes a hybrid real-money and free-to-play model, with its real-money offering reaching a majority of the US population, including in markets such as California, Florida and Texas.
Betcha has achieved impressive viral growth to date with 80% of users joining via word-of-mouth or friend referrals due to the start-up’s micro-influencer marketing strategy, which is designed to keep acquisition costs low in the ultra-competitive US sports betting market.
Social media influencers like Vegas Jake have posted Betcha picks to their followers across Instagram and Twitter, while Betcha has also become the exclusive DFS partner of FantasyGuru.com and EliteFantasy.com.
“Betcha has turned making picks on games into its own gaming experience,” said Betcha president Jason Shapiro, who was first interviewed by EGR North America in February.
“Our simplicity, social features and Peloton-esque gamification appeals to a broad range of sports fans.
“This funding marks a significant milestone for our team and we look forward to enhancing our offering with additional sports and features,” he added.