Female and casual player-focused startup Betty secures $5m in funding
New York-based firm nets six-figure capital injection as it looks to tap into “underserved” player demographics in North America
Betty has announced it has secured $5m (£4.1m) in seed funding for its real-money online casino aimed at a diverse audience focused on female slot players.
Karlani Capital led the latest funding round, with additional investment coming from CEAS Investments, Courtside Ventures, Gaingels, OCA Ventures, Subversive Capital and 305 Ventures.
The latest capital injection from these firms follows Betty’s successful pre-seed funding in March 2022 in which it secured $1.8m.
The new investment will fund Betty’s operations in Ontario, following the firm’s licence award in the province on 24 January 2023.
The firm aims to soft launch in Ontario at some point this month, with a full-scale go-to-market in Q2 2023.
Betty will also put some of the funding towards the continued development of its online casino platform.
The New York-based firm was founded by CEO Justin Park in March 2022 with the aim of providing a platform for underserved demographics which had been largely ignored by the industry.
In an interview with GamesBeat, Park previously described the online casino industry has having “big market inefficiencies” around engaging specific player demographics.
Gaingels, an LGBTQIA+/Allies private investment syndicate, explained its rationale behind taking part in the latest funding round.
It commented: “Sports betting and casinos have historically been marketed to men. In reality, women make up more than half of the market. We love Betty’s mission to make the category more inclusive.”
Betty’s founding team previously built sports media betting platform QL Gaming Group and collectively have over 50 years of online casino technology experience.