The Betting Startups Podcast

Hosted by BettingStartups.com

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Episodes

236

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Meet the people building the most promising startups competing for a piece of the multi-billion dollar real-money gaming industry. Presented by Optimove.

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60 recent

June 16, 2026Episode 24228 min

Ep. 215: Unpacking WagerWire's new prediction market license w/ Travis Geiger

Ep. 215 features Travis Geiger, Co-Founder of WagerWire, joining Jesse Learmonth at SBC Fort Lauderdale to discuss the company’s transformation into its vision for building a regulated prediction market ecosystem. Fresh off securing a license-in-principle in Gibraltar, Travis shares how the company is positioning itself at the intersection of gaming, finance, and innovation. Hear them discuss: Why WagerWire evolved into Wire Markets and how prediction markets became the company’s next major opportunity The challenges startups face integrating with sportsbooks, and why innovation often struggles within the regulated betting ecosystem Wire Markets’ Gibraltar licensing milestone, regulatory approach, and plans to build a compliant, responsible prediction market platform Creating a builder-friendly ecosystem where founders, startups, and innovators can launch products and access new distribution opportunities through Wire Markets The role of Starties and Betting Startups in supporting entrepreneurship and fostering a stronger betting innovation community Responsible gaming, addiction concerns, and why prediction market operators must borrow best practices from both gaming and financial services Gibraltar’s growing importance as an international hub for gaming, fintech, and prediction market businesses The company’s fundraising plans, investor interest, and roadmap toward launching ahead of the next NFL season Why Travis believes prediction markets represent a larger cultural shift than previous industry trends like DFS, microbetting, and sweepstakes His vision for building a global, regulated financial marketplace around real-world events and information Catch the video version of this episode here. Learn more 👇 ➡️ WagerWire website ➡️ Travis Geiger on Linkedin 📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/

June 15, 2026Episode 2438 min

Bonus Episode: First place at First Pitch w/ Andrew Gonzalez from ParlayX

This bonus episode features Andrew Gonzalez, Founder & CEO of ParlayX, joining Jesse Learmonth moments after winning the SBC Summit Americas First Pitch competition in Fort Lauderdale. Hear them discuss: Winning the SBC First Pitch competition, and what it means to him Andrew’s entrepreneurial story, including leaving his market-making career, navigating multiple pivots, and betting on himself as a founder The challenges institutions face with blockchain, compliance, and fragmented market access, and how ParlayX aims to solve them Launch plans, institutional partnerships, and the growing opportunity at the intersection of prediction markets and financial infrastructure Catch the video version of this episode here. Learn more 👇 ➡️ ParlayX website ➡️ Andrew Gonzalez on Linkedin 📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/

June 10, 2026Episode 24134 min

Ep. 214: Combining responsible gaming with player retention to fix a leaky safety net w/ Alec Gehlot from PlaySignal

Ep. 214 features Alec Gehlot, Founder of PlaySignal, a responsible gaming platform helping operators intervene earlier, reduce self-exclusions, and create healthier player experiences. Hear them discuss: The inspiration behind PlaySignal and why rising self-exclusion rates reveal a growing industry challenge How PlaySignal’s traffic-light system helps identify at-risk behavior and intervene before players reach a crisis point Why Alec believes responsible gaming should move from a back-office compliance function to a player-facing experience The concept of “RG 3.0” and how behavioral science, player psychology, and real-time engagement can reshape responsible gaming Balancing player protection and retention by helping operators act proactively rather than reactively The pressures facing regulated operators, including higher taxes, tighter regulations, and competition from offshore markets Why responsible gaming may become the strongest differentiator for licensed operators in the years ahead How prediction markets and platforms like Kalshi are approaching self-exclusion and responsible participation Alec’s decision to bootstrap PlaySignal and his approach to building a lean startup in the gaming industry The entrepreneurial lessons he’s learned from boxing, resilience, and getting “punched in the face” while building a company Catch the video version of this episode here. Learn more 👇 ➡️ Play Signal website ➡️ Alec Gehlot on Linkedin 📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/

June 2, 2026Episode 24033 min

Ep. 213: Meet the intelligence layer for the outcome economy w/ Gregory Tolmochow from Trendline Labs

Ep. 213 features Gregory Tolmochow, Founder & CEO of Trendline Labs, a startup building what it calls the “Bloomberg Terminal for prediction markets.” Hear them discuss: Gregory’s journey from sports betting analytics and The Betting Insider to founding Trendline Labs Why prediction markets represent a major evolution beyond traditional sports betting The pivot from an AI-powered sports analytics tool to a unified prediction market terminal Building a platform that aggregates pricing, liquidity, and data across multiple prediction market exchanges How Trendline’s Optimus AI model helps users understand market pricing and identify opportunities The company’s vision to become the trusted information source for prediction markets Monetization plans through premium subscriptions and transaction-based trading fees Regulatory considerations, including obtaining an Introducing Broker (IB) license to enter the U.S. market The ongoing debate around prediction markets, sportsbooks, market makers, and retail traders Trendline’s roadmap, fundraising plans, and long-term goal of democratizing access to market intelligence Catch the video version of this episode here. Learn more 👇 ➡️ Trendline Labs website ➡️ Gregory Tolmochow on Linkedin 📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/

May 26, 2026Episode 23929 min

Ep. 212: Meet the First Pitch finalists competing for $100k in prizes

Ep. 212 is the official First Pitch preview episode, where we will meet the 5 startups selected to present at SBC Summit Americas on June 11 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In this episode, you will hear from the five finalists: Javier Troncoso, InsightPlay.ai Matt Bresler, Odditt Matt Paulton, OddsBlaze Andrew Gonzalez, ParlayX Robert McCall, The Sharps SBC First Pitch brings together some of the most exciting startups within the betting and gaming industry to compete for a chance to win an exclusive prize package, valued at over $100,000 to assist in the winner’s development and growth plans. Listen to Business of Betting, the premier podcast covering the business of the sports betting industry featuring host Jeff Edelstein, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube If you don't have a ticket for the event yet, use discount code BETTINGSTARTUPSVIP for 30% off your pass. Grab your ticket here: https://sbcevents.com/sbc-summit-americas/ Catch the video version of this episode here. 📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/

May 19, 2026Episode 23826 min

Ep. 211: Building the AI-native orchestration layer for payments in gaming w/ Filip Michalsky from Soap Payments

Ep. 211 features Filip Michalsky from Soap Payments, an AI-native orchestration layer designed to simplify the complex payments stack for real-money gaming operators. Hear them discuss: Filip’s path from professional squash in the Czech Republic to Harvard AI data science and Fidelity Investments. The "iceberg" of payments: Navigating the hidden layers of issuing banks, acquiring banks, and convoluted funds movement. Using AI agents to slash payment onboarding times from months to a single week. How unified stablecoin rails enable "instant settlement," allowing operators to receive funds in five seconds. Protecting operators against "bad actors" with specialized defenses that maintain a 0.2% chargeback rate book-wide. The "vibe coding" vs. review approach: Scaling to 30+ customers with a lean, seven-person team. Moving beyond gaming: Early traction and expansion into the massive online health vertical. Strategic funding from Antler, AeroPay, and Astralis Capital ahead of an upcoming larger seed round. The five-year vision: Becoming a global payment orchestrator alongside category leaders like Stripe. Listen to Business of Betting, the premier podcast covering the business of the sports betting industry featuring host Jeff Edelstein, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube Catch the video version of this episode here. Learn more 👇 ➡️ SOAP Payments website ➡️ Filip Michalsky on Linkedin 📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/

May 12, 2026Episode 23741 min

Ep. 210: Building DFS 3.0 to prioritize "less spreadsheets and more friends" w/ Matt Kelley from Fast Draft

Ep. 210 features Matt Kelley from FastDraft, a fantasy sports platform recently merged with FantasySpin that focuses on high-velocity, mobile-first gameplay. Hear them discuss: Matt’s transition from building a million-dollar stats business to launching a platform for the 60M+ fantasy gamer market. Why the "attention deficit economy" needs 5-minute drafts instead of the traditional hour-long commitment. The origin story of FastDraft and how it grew out of the underserved dynasty and rookie draft subcultures. Details on the merger with FantasySpin and combining skill sets to create a "Voltron" marketing and product team. How they built and licensed a regulated gaming app for $2M by leveraging "OG entrepreneur" experience. The philosophy of "DFS 3.0" and why prioritizing social play over spreadsheets is the industry's next frontier. Integrating a unified wallet and cross-app features to optimize for wallet velocity. Their long-term vision to become the "go-to second screen" for sports fans through a blend of stats and gaming The dedicated Startup Zone at SBC Summit Americas gives real-money gaming startups a platform to showcase to 10,000+ attendees — including investors, operators, suppliers, media, and key industry players. Spaces are limited, secure yours now through https://www.bettingstartups.com/sbc-americas-2026 If you don't have a ticket for the event yet, use discount code BETTINGSTARTUPSVIP for 30% off your pass. Grab your ticket here: https://sbcevents.com/sbc-summit-americas/ Catch the video version of this episode here. Learn more 👇 ➡️ FastDraft website ➡️ Matt Kelley on Linkedin 📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/

May 5, 2026Episode 23636 min

Ep. 209: Building the "aspirin" for casino game distribution headaches w/ David & Kavin from Hydrastack

Ep. 209 features David and Kavin from Hydrastack, a startup using AI to transform how casino games are developed, converted, and distributed across channels. Hear them discuss: The origin story of Hydrastack and how industry pain points around game distribution sparked the idea Why converting casino games from land-based to online can take 6–8 months and how Hydrastack cuts that down to weeks How their proprietary AI models ingest and transform existing game code instead of requiring full rewrites The massive inefficiencies in the current gaming supply chain and how they impact manufacturers, operators, and players Why “re-authoring” games from scratch is the industry’s biggest bottleneck How Hydrastack’s platform integrates directly into existing developer workflows (like Unity) The importance of combining deep industry experience with an outsider perspective to build better solutions Early traction, including pilot partnerships with major manufacturers and strong inbound interest Their business model: platform licensing + per-game conversion fees Insights from participating in programs like Zero Labs, Rice Business Plan Competition, and Booth’s New Venture Challenge How AI is being adopted across gaming and why most companies still struggle to extract real value from it Their long-term vision to become the core platform for casino game development and distribution The dedicated Startup Zone at SBC Summit Americas gives real-money gaming startups a platform to showcase to 10,000+ attendees — including investors, operators, suppliers, media, and key industry players. Spaces are limited, secure yours now through https://www.bettingstartups.com/sbc-americas-2026 If you don't have a ticket for the event yet, use discount code BETTINGSTARTUPSVIP for 30% off your pass. Grab your ticket here: https://sbcevents.com/sbc-summit-americas/ Catch the video version of this episode here. Learn more 👇 ➡️ Hydrastack website ➡️ David Dimas on Linkedin ➡️ Kavin Kaviarasan on Linkedin 📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/

April 28, 2026Episode 23532 min

Ep. 208: Digitizing the Super Bowl squares concept w/ Nathan & Brett from GridGorilla

Ep. 208 features Nathan Thomas and Brett DeBari, the founding team behind GridGorilla, a digital platform that evolves the classic Super Bowl squares format into a year-round, player-stat-based prediction experience. Hear them discuss: Brett’s journey through tech sales at Dell and AWS to previous gaming startups, and Nathan’s 20-year engineering career ranging from biomedical startups to database architecture How the team identified the "mass market" appeal of Super Bowl squares and adapted it into a year-round digital product Moving beyond final scores to create player-performance grids involving stats like points and rebounds across an x and y axis Why they opted for a free-to-play, ad-supported model to lower barriers to entry and onboard non-bettors. Leveraging AI-simulated matchups (e.g., LeBron James vs. the '86 Pistons) to keep users in the app for multiple sessions per day Nathan’s experience navigating the complex, one-year process of securing a software patent for their predictive grid system Why the three-person team chose to remain self-funded and the "leap of faith" required to build the company without meeting in person How Nathan operates as a one-person dev team by leveraging tools like Cursor AI, Flutter, and Golang to write nearly 97% of the app's code Seeing success with Meta ads under a $2 CAC and partnering with influencers and brand ambassadors to scale to 10,000 users Future plans for pay-to-play mechanics and a B2B licensing play to offer embeddable grid widgets for other brands and apps The dedicated Startup Zone at SBC Summit Americas gives real-money gaming startups a platform to showcase to 10,000+ attendees — including investors, operators, suppliers, media, and key industry players. Spaces are limited, secure yours now through https://www.bettingstartups.com/sbc-americas-2026 If you don't have a ticket for the event yet, use discount code BETTINGSTARTUPSVIP for 30% off your pass. Grab your ticket here: https://sbcevents.com/sbc-summit-americas/ Catch the video version of this episode here. Learn more 👇 ➡️ GridGorilla website ➡️ Nathan Thomas on Linkedin ➡️ Brett Debari on Linkedin 📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/

April 21, 2026Episode 23438 min

Ep. 207: Transforming traditional raffles into a B2B retention tool w/ Yaniv Spielberg from LuckyDraw

Ep. 207 features Yaniv Spielberg, founder of LuckyDraw, a B2B platform bringing prize draws and raffles into the modern gaming ecosystem. Hear them discuss: Yaniv’s journey from lottery businesses to building and scaling Bragg Gaming Group into a public company listed on the NASDAQ and TSX The origins of LuckyDraw and identifying the gap in raffle-based gaming despite its global resurgence How prize draws work, including raffles, instant wins, and scratch cards, and why they offer more flexibility than traditional betting products Positioning prize draws as a horizontal layer across sportsbooks and casinos for acquisition, retention, and engagement Early traction, including launching with a first operator via aggregator integrations and initial use cases like reactivation campaigns The business model behind LuckyDraw and why a SaaS approach was chosen over traditional revenue share Key startup lessons, including why distribution beats product and the importance of constant customer feedback The roadmap ahead, focusing on scaling integrations, validating product-market fit, and expanding operator adoption Long-term vision to become the default prize draw infrastructure layer for gaming operators worldwide The dedicated Startup Zone at SBC Summit Americas gives real-money gaming startups a platform to showcase to 10,000+ attendees — including investors, operators, suppliers, media, and key industry players. Spaces are limited, secure yours now through https://www.bettingstartups.com/sbc-americas-2026 If you don't have a ticket for the event yet, use discount code BETTINGSTARTUPSVIP for 30% off your pass. Grab your ticket here: https://sbcevents.com/sbc-summit-americas/ Catch the video version of this episode here. Learn more 👇 ➡️ LuckyDraw website ➡️ Yaniv Spielberg on Linkedin 📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/