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Sports betting innovator launches new start-up

17 November 2021
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By Douglas Fraser

Business and economy editor, Scotland

Among Scotland's most effective technology teams is starting once again with a brand-new firm - and has secured the biggest initial financial investment of any British start-up company.

BetDEX is being led by Nigel Eccles, who co-founded dream sports betting wagering website FanDuel in 2009 in Edinburgh.

The brand-new firm has seed funding of $21m.

It aims to introduce a new open source software application platform, on which others can innovate in sports betting wagering, in the very first half of next year.

The business is recruiting staff from a base in Scotland.

FanDuel was offered to Flutter - previously called Paddy Power Betfair - in 2018 and is now worth more than $30bn.

However, Mr Eccles and other remain in legal dispute with FanDuel's later phase financiers over the method which they structured a takeover, which left the Edinburgh group without a share of the increasing valuation.

Mr Eccles stated that a person thing he discovered from the FanDuel experience was to select investors thoroughly.

He informed BBC Scotland: "We took a great deal of lessons from that, among which was the importance of who we select as financiers in this brand-new business, to ensure their values are aligned with ours, that they take their fiduciary responsibilities responsibly, and that they're the best partners for us."

The $21m seed funding for BetDEX includes stakes taken by 7 backers of US innovation companies, including 2 large funds - Paradigm and FTX - which specialise in investing in companies operating with crypto-currencies.

Varun Sudhakar, chief executive of BetDEX, said: "The sports betting wagering industry charges high prices for poor products and limitations trades by its most effective users.
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"BetDEX is diametrically opposed to this technique. We will effectively contend versus incumbents with a considerably remarkable product and low charges, which is now possible with the introduction of the blockchain innovation."

As chairman of the new firm, Mr Eccles said it could look familiar to retail punters utilized to existing online firms.

'Pool of skill'

However, he states that those who utilize its platform to run their own sports betting firms will have the ability to innovate and develop a wider variety of wagering items.

He said the normal share taken by online bookies is 7% to 10% of a stake, however BetDEX needs to permit that to fall listed below 1%.

The business will establish its own sports betting apps to operate on the platform.

Mr Eccles stated these would take an "smart, thoughtful" method to the way they are marketed to secure those who have problem with issue gaming.

He stated the group of around 500 software application engineers who helped develop FanDuel from Scotland revealed that it remains the place to develop a company. BetDEX has the exact same head of technology, Stuart Tonner.

"A lot of that [FanDuel] success was developed on an extremely competent, really gifted engineering team, that constructed this product that might process countless bets and millions of users.

"There's a real skill pool of experienced engineers who helped us construct our item and that's what we wish to utilize for BetDEX too."

Related topics

Edinburgh

sports betting wagering

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