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he newly raised capital will accelerate the development of the company’s technology platform to power micro-betting and eventually, all forms of in-play betting and fan engagement for U.S. sports.
Participating in the $15 million financing was global games powerhouse, Aristocrat alongside leading VC firm Florida Funders and Mario Gabelli’s GGCP Partnership Fund.
New individual investors include Jim Murren (Former Chairman & CEO, MGM Resorts International), Edward King (Managing Partner at Acies Investments, Former Global Head at Morgan Stanley), Dan Fetters (Managing Partner at Acies Investments, Former Managing Director at Morgan Stanley), Joe Banner (Former CEO & President of Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns), Dan Fougere (CRO of Datadog), and Benjie Cherniak (Former CEO of Don Best).
Simplebet’s world-class investor group also consists of notable executives spanning business, sports, and entertainment, including David Blitzer, David Levy, Jeff Mallett, Steve Ellman, and Howard Schultz, as well as the San Francisco Giants, and Andre Agassi.
The funding will enable Simplebet to launch its newest innovation, Scripts, a new category of micro-betting that allows users to script in-game micro-occurrences that may be correlated. For example, for NFL, users will not just be able to bet that the next drive will result in a touchdown, but in addition, predict that it will result in a touchdown in less than three plays off a completed pass; or for MLB, predict that a plate appearance will result in a home run off the fourth pitch of the at-bat.
“Simplebet stands out as a true innovator and driving force behind micro-betting, what we believe to be the future of the industry, and this infusion of capital will further accelerate our efforts to re-define the intersection of sports, gambling, media and technology,” said Chris Bevilacqua, Co-Founder and CEO of Simplebet. “The user engagement rates on our products over the past year prove that we offer not only an unmatched experience for fans, but also for our partners who are looking for ways to drive incremental revenue as well as user engagement and longer watch times over the entirety of sporting events.”
“We’ve been impressed with Simplebet’s pioneering of micro-betting for U.S. sports, and their success in offering new and relevant betting experiences to sports fans,” said Dan Yang, Chief Strategy Officer of Aristocrat. “As a leading global gaming provider, we are delighted to support the continued expansion of Simplebet and deepen our engagement in this exciting market.”
“My time leading MGM gave me a front row seat to the roll out of sports betting in America and the fan engagement opportunities that come along with it,” said Murren. “Micro-betting introduces instant gratification to the sports betting user experience, making it potentially the most exciting new product development to hit the sports betting industry since PASPA was repealed. Simplebet is the clear leader in this new form of betting and fan engagement and I am thrilled to be supporting them.”
Simplebet has pioneered micro-betting products for the NFL, NBA, and MLB and works with industry leaders including FanDuel, PointsBet, and INTRALOT. The company enables sportsbook operators and technology platforms to offer new betting markets in an effort to attract new customers, reduce customer acquisition costs, and increase the overall lifetime value of customers.
