BetDEX becomes the first regulated sports betting exchange on blockchain after securing Isle of Man license

Sports betting exchange BetDEX has been licensed and is now regulated by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC), web3 company BetDEX Labs announced Tuesday. The BetDEX Exchange thus becomes “the first fully-licensed regulated sports betting exchange on blockchain,” according to the firm.

Under the Online Gambling Regulation Act (OGRA), BetDEX has received licensed approval for all forms of online gambling and gaming, including online sports betting. The BetDEX Exchange is powered by BetDEX Labs, a company founded by former FanDuel executives Varun Sudhakar, CEO; Stuart Tonner, CTO; and Nigel Eccles, Chairman. 

Varun Sudhakar, CEO and Co-Founder of BetDEX, commented, "Today's news is an exciting step forward for the BetDEX Exchange. With the licensing and regulatory approval, BetDEX now boasts the first fully-regulated sports betting platform in the web3 space, and we're excited to welcome bettors from approved regions. We're certain this is the start of growing our exchange and continuing the expansion of sports betting into the Web3 landscape." 

"Being the first fully licensed and regulated sports betting exchange on blockchain allows us to a) instill trust in our customers that they are gambling on a platform which has underwent a stringent diligence process as it relates to player protection and b) paves a path forward for the rest of the industry as to how one might operate a highly regulated business in web3," he told Yogonet.

Abby Kimber, Head of eGaming, Digital Isle of Man, added: "It is a pleasure to welcome BetDEX to the Island. We are excited to be at the forefront of technologies like blockchain while maintaining our reputation as a highly regulated jurisdiction that prides itself on player protection. I wish BetDEX every success with their future ventures and look forward to partnering with them for many years to come."

The BetDEX Exchange recently entered Open Beta, accepting wagers from over 12,000 early access members in the past 3 weeks. The Exchange, which accepts wagers from select countries throughout South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, is a fully non-custodial platform built on the Monaco Protocol. BetDEX Exchange currently supports peer-to-peer sports wagers on soccer and plans to introduce additional sports in the near future.

"Having 12,000 unique crypto wallets connected to the BetDEX Exchange in just a few weeks exceeded our expectations and helped validate that there is a customer need in web3 for a sports betting platform," Sudhakar tells Yogonet. "Overall, users have indicated that they are pleased with the platform, the UI and the existing functionality; they are eager to see additional product features built and markets offered."

The exchange was first announced last year, billed as “the world's first decentralized sports betting exchange.” The project marks FanDuel co-founder and former CEO Nigel Eccles’ return to the sports betting industry with the promise to utilize the advantages of Web3 to deliver high speed and low transaction costs while eliminating counterparty risk.

“BetDEX aims to bring crypto to sports betting and revolutionize the industry for consumers,” Eccles said last year. “It is going to be one incredible journey.” In 2021, the exchange secured a $21 million seed funding round in November, led by crypto investment firm Paradigm and cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

The company announced earlier this year the Monaco Protocol, described as the world’s “first decentralized sports betting protocol.” It is now live on the Solana devnet and available for developers to build complementary products and tools, with the BetDEX Exchange, one of the key contributors to the protocol, as the first sports betting application built on top of it.