Exchange start-up Sporttrade raises $36 million to transform sports betting

Sporttrade, a Philadelphia-based fintech, sports betting company, today announced it has raised $36m in funding.

The coalition of investors from both the financial and gaming industries include lead investor Jump Capital, Impression Ventures, Hudson River Trading, Tower Research Ventures, Jim Murren, former CEO of MGM Resorts International and Tom Wittman, former CEO of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. In addition, Sporttrade issued convertible debt to Nasdaq Ventures in connection with the transaction. Funding will be put towards customer acquisition, expansion into additional states, and continued investment in a diverse, talented team.

"Our mission is to elevate the sports betting industry by applying capital markets principles and technology and to place the customer at the forefront,'' said Alex Kane, Founder and CEO of Sporttrade. "Today marks a significant broadening of our coalition to achieve that mission"

Pending approvals and licensing by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, the Sporttrade iOS app will be launched during the second half of 2021.  Sporttrade will use the capital to strengthen its position as the only sports betting exchange in the United States.

"We are thrilled to back Alex and his amazing team at Sporttrade. They have built a retail trading solution for betting, reflecting pricing based on win probabilities and allowing users to easily trade in and out of any position. To enable low-cost wagers, they've assembled a team from across capital markets and betting, locking in partnerships with institutional market making partners to enable a powerful and liquid exchange, said Partner Yelena Shkolnik of Jump Capital. "The US bettor will finally have a transparent open market of sports betting wagers to trade, and we couldn't be more excited to be a partner."

This disruptive approach will revolutionize gaming by following the playbook of the U.S. capital markets and democratize the customer experience, while offering a secure and technologically advanced platform.

Delavan Lake Investments, co-founded by David Frohardt-Lane and Brandon Moran, also participated in the funding round. Per Frohardt-Lane: "When we first met with Alex in 2019, he had a vision to transform the existing sports gambling model and leverage the benefits of stock market investing for the recreational sports trader.  His drive to apply financial markets principles to benefit the customer was the primary reason we knew he was the right person to partner with in this revolutionary venture."

Founded in 2018, Sporttrade was built to make sports betting more responsible and similar to stock trading, by utilizing proven exchange technology and processes, and enhancing and democratizing the traditional betting experience for customers.

Its open betting marketplace allows participants to trade sporting events the same way they trade stocks, with tighter spreads, more liquidity, and unique features like "always on" in-play trading, and the ability to trade in and out of bets at any time. Sporttrade is based in Philadelphia, PA and has grown its team of fintech, trading and sports betting professionals to over 50.