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innovator launches new start-up
17 November 2021
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By Douglas Fraser
bet9ja.com
Business and economy editor, Scotland
One of Scotland's most effective innovation teams is beginning once again with a brand-new company - and has secured the most significant preliminary financial investment of any British start-up company.
BetDEX is being led by Nigel Eccles, who co-founded fantasy sports betting website FanDuel in 2009 in Edinburgh.
The 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, in the very first half of next year.
The company is recruiting staff from a base in Scotland.
FanDuel was offered to Flutter - previously named Paddy Power Betfair - in 2018 and is now worth more than $30bn.
However, Mr Eccles and other co-founders remain in legal dispute with FanDuel's later phase investors over the method in which they structured a takeover, which left the Edinburgh team without a share of the rising assessment.
Mr Eccles said that one thing he gained from the FanDuel experience was to choose financiers carefully.
He informed BBC Scotland: "We took a great deal of lessons from that, one of which was the importance of who we choose as financiers in this new business, to guarantee their worths are lined up with ours, that they take their fiduciary responsibilities responsibly, which they're the right partners for us."
The $21m seed funding for BetDEX includes stakes taken by 7 backers of US technology companies, consisting of two big funds - Paradigm and FTX - which specialise in purchasing companies operating with crypto-currencies.
Varun Sudhakar, president of BetDEX, said: "The sports betting wagering market charges high rates for poor products and limitations trades by its most successful users.
"BetDEX is diametrically opposed to this method. We will effectively contend versus incumbents with a markedly superior product and low costs, which is now possible with the introduction of the blockchain technology."
As chairman of the new firm, Mr Eccles said it might look familiar to retail punters used to existing online firms.
'Pool of talent'
However, he says that those who utilize its platform to run their own sports betting firms will be able to innovate and develop a broader variety of wagering items.
He said the common share taken by online bookmakers is 7% to 10% of a stake, however BetDEX ought to permit that to fall listed below 1%.
The business will develop its own wagering apps to run on the platform.
Mr Eccles stated these would take an "intelligent, thoughtful" method to the method they are marketed to safeguard those who battle with problem gaming.
He said the team of around 500 software engineers who assisted construct FanDuel from Scotland revealed that it remains the location to construct a company. BetDEX has the same head of technology, Stuart Tonner.
"A great deal of that [FanDuel] success was developed on a highly experienced, really talented engineering group, that built this product that might process millions of bets and countless users.
"There's a genuine skill swimming pool of experienced engineers who helped us construct our item which's what we wish to leverage for BetDEX too."
Related subjects
Edinburgh
sports betting wagering
More on this story
Paddy Power purchases fantasy sports betting site
23 May 2018
FanDuel creator leaves company
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Published
20 November 2017
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Sports Betting Innovator Launches new Start-up
armand88m10909 edited this page 2025-01-02 09:46:22 +08:00