The Betting Startups Podcast

Ep. 191 features Joshua Swerdlow, from ChatBet AI, an AI-powered sports betting platform built to deliver smarter, more personalized betting experiences through data and conversational technology.

 

Hear him discuss:

• Josh’s background and the leap he took moving from England to Tel Aviv 
• What ChatBet is and how he is using AI to reshape the sports betting experience
• What his go-to-market strategy was and major lessons from lau...

Ep. 190 features Irakli “Marcus” Davarashvili, Founder & CEO of Promofy, for a deep dive into the global rise of AI-powered gamification and how operators are rethinking loyalty, engagement, and retention.

Hear him discuss:

• His 13-year journey across advertising, brand building, and iGaming leadership and how operational pain points at scale inspired him to build Promofy

• What Promofy is: an AI-driven, no-code gamifica...

Ep. 189 features the three co-founders of Golden Camel, Artie, Ben, and Ryan, for a lively deep dive into building a sports-betting lifestyle app rooted in community, fun, and authenticity.

Hear them discuss:

• How a series of career pivots led them to partner up on Golden Camel a number of years after the original idea was sparked
• Why Golden Camel rejects “beat the house” culture, instead leaning into fun and community - whil...

Ep. 188 features James King, CEO & Co-Founder of Flows, for a deep dive into building a no-code automation platform powering some of the biggest operators in global gaming.

Hear him discuss:

• His 16-year industry journey across iGB Affiliate, Clarion Events, and Gaming Innovation Group and how industry-wide tech frustration inspired the founding of Flows
• What Flows actually is: a no-code automation layer that ingests real...

This special episode features Seb Butterworth from Flutter and Dan O’Sullivan from the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), for a deep dive into the future of horse racing — and how the sport is preparing to engage a new generation of fans.   Hear them discuss:

• The origins and findings of Project Beacon, and what the research reveals about younger and c...

The Gamble & The Glory showcases founders that built their companies into category leaders in the betting and gaming industry.

In S2 E2, we speak with John Levy, founder and former CEO of theScore. John shares the remarkable 25+ year journey behind one of Canada’s most iconic sports media and betting brands from its roots in cable television to becoming a digital powerhouse and ultimately exiting for over $2 billion. Hear h...

Ep. 187 features Jake Benzaquen, Co-Founder and CEO of ProphetX, for a deep dive into the company’s latest evolution from regulated exchange to sweepstakes model, to now filing with the CFTC to operate as a fully regulated marketplace for sports event contracts. Hear him discuss:

• The journey from launching in New Jersey as an OSB to building a national presence under the sweepstakes model
• Why Prophe...

Ep. 186 features Marek Suchar, Co-founder and Managing Director at Oddin.gg, a leading B2B provider of end-to-end esports betting solutions for global bookmakers.

 

Hear him discuss:

• His journey from nearly a decade in finance at Citibank to co-founding one of the industry’s fastest-growing esports betting platforms
• How an early pivot from B2C to B2B set Oddin.gg on the path to success
• Why esports audiences are fundamentally d...

Ep. 185 features Adam Rosenberg, co-founder of HandiGraphs, a betting analytics platform built by and for baseball fans.

 

Hear him discuss:

• His journey from political fundraising and brand strategy to PR and marketing in the sports betting industry

• How a friendship in the Outlier Discord led to co-founding HandiGraphs with CJ Buskey

• Why baseball’s intimidating data landscape inspired the creation of a simpler, more visua...

Ep. 184 features Brian Birt, founder of Griddy, the fantasy football puzzle game bringing year-round engagement to sports fans.

 

Hear him discuss:

• His journey from childhood sports fanatic to building products at Sleeper and launching Griddy
• How Griddy turns fantasy football into a strategic, bite-sized mobile game playable 365 days a year
• Solving the seasonality problem in fantasy sports with an innovative “chemistry” team-b...

Ep. 183 features Tom Lemke, founder of Savage Tech, the world's first true gamified retention engine for the iGaming industry. Hear him discuss:

• His review of the recent SBC Summit conference in Lisbon
• How his experience co-founding esports teams shaped his understanding of player engagement
• How avatars, achievements, and progression systems improve retention and customer loyalty
• Why being likeable is an underappreciated qual...

Ep. 182 features Pranav Tadikonda from Pikkit, which is a social sports betting tracker that automatically aggregates bets, analyzes performance, and connects users through community and content.

 

Hear him discuss: • Why he and co-founder Anthony Jonikas started Pikkit after learning big tech wasn't for them • The switch from fantasy to sports betting after PASPA’s repeal • How they validated the idea through real user frustration...

Ep. 181 features Tony Ryan from Bet Caddy, which is building the ultimate sports remote to personalize and streamline the fragmented sports streaming experience.

 

Hear him discuss: • How betting and fantasy sports make every game moment meaningful for modern fans • The origin story of Bet Caddy, sparked by college sports bars and basement brains...

The Gamble & The Glory showcases founders that built their companies into category leaders in the betting and gaming industry.   In Episode 1 of Season 2, we speak with Einar Knobel from TXODDS, recorded in person at the SBC Summit Americas Conference in Fort Lauderdale.   Hear him discuss:

• The early days of TXODDS and landing first customers like ...

Ep. 180 features Zach Wick from BtrBet, which is a SaaS platform offering a white-labeled tool stack for sports betting creators to manage content, engage audiences, and monetize their communities.

 

Hear him discuss:

• How legal sports betting in Ohio sparked his idea to build a personal betting tracker • The pain points of spreadsheets and the inspiration behind automating bet syncing and analysis • The evolution from a consumer ...

Ep. 179 features Ryan Murphy of SharpSports and Vijay Dewan from Pine Sports, who sit down to talk through their recent merger to form the new Pine Sports, a full-stack sports data and AI company serving both bettors and B2B partners.

 

Hear them discuss:

• The origin story and strategic rationale behind the Pine Sports and SharpSports merger • How mutual investor Chris Grove sparked the deal by introducing the two founders • How t...

Ep. 178 features Trent Hoerr from BullRush, which is a gamified platform offering multi-participant competitions using virtual currency with real cash prizes.

 

Hear him discuss:

• His early days as a professional runner turned prop trader during the 2008 financial crisis • The legal and regulatory path to proving BullRush competitions as games of skill • Why he believes traders often overlap with sports bettors due to shared analy...

Ep. 177 is the official First Pitch preview episode, where we will meet the 5 startups selected to present at SBC Summit on September 18 in Lisbon, Portugal.

 

Sue Schneider, Co-founder of Defy the Odds, shares her perspective of the upcoming event, highlighting the global nature of this year’s competition with finalists representing 5 different countries across 3 continents, the evolution of First Pitch, and the opportunities for ...

Ep. 176 features Reid Rooney from Betsperts Group, which acquires and builds brands with loyal, engaged communities in fantasy sports, golf, and sports betting.

 

Hear him discuss:

• How Betsperts began by exploring crypto, cannabis, and sports betting before ultimately focusing on sports betting
• Applying a Stanley Black & Decker “multi-brand” mindset to execute a roll-up strategy in sports media
• How he was able to partner u...