The Betting Startups Podcast
Meet the people building the most promising startups competing for a piece of the multi-billion dollar real-money gaming industry. Presented by Optimove.
Episodes
Ep. 220 features Neil Dillon, Founder of Solas Compliance, to discuss how AI is transforming marketing compliance for regulated industries. Neil shares his journey from Betfair and Flutter to launching Solas, explains why compliance remains one of the biggest bottlenecks for operators, and offers practical insights into building enterprise-grade AI products for the betting industry. Hear them discuss:
- Neil's career jour...
Ep. 219 features Edward Lyttel and Rob Fulforth from Flutter to discuss the company's AlphaHub innovation program and the 2026 Affiliate Draft. They explore how Flutter collaborates with startups, what they're looking for in this year's applicants, and why community, AI-powered fan tools, and betting innovation are shaping the future of sports betting.
Hear them discuss:
- How Flutter's AlphaHub helps startups build p...
Ep. 218 features Devon and Tejas, Co-founders of Blitz, an AI-powered sports intelligence platform transforming how broadcasters, analysts, content creators, and sports organizations access and utilize sports data.
Hear them discuss:
- How two Duke graduates turned sports betting profits into a sports data startup
- The PrizePicks strategy that grew a small bankroll into tens of thousands of dollars
- Why they spent countless...
Ep. 217 features Nick Meader, Co-Founder & CEO of SpeedLabs, joining Jesse Learmonth to discuss the company's $6.5 million seed round, the creation of "Momentum Markets," and why he believes the next generation of sports betting products will be built around live narratives rather than traditional betting markets.
Hear them discuss:
- Nick’s journey from college bookmaker and betting entrepreneur to venture capital in...
Ep. 216 features Jackson Erminio, Founder of Spina, joining Jesse Learmonth to discuss building a skill-based gaming startup, solving the liquidity challenge, and creating a marketplace where players can compete head-to-head in games they already know and love.
Hear them discuss:
- How Jackson went from selling sneakers and running a marketing agency to founding Spina, a real-money skill gaming platform built around familiar ga...
Ep. 215 features Travis Geiger, Co-Founder & CXO of WagerWire, joining Jesse Learmonth at SBC Fort Lauderdale to discuss the company’s transformation into its vision for building a regulated prediction market ecosystem. Fresh off securing a license-in-principle in Gibraltar, Travis shares how the company is positioning itself at the intersection of gaming, finance, and innovation.
Hear them discuss:
- Why WagerWire ev...
This bonus episode features Andrew Gonzalez, Founder & CEO of ParlayX, joining Jesse Learmonth moments after winning the SBC Summit Americas First Pitch competition in Fort Lauderdale.
Hear them discuss:
- Winning the SBC First Pitch competition, and what it means to him
- Andrew’s entrepreneurial story, including leaving his market-making career, navigating multiple pivots, and betting on himself as a founder
- The...
Ep. 214 features Alec Gehlot, Founder of PlaySignal, a responsible gaming platform helping operators intervene earlier, reduce self-exclusions, and create healthier player experiences.
Hear them discuss:
- The inspiration behind PlaySignal and why rising self-exclusion rates reveal a growing industry challenge
- How PlaySignal’s traffic-light system helps identify at-risk behavior and intervene before players reach a ...
Ep. 213 features Gregory Tolmochow, Founder & CEO of Trendline Labs, a startup building what it calls the “Bloomberg Terminal for prediction markets.”
Hear them discuss:
- Gregory’s journey from sports betting analytics and The Betting Insider to founding Trendline Labs
- Why prediction markets represent a major evolution beyond traditional sports betting
- The pivot from an AI-powered sports analytics t...
Ep. 212 is the official First Pitch preview episode, where we will meet the 5 startups selected to present at SBC Summit Americas on June 11 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
In this episode, you will hear from the five finalists:
- Javier Troncoso, InsightPlay.ai
- Matt Bresler, Odditt
- Matt Paulton, OddsBlaze
- Andrew...
Ep. 211 features Filip Michalsky from Soap Payments, an AI-native orchestration layer designed to simplify the complex payments stack for real-money gaming operators.
Hear them discuss:
- Filip’s path from professional squash in the Czech Republic to Harvard AI data science and Fidelity Investments.
- The "iceberg" of payments: Navigating the hidden layers of issuing banks, acquiring banks, and convoluted funds movement.
- Usi...
Ep. 210 features Matt Kelley from FastDraft, a fantasy sports platform recently merged with FantasySpin that focuses on high-velocity, mobile-first gameplay.
Hear them discuss:
- Matt’s transition from building a million-dollar stats business to launching a platform for the 60M+ fantasy gamer market.
- Why the "attention deficit economy" needs 5-minute drafts instead of the traditional hour-long commitment.
- The origin story ...
Ep. 209 features David and Kavin from Hydrastack, a startup using AI to transform how casino games are developed, converted, and distributed across channels.
Hear them discuss:
- The origin story of Hydrastack and how industry pain points around game distribution sparked the idea
- Why converting casino games from land-based to online can take 6–8 months and how Hydrastack cuts that down to weeks
- How their pr...
Ep. 208 features Nathan Thomas and Brett DeBari, the founding team behind GridGorilla, a digital platform that evolves the classic Super Bowl squares format into a year-round, player-stat-based prediction experience.
Hear them discuss:
-
Brett’s journey through tech sales at Dell and AWS to previous gaming startups, and Nathan’s 20-year engineering career ranging from biomedical startups to database architecture
-
...
Ep. 207 features Yaniv Spielberg, founder of LuckyDraw, a B2B platform bringing prize draws and raffles into the modern gaming ecosystem.
Hear them discuss:
- Yaniv’s journey from lottery businesses to building and scaling Bragg Gaming Group into a public company listed on the NASDAQ and TSX
- The origins of LuckyDraw and identifying the gap in raffle-based gaming despite its global resurgence
- How prize draws work, includin...
Ep. 206 features Jason White, founder of TallyUp, a free-to-play global game show platform blending casual gaming, wagering mechanics, and the attention economy.
Hear them discuss:
- The TallyUp concept: a free-to-play, ad-supported PVP gaming platform where players can win real money without risking their own capital
- How exponential growth mechanics (inspired by childhood ping pong bets) shaped the core gameplay model
- Building...
Ep. 205 features John Caldwell, Co-Founder of i3Soft, a gaming technology company building next-generation poker and casino products designed to improve player experience, increase liquidity, and bridge the gap between poker and casino gameplay.
Hear them discuss:
- John’s unconventional journey from the music industry (Atlantic Records, Stone Temple Pilots, Hootie & the Blowfish) into poker and eventually gambling te...
Ep. 204 features Allan Stone, CEO & Co-Founder of Intelitics, a marketing intelligence platform helping betting and iGaming companies better understand the true impact of their marketing spend and optimize performance across the full player lifecycle. Hear them discuss:
- Allan’s journey into betting, from online poker to affiliates and founding Intelitics
- The origin story of Intelitics and the gap in marketing intell...
Ep. 203 features Toby Bucsescu, CEO & Co-Founder of Blitz:Draft, which is reimagining the sports gaming experience by combining elements of daily fantasy, betting, and quick-play mechanics into a format built for speed and accessibility.
Hear them discuss:
- Toby’s path into the sports gaming industry and founding Blitz Draft
- The problem with traditional betting and DFS products
- How Blitz Draft creates a faster, more ...
Ep. 202 features Cal Spears, founder of Gambly, returning to the Betting Startups Podcast to share an update on the company’s progress since launch, insights from the NEXT Summit in New York, and a major milestone for the business.
Hear them discuss:
-
Cal’s return to the podcast and what has changed at Gambly since its launch in October 2024
-
Key takeaways from the NEXT.io Summit in New York and w...
Popular Podcasts
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.