YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul’s micro-betting website, Betr, recently welcomed $15 million in strategic equity financing, bringing the total to $100 million.
Success Breeds Support
Although Betr is rarely if ever mentioned as one of domestic sports betting’s major players, the small micro-betting site achieved a modicum of success in 2023 and is now valued at $375 million after getting $100 million in venture capital support.
The most recent round of capital investment totaling $15 million was led by Harmony Partners and 10x Capital, as well as the companies’ three major investors; Fuel Venture Capital, Aliya Capital Partners and Roger Ehrenberg/Eberg Capital, in addition to other smaller investors.
“We believe that Betr has the product, management, and market opportunity that we saw in DraftKings in its early days with a significantly larger TAM and room for growth today,” said 10x Capital co-founder and Head of Venture Capital David Weisburd in a statement.
Betting on Expansion
Betr now has a presence in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, Colorado and Kentucky, while recently receiving its temporary Indiana sports wagering license from the Indiana Gaming Commission. The company is also working on its iGaming product and is expected to receive regulatory approval in Pennsylvania by the end of the year.
Betr’s market access in Pennsylvania is through the Cordish Gaming Group, a subsidiary of The Cordish Companies, which owns and operates land-based casinos in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Louisiana.
“We are very excited to partner with Betr on the launch of their first online casino,” said Rob Norton, President of the Cordish Gaming Group. “Betr Casino will make a winning addition to the gaming options available to Pennsylvania players, which includes two of our own successful Live! Casino properties.”
Management Moves
Betr was co-founded in 2022 by Jake Paul and entrepreneur Joey Levy. Despite its small stature compared to industry titans like FanDuel and DraftKings, the company is making inroads and has plans to further expand its territory this year and beyond.
“Everything you are seeing has always been part of the plan,” Levy said in August. “We’ve established our license ability, our suitability, and our operational compliance capabilities in multiple jurisdictions for online sports betting, while also at the same time establishing ourselves as what we believe to be the leaders in responsible gaming.”
The company recently fortified its upper management by bringing in Dan Maas, formerly of Wave Sports and Entertainment to assume the role of Head of Media Revenue, Partnerships and Strategy. In addition, Andrew Winchell, who was previously the Director of Regulatory Affairs for FanDuel, was also signed to become Betr’s Head of Government Affairs.
“We are thrilled to announce our strategic equity financing, new members of our senior leadership team, and the approval of our temporary Indiana sports wagering license,” said Joey Levy, Founder and CEO of Betr. “Jake (Paul) and I co-founded Betr just over two years ago, so raising capital from leading growth stage investors at a $375 million valuation in the very early days of our business is a testament to the performance of the team and business to date, and the potential we have to build a category-defining business with Betr.”
