Sporttrade raises $36m in funding to boost acquisition and US expansion

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Philadelphia-based fintech and sports betting company Sporttrade has announced it has raised $36m in funding this week.

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.  

The firm has also 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 its 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 Founder and CEO Alex Kane. “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. The company will use the capital to strengthen its position as the only sports betting exchange in the US.

Partner Yelena Shkolnik of Jump Capital commented: “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. 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.”

According to the firm, this “disruptive approach” will revolutionize gaming by following the playbook of the US 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. Frohardt-Lane stated: “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.”