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Stats Perform co-founder launches social gaming disruptor PickGuru with £2.6m investment round back by leading angels including Paddy Power.
PickGuru, a brand new social gaming platform, has secured £2.6m in seed funding in their quest to revolutionise the interaction between real-money wagering and live sport. The new platform will allow friends and fans to challenge each other in a wide variety of exciting sports prediction games.
With a concept built and refined by some of the most successful sports entrepreneurs in the UK, PickGuru will allow users to test their knowledge to win big cash pots for small stakes in nationwide leagues or compete with their friends in mini-leagues. Powered by seamless real-time data feeds, PickGuru leaderboards will update dynamically as games progress and reward successful sports gurus with cash prizes.
The funding round will be used to launch and scale PickGuru, set for early 2022.
PickGuru is headed by an experienced founding team including Oliver Slipper (co-founder of Stats Perform/DAZN), Paul Cobley (founder of Matulo Software), Paul Watkins (ex-FP&A director at Stats Perform/DAZN, ex-finance director at Sportquake), Jon Owen and Jon Youell (founders of Pitch International) and Adam Perrin (co-founder of Masomo Games, ex-brand director at Paddy Power).
What began as a competition amongst friends is now set to change the way fans interact with live sports forever. As told by PickGuru’s founders, the platform’s origins started as a manual spreadsheet-based tipping competition which was shared with friends and colleagues during the 2020 Masters tournament. After the game spread across the UK and became a viral sensation, the idea for a new and innovative platform to bring sports fanatics together was born.
PickGuru, is currently looking to fill 10 roles across development, compliance and marketing with a view to recruit a further 20 roles over the next 12 months.
Speaking about the latest fund raise, Oliver Slipper, chairman and co-founder of PickGuru, said: “I certainly didn’t expect things to take off less than a year after sending out a simple game to friends but the massive popularity of it convinced me that I was onto something.
“Following months of hard graft and huge investment, we’re proud to be building the first UK-focused platform that uniquely combines elements of fantasy sports, gaming and live action, and strongly believe users will love the result.”
He continued: “I’m delighted that some of the most successful sports entrepreneurs shared our vision and I thank them for backing our ambitious plans for the business.”
Following a £6m pre-money valuation, PickGuru brought together a list of angel investors including Paddy Power (ex-communications director, Paddy Power), Simon Wear (founder and chairman of Global Cycling Network), Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham (founders of recent unicorn, Marshmallow) and Will Neale (founder of Grabyo).
Latest News
Spotlight Sports Group’s Smart View Racing Product Sees Phenomenal Success at Cheltenham Festival 2024
Spotlight Sports Group (SSG), a world-leading technology, content and media company specialising in sports betting, is delighted to reveal the remarkable success of its revolutionary racing product, Smart View (powered by Racing Post), during the Cheltenham Festival 2024.
During the Cheltenham Festival 2024, Smart View showcased its predictive prowess by accurately forecasting eight winners out of 27 races, an impressive 30% strike-rate throughout the week. Backing all of Smart View’s selections to level stakes yielded a return on investment (ROI) of 76%. Comparatively, betting on all 27 favourites had an ROI of -33%.
Smart View was particularly potent in the Cheltenham Festival 2024 handicaps, which are notoriously difficult to solve. Monmiral, winner of the Pertemps Final at odds of 25-1, was Smart View’s selection in the race as was 13-2 Coral Cup winner Langer Dan.
Smart View, a cutting-edge racing product developed over several years, has captured the attention of both seasoned bettors and newcomers with its modern and visually appealing design. Leveraging innovative technology and drawing inspiration from popular video games like FIFA and Football Manager, Smart View simplifies the traditional racecard, making it more accessible and intuitive for all audiences.
The product is currently live in over 1,000 United Kingdom and Irish retail outlets. It also featured prominently across Sky Bet and BoyleSports’ Cheltenham hubs, built by Spotlight Sports Group, enhancing Smart View’s visibility and accessibility to betting enthusiasts.
The B2B Managing Director for Spotlight Sports Group, Sam Houlding, emphasised the product’s success, stating: “We’re delighted with the performance of Smart View during Cheltenham this year but unsurprised given the expert racing and product team that has been behind its development over the years. As its profile grows further, we are very confident that it will engage and educate larger volumes of racing fans and continue to attract new audiences to the sport. We’re already executing on an exciting pipeline of development for the next stages of its evolution.”
As Smart View continues to redefine the racing betting landscape, Spotlight Sports Group remains committed to delivering innovative solutions that enhance the betting experience for all enthusiasts.
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Wazdan amplifies Swiss presence with GAMRFIRST launch
Wazdan, the gain-focused developer behind some of the world’s most rewarding casino game experiences, has further expanded in the regulated Swiss market, taking its games live with GAMRFIRST.
The agreement sees a swathe of Wazdan games now available in Switzerland on the GAMRFIRST brand, the online arm of Casino Barrière Montreux, integrated via Gamanza’s iGaming Superstore™ platform.
Included in the deal are top-performing Wazdan titles such as 15 Coins™ and Mighty Wild™: Panther, as the provider continues to deliver the world’s most rewarding casino game experiences with its suite of engaging mechanics.
Marking its seventh partner in the market, Switzerland remains a key source of growth for Wazdan as it continues to build momentum following its recent commercial expansion and launch of its award-winning Mighty Fish™: Blue Marlin title.
Andrzej Hyla, Chief Commercial Officer at Wazdan, said: “As one of the most important markets in Europe for Wazdan,we are delighted to bring GAMRFIRST.CH customers in Switzerland our comprehensive slot portfolio.
“The strong demand for Wazdan’s titles in Switzerland and beyond is a testament to our gain-focused philosophy that fuels our ambitions to deliver engaging experiences that players truly love.”
Clement Govinda, Director at GAMRFIRST said: “Wazdan has garnered a stellar reputation for its high-quality graphics and unique features that have captured the hearts of players worldwide.
“The provider’s commitment to developing rewarding casino experiences that empower players with more choice over their gaming style perfectly aligns with the preferences of our players and we have no doubt Wazdan’s titles will be warmly received by them.”
Balkans
Digitain Supplies Sportsbook to King.rs
Digitain supplies Serbian operator King.rs with turnkey sportsbook solution
Digitain, a global leader in sportsbook and iGaming solutions, has announced that it has signed a deal to provide its turnkey solution to Serbian-based operator King.rs.
The turnkey solution from Digitain includes a proprietary sportsbook empowered by over 1,000 in-house risk managers and sports traders for +100 sports, +130,000 real live monthly events, 80,000 pre-match events each month, +15,000 leagues, +3,000 betting markets as well as casino games, a payment gateway, sports data and statistics along with enterprise tools for mobile, desktop and retail channels and Digitain’s in-house virtual sports, which provide +20,000 daily events and +150 betting markets.
“We are delighted to sign this commercial agreement with King.rs and welcome it to the Digitain business,” the Chief Sales Officer for Digitain, Ani Mkrtchyan, said. “Digitain continues to lead the way in iGaming and sportsbook innovation and King.rs shall not only have access to our propriety and award-winning sportsbook but features such as auto bet, bet builder, sports jackpots, instant cashback, push notifications and a social feature called Sportchat to drive player engagement and revenue growth.
“At Digitain, we are committed to delivering solutions that cater to the unique needs of our partner operators and their players across multiple markets. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with King.rs.”
“Digitain has proven itself to be one of the leading B2B providers over the last 20 years in sportsbook and iGaming solutions,” the Operation Director for King.rs, Dragan Djordjevic, said. “We have been impressed with the depth and breadth of the turnkey solution and the level of account management and support throughout this process. We look forward to Digitain’s solution to elevate and amplify our brand positioning across our operational B2C markets.”
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