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innovator launches new start-up

17 November 2021
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By Douglas Fraser

Business and economy editor, Scotland

Among Scotland's most successful technology groups is beginning once again with a new company - and has protected the most significant preliminary investment of any British start-up business.

BetDEX is being led by Nigel Eccles, who co-founded fantasy sports betting site FanDuel in 2009 in Edinburgh.

The new firm has seed funding of $21m.

It aims to launch a brand-new open source software platform, on which others can innovate in sports betting wagering, in the very first half of next year.

The business is hiring personnel from a base in Scotland.

FanDuel was sold to Flutter - previously called Paddy Power Betfair - in 2018 and is now worth more than $30bn.

However, Mr Eccles and other co-founders are in legal dispute with FanDuel's later stage investors over the method which they structured a takeover, which left the Edinburgh group without a share of the rising valuation.

Mr Eccles said that one thing he found out from the FanDuel experience was to pick financiers thoroughly.

He told BBC Scotland: "We took a lot of lessons from that, among which was the value of who we select as investors in this new company, to guarantee their values are aligned with ours, that they take their fiduciary responsibilities properly, which they're the ideal partners for us."

The $21m seed funding for BetDEX includes stakes taken by 7 backers of US technology firms, including two big funds - Paradigm and FTX - which specialise in purchasing companies running with crypto-currencies.

Varun Sudhakar, primary executive of BetDEX, stated: "The sports betting market charges high costs for poor products and limitations trades by its most successful users.

"BetDEX is diametrically opposed to this approach. We will successfully contend against incumbents with a significantly superior item and low charges, which is now possible with the advent of the blockchain technology."

As chairman of the brand-new firm, Mr Eccles stated it could look familiar to retail punters used to existing online companies.

'Pool of skill'

However, he says that those who utilize its platform to run their own sports betting companies will be able to innovate and develop a wider series of sports betting items.

He stated the typical share taken by online bookmakers is 7% to 10% of a stake, however BetDEX must enable for that to fall below 1%.
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The company will develop its own wagering apps to run on the platform.

Mr Eccles said these would take an "intelligent, thoughtful" approach to the method they are marketed to secure those who struggle with problem sports betting.

He stated the group of around 500 software engineers who assisted develop FanDuel from Scotland revealed that it remains the location to construct a company. BetDEX has the very same head of innovation, Stuart Tonner.

"A lot of that [FanDuel] success was constructed on a highly experienced, very skilled engineering team, that built this item that could process millions of bets and millions of users.

"There's a genuine skill pool of experienced engineers who helped us build our item which's what we wish to take advantage of for BetDEX as well."

Related subjects

Edinburgh

Sports betting
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More on this story

Paddy Power buys fantasy sports betting site

23 May 2018

FanDuel creator leaves business
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Published

20 November 2017
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