Latest News

Smarkets raises Series B funding round to supercharge international and domestic growth

Published

5 years ago

June 10, 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Smarkets, one of the world’s largest betting exchange and prediction market platforms, has announced the closing of a significant minority investment from Susquehanna Growth Equity (SGE).

Having raised just £3.8m ($5.4m) since its inception in 2008, with its Series A round coming back in 2013, Smarkets has built a leading exchange platform that processes billions of pounds in traded volume each year. The company has offices in London, Los Angeles, and Malta, licensed customer-focused operations in five countries, and in 2019 released innovative sportsbook app SBK.

Smarkets is delighted to welcome SGE, which joins existing investors Passion Capital and Deutsche Telekom in supporting the company’s mission to fix betting with the fairest odds in the industry.

This new investment will allow Smarkets to accelerate its rollout in the US, where it is already live in Colorado with sportsbook app SBK and set to go live in Indiana soon. The funding will also bolster SBK’s position in the UK mainstream betting market after its successful launch in August 2019.

The new investment will contribute to:

Furthering the company’s US presence, including market-access deals in new, regulated states
Capturing an even greater share of the UK betting exchange market and accelerating SBK’s growth in the UK’s mainstream sportsbook market
Expanding Smarkets’ development of new products for customers and focus on industry-leading prices on sports, politics, and current affairs
Continuing to capture the best and brightest worldwide engineering talent with a view to doubling headcount by the end of 2022
Further expansion into new and recently entered markets such as Denmark and Sweden

Jason Trost, founder and CEO of Smarkets, said:

“This is an incredibly exciting day. I’ve always been amazed what the passion and energy of a comparatively small group of committed people can accomplish against much bigger rivals; Smarkets and SBK are the product of exactly that. At Smarkets we have always been guided by our vision of fixing betting with the best prices and products, and SGE is just as excited as us to challenge the status quo. This is a huge endorsement of our technology and will allow us to further upend the industry by offering bets as close to fair value as possible.

“We are super proud of what we have achieved so far in the UK betting space, and this new investment will help take us to the next level and beyond in the UK, US, and other international markets. I’d like to thank the women and men that work and have worked at Smarkets for getting us to where we are.

“I truly believe the best is yet to come. This investment will allow us to fight with greater resources, move faster, and be bolder in our mission. We’re so excited about the opportunities this investment unlocks.”

Scott Feldman, Managing Director with Susquehanna Growth Equity, said:

“We are delighted to be able to join Smarkets on their upward journey. We immediately identified with their vision of using technology to take on the betting industry’s big operators by providing the fairest odds in the world and maintaining a clear focus on product excellence.

“Smarkets have achieved a huge amount with little investment to date and we can’t wait to see them go from strength to strength as they expand further into both the US and UK mainstream market.”

iGaming Express

David Natroshvili Recognized as iGaming’s Leading Global Influencer

Published

23 minutes ago

June 2, 2026

Wladimir P.

david-natroshvili-recognized-as-igaming’s-leading-global-influencer

The annual ranking places the SPRIBE founder ahead of figures including Peter Jackson, Denise Coates and Ed Craven.

International industry publication iGaming Express has named SPRIBE Founder and CEO David Natroshvili the most influential person in the global iGaming industry in its annual ranking.

iGaming Express said Natroshvili “pioneered an entirely new category of crash games” and helped turn SPRIBE’s Aviator into a global hit. The publication added that SPRIBE’s growth and product approach have influenced player expectations and operator views on modern iGaming.

The ranking places Natroshvili ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump, Flutter Entertainment CEO Peter Jackson, Bet365 Co-CEO Denise Coates, and Stake Co-Founder Ed Craven.

“This recognition belongs to the entire SPRIBE team. Over the past few years, our goal has not simply been to build a successful product, but to create an experience capable of driving the industry in a new direction. I am delighted to see these efforts receive such high international recognition,” said David Natroshvili.

iGaming Express said Natroshvili’s influence extends beyond SPRIBE, pointing to innovation as a driver for creating new markets in iGaming.

The post David Natroshvili Recognized as iGaming’s Leading Global Influencer appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Conference

Danish regulator to speak at Gaming in the Nordics launch event

Published

23 minutes ago

June 2, 2026

Wladimir P.

danish-regulator-to-speak-at-gaming-in-the-nordics-launch-event

On Thursday, June 18, 2026, Gaming in the Nordics will bring together in Copenhagen key decision makers in the regulated (or soon-to-be-regulated) Danish, Swedish, Finnish, and Norwegian iGaming markets.

Gaming in the Nordics is the latest initiative from Gaming in Europe, which is well known for its annual Gaming in Holland, Gaming in Germany, and Gaming in Spain conferences.

The event will take place at the Better Collective HQ in Copenhagen, and will feature Mr. Anders Dorph, Director of the Danish Gambling Authority as its headline speaker.

Other confirmed speakers include:

Pontus Lindwall, CEO, Betsson
Jesper Søgaard, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Better Collective
Morten Ronde, CEO, Danish Online Gambling Association (DOGA)
Fredrik Stenstrøm, Secretary General, Norway Association for Online Gaming (NBO)
Pekka Ilmivalta, Head of Office, Nordic Legal – Finland
Birgitte Sand, CEO, Birgitte Sand & Associates
Josh Hodgson, COO, H2 Gambling Capital
Peter-Paul de Goeij, Managing Consultant, QuodBonum.se (day chair)

Gaming in the Nordics founder, Willem van Oort commented: “We are extremely pleased that Mr. Anders Dorph has agreed to speak at the Gaming in the Nordics launch event. In my experience, it is always good to able to facilitate a dialogue between regulatory authorities and the industry – which in this case will be very capably represented by Betsson’s Mr. Pontus Lindwall, as well as several leading trade bodies. Although the Nordic markets are in varying states of regulation and market maturity, there nonetheless exist certain commonalities, which together provide a solid basis for the fruitful exchange of lessons learned and best practices.”

Launch event

This year’s Gaming in the Nordics launch event will be a small, half-day conference with a limited capacity for accommodating event attendees.

A full-size, annual Gaming in the Nordics Conference will be held in June in Copenhagen from 2027 onward.

Stay tuned for future updates!

Signup & waiting list

If you would like to attend this year’s Gaming in the Nordics launch event, please register your interest here: https://luma.com/605sboce

As only a very limited number of attendees can be accommodated, all registrants will initially be placed on a waiting list.

We will let you know as soon as possible whether we will have a seat available for you.

For press access, please contact: [email protected].

Video sessions

Key sessions of the Gaming in the Nordics launch event will be recorded and shared with the members of the Gaming in Nordics community.

If you would like to receive updates, including the links to the recorded sessions, please sign up for our Gaming in the Nordics mailing list at www.gamingin.eu.

Sponsorship opportunities available

Sponsorship and media partnership opportunities are available. Please contact Willem van Oort at [email protected] for more information.

The post Danish regulator to speak at Gaming in the Nordics launch event appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Avanti Studios

Avanti Studios finalises seed round

Published

23 minutes ago

June 2, 2026

Wladimir P.

Disruptive live casino supplier, Avanti Studios, has announced the finalisation of its second instalment, raising €5m in this round giving a total of €10m in seed funding.

Having only recently opened the opportunity up to investors, the latest investment round quickly became oversubscribed and closed on 19 May. The oversubscription reflects strong investor confidence in the company’s vision, strategy, and long-term prospects, while providing additional capital to accelerate its growth and commercial execution.

Genting Casinos UK, a first round investor, provided additional investment during this second round, underscoring its continued belief in the new live casino vertical Avanti Studios is building.

The participants of the second investment round join Avanti Studios at a critical stage of its journey, with the deployment of its innovative casino content planned to take place in the coming weeks, June 2026. Operators have voiced continued excitement in bringing new and innovative content to their players in Spain and beyond.

Gustaf Hagman, Co-Founder at Avanti Studios, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the investor group we’ve assembled. Their backing demonstrates not just a belief in our company, but a belief in the future, and I’d like to give a special thank you to the board of Genting Casinos UK for their continued support, guidance and the overall contribution they’ve made to our journey so far.”

Jonas Delin, Co-Founder at Avanti Studios, said: “Avanti is thrilled to have finalised its second stage of funding in what has been one of the biggest investment rounds in an industry start-up this year. We strongly believe that the future belongs to real-time, lifelike, interactive digital humans, and to see so many investors share this vision with us indicates one thing… this is only the beginning!”

The post Avanti Studios finalises seed round appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.