Betable

Betable Ltd.
Industry Entertainment
Genre social gaming
Founded London, United Kingdom (2008)
Founder Christopher E. Griffin
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Key people
  • Christopher E. Griffin (CEO)
  • Gaetano Crupi (COO)
  • Ryan Linton (CRO)
  • Michael Malone (CTO)
Website betable.com

Betable is a London-based company that develops and markets a real-money gambling platform for the social gaming industry. The company is licensed by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission and the Alderney Gambling Control Commission and is certified by third-party testing houses.[1][2][3][4] The company has raised a total of $23 million in venture funding from, among others, Venture51, Greylock Partners, and Founders Fund.[5][6][7]

History

Christopher Griffin, the company’s current CEO, founded Betable in 2008.[2][5][8] The first iteration of the service involved users creating betting opportunities and placing bets on a central, social-oriented gambling site. In July 2010 the company raised $3 million in seed funding from Atomico Ventures.[9]

In 2012, Griffin re-capped the company and re-launched Betable from being a betting site to developing a real-money gambling platform.[7][10][11] The Betable API beta program was released in July 2012, allowing game developers to integrate Betable betting features.[4][12][13]

In October 2012 Betable partnered with game developers Slingo, Digital Chocolate, and Murka Games to incorporate betting into the developers' current offerings.[12]

In November 2012 Mandala Games became the first European game developer to use the Betable platform, enabling real-money play in its title Slots by La Riviera.[14]

In November 2013 Betable raised an $18.5 million Series A funding round led by Venture51.[1][6]

TechCrunch April Fools' slot machine

On April 1, 2013, news website TechCrunch published a hoax article claiming that it would be launching a social betting game for venture capitalists to gamble at, remarking that it would be "an even easier way to bypass SEC regulations around being an accredited investor". The article included a TechCrunch-themed slot machine that was powered by Betable software.[15]

Products and services

Third-party game developers use the Betable API to apply real-money gambling functionality to mobile games. In addition to converting standard games (such as slots, blackjack, and roulette) into real-money gambling titles, the software can be used to create non-traditional types of gambling games that operate on top of the Betable platform.[5][12][16] Once installed, Betable acts as a turnkey gaming engine that manages all real-money tasks within a game such as identity verification, anti-fraud safeguards, regulatory compliance, transactions, auditing, and gambling mechanics.[3][4][12][17] The platform acts as an alternative to other forms of app monetization, such as banner ads or freemium models, by allowing developers to enable revenue-generating betting features within their games.[17][18]

Because Betable possesses gambling licenses from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission that allow it to provide gambling services on another party's behalf, developers can enable betting within their games without applying for any licenses themselves.[4][5][16] Betable is compatible with games on iOS and Android operating systems.

Battle Keno

One example of a traditional gaming title being converted to a real-money gambling app through Betable's platform is 30AK Gaming's Battle Keno, an adaptation of Battleship that financially rewards or penalizes players based on gameplay.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Takahashi, Dean (November 5, 2013). "Betable raises $18.5M for real-money gambling mobile platform". VentureBeat. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Woodward, Curt (July 25, 2012). "As Zynga Eyes Gambling, Betable Offers Small Devs Some Action". Xconomy. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chaey, Christina (July 9, 2012). "Why Investors are Gambling on Betable Even Though it's Illegal in the U.S.". Fast Company. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Savitz, Eric (July 9, 2012). "Betting On Betting: Gaming Play Betable Raises Big Seed Round". Forbes. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Macmillan, Douglas (November 5, 2013). "Betable Banks Funding to Push Online Betting Tools". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Isaac, Mike (November 5, 2013). "Real-Money Gaming Platform Betable Raises $18.5 Million". All Things Digital. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Griffith, Erin (July 16, 2013). "Betable raises new round for real money gambling platform". PandoDaily. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  8. ↑ Konrad, Alex (July 26, 2012). "Real-money gaming promises real profits". CNN. Fortune. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  9. ↑ Butcher, Mike (July 22, 2010). "Betable secures $3 million to become the Twitter for betting". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  10. ↑ Cutler, Kim-Mai (July 9, 2012). "Betable Brings Legal Gambling Mechanics To Social Game Developers". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  11. ↑ Osborne, Charlie (July 10, 2012). "Betable aims to raise the stakes in virtual gaming". CNET. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Lomas, Natasha (October 31, 2012). "Real-Money Gambling Platform, Betable, Signs Up Developers Slingo, Digital Chocolate, Murka; Private Beta "Opening Up In Near Future"". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  13. ↑ Edwards, Cliff (October 31, 2012). "Online gaming startup Betable recruits three Zynga competitors". Bloomberg News. Financial Post. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  14. ↑ Wauters, Robin (November 7, 2012). "French social games studio Mandala teams up with Betable for real-money gambling push". The Next Web. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  15. ↑ Cutler, Kim-Mai (April 1, 2013). "TechCrunch Is Breaking Into Real-Money Gaming". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Cutler, Kim-Mai (January 16, 2013). "Betable Nabs The Guy Behind Zynga’s Recent Deal To Enter Real-Money Gaming". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Locke, Laura (July 9, 2012). "Gambling add-on offered to app developers by Betable". BBC News. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  18. ↑ Kim, Ryan (July 9, 2012). "Betable allows social games to add real money gambling". GigaOM. Retrieved June 4, 2014.

External links