The London-based esports betting startup Midnite has raised over $2.4 million of funding from the same team behind Daily Fantasy Soccer App, Dribble. The “strategic” investment is being managed by Makers Fund, a gaming company.
Previous donors of Midnite include Venrex Investment Management in London and major gaming companies, including Betfair and CGV, with their names as the “founders and managers.” The new round raises a total of around $4.5 million for the founded company in 2016.
“Annual growth in the esport market is rapid year after year,” Nick Wright, co-founder at Midnite, told TechCrunch that “betting is the biggest opportunity in this field(esports industry).” “Exports are expected to exceed $12 billion by the end of 2020, making betting a fast-growing spike in esports already.”
However, Wright says that, despite the size of the opportunity, for most large sports betting sites, the sports are “just another tab,” but that it’s not just another fan of sports. “They are a completely new category of customers who deserve a special platform,” he said. “These are the reasons for Midnite.”
In this sense, Wright presents Midnite as an entertainment platform for esports fans. He says fans are thrilled to look, analyze and bet on their favorite teams and players as they compete in worldwide tournaments.
“The constant action and its highly dynamic nature are what distinguishes esports from other sports,” says the co-founder of Midnite. “This leads to a variety of live betting opportunities that are rarely available in real sports. Users can bet on winners and losers of the regular match, but they can also bet on special choices like the next kill or the next goal reached during tournaments.
It is interesting, even if the start-up operates on an invite trial basis, the UK betting license has already been obtained, as Wright pointed out was the world’s largest betting market.
He says that this makes Midnite the only specialized sportive platform which accepts customers in the United Kingdom and focuses on the world-wide activity of personalized jurisdictions. We] acquire further permits to do this,” he adds.
“In the past, unregulated operators used to place bets on esports, which meant that the unregulated market was several times greater than the regulated market. Most sports betting service firms would not be authorised, take responsible gaming seriously or carry out age checks. It meant that consumers would like to wager on esports which are often put at risk.
“The atmosphere for these fans is safe and responsible. Our highest priority is consumer health, and we take it very seriously. We do everything possible to ensure that our community complies with all the regulations in the markets where we operate.
