Controversial YouTube and boxing personality Jake Paul will invest into the sports betting industry through his new venture capital fund. Paul will invest in Simplebet, a sports betting platform that allows players to wager during sporting events rather than just before the matches take place.
Simplebet is currently raising $30m in a financing round with results to be announced this week. Paul’s investment fund is led by former UFC executive Nakisa Bidarian, who also heads a talent advisory firm named Bavafa Sports.
The YouTuber’s Anti-Fund was started in March 2021 through a partnership with entrepreneur Geoffrey Woo. Since its inception the fund has made over a dozen investments.
Earlier this week Simplebet announced a multi-year partnership with DraftKings. The deal will see the sportsbook integrate Simplebet’s real-time betting technology to allow users to place wagers throughout sporting events.
“We’re thrilled to be launching our real-money micro-betting products with DraftKings,” said Chris Bevilacqua, co-founder and CEO of Simplebet, while speaking on the company’s agreement with DraftKings. “These types of offerings represent the next evolution of sports betting and deliver enhanced opportunities for operators and fans alike. We look forward to the successful roll-out and to showcase the excitement that comes with micro-betting.”
After a recent funding round, Simplebet’s total investment has reached a total of $50m. This injection of funds, brought in by investments such as Paul’s, will be used to improve the company’s existing NFL, MLB and NBA products by launching new sports. It also introduces new subcategories of micro-markets such as Scripts, expands engineering resources to enable more efficient customer integrations, and explores other strategic opportunities.
