The Philadelphia-based startup app Sporttrade is set to launch in New Jersey and will allow users to trade bets. The startup raised $36m from investors including Nasdaq and Jump Capital.
The app is designed for day traders and experienced sports bettors but is available for anyone located in New Jersey. Sporttrade's app blends the aesthetic of a sportsbook with a more traditional trading app.
Instead of odds, spreads and moneylines, Sporttrade uses terms such as 'markets' and 'contracts.'
For instance, the cost of a 'contract' on the Chargers to win is about $26.50 before kickoff, suggesting a 27% likelihood that it will happen and a potential profit of around $72, which includes Sporttrade's 2% commission.
Sporttrade also lets users sell their positions, transacting in either contracts or dollar amounts, allowing users to cash out their contracts.
Sporttrade CEO Alex Kane told Insider.com that their target customer is one that doesn't "currently bet on sports and would be hyper high volume customers on day one, because they totally understand the business. They've seen this all happen in their industry in the last 25 years."
The app had a soft launch last week and noticed the average user was trading more than one contract on average and staying logged in for 30 minutes or longer at a time.
During the Monday Night Football game between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks, the app had more than 80 trades.
Kane added: "Not only are we proving that we can do this, but the customers are also actually engaging and adopting this sort of experience, and that's magical for us."
Sporttrade is looking to work with affiliates to get its prices on odds-comparison sites to draw more customers in.
