Despite the crypto winter and other scandals, it looks like blockchains are here to stay in the sports betting market • TechCrunch

According to Grand View Research, the global sports betting market is expected to grow to $182.12 billion in revenue by 2030, up from $76.75 billion last year.

So we see a number of startups swarming around this market. Thus, HotStreak, a web3 platform for daily fantasy sports (DFS) competitions, is betting that a decentralization of payments is an ideal solution for DFS platforms.

Meanwhile, you have Polymarket, a global sports betting information market platform; BetDEX, a global decentralized sports betting exchange; Aver, a decentralized gaming and prediction exchange; and Divvy, a decentralized gaming protocol. Additionally, Super Bowl ads increased crypto app downloads by 279%, so it’s a growing market.

And so it is that New York-based Frontrunner, a decentralized sports prediction marketplace, has now raised a $4.75 million funding round from Susquehanna Private Equity Investments LLP. Rounding out the round were Soma Capital, Gilgamesh Ventures, FBG Capital, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, Toy Ventures, Gaingels, Ledger Prime, WAGMI Ventures and NOA Capital.

So what makes Frontrunner different?

One of the ticks is that it makes the better market look much more like a stock market-like experience. So the odds are presented more like share prices. Users can buy shares of teams and players across markets such as the NFL, NBA and Premier League, using crypto, through a simplified trading interface. The company also plans to launch ETF-style offerings, allowing usage to be invested in teams, favorite ownership groups and league divisions. They will also be able to buy and sell using stablecoins.

Frontrunner is a decentralized sports prediction market built on the blockchain, using Injective, a protocol built on COSMOS, to support decentralized financial markets and order books, using blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana.

The company launched its test network last quarter, and plans to add the FIFA World Cup 2022 market, and expand its offering in its existing NFL, NBA and Premier League leagues by the end of this year.

Neil Zhang, founder and CEO of Frontrunner said: “Instead of being a generalized prediction market product, we are launching Frontrunner that focuses specifically on sports and esports markets… We believe that blockchain brings the sector closer to what users really want when they using a sports prediction. market product.”

Speaking to me over a call, he added, “Most of our competitors so far are in the Solana ecosystem. But we’ve really had a multi-chain vision of the long-term vision of our products. And so we’ve chosen first to be in the cosmos ecosystem, which we’re very positive about in terms of the interchain interoperability and some of the multichain technologies that are being built there.”

“We are particularly excited about the possibilities of the Cosmos ecosystem on which Frontrunner is built and believe it has a great future,” Dean Carlson, head of Digital Asset Investments at Susquehanna Private Equity Investments LLP, said in a statement.

Finally, next year, Frontrunner says it will provide users with social features, allowing them to create group funds where they band together by pooling capital and investing collectively.

The company is in the process of obtaining an offshore gaming license in the Isle of Man during the first quarter of next year, which will allow it to legally operate in a number of jurisdictions, including Canada, Mexico, parts of Europe and much of South America , Africa and Asia.