Betting on horse racing is one of the oldest forms of gambling. Finally, it's getting a new twist.David Marshall and Russell Fine, entrepreneurs who founded and sold online horse gambling site YouBet.com to Churchill Downs for $127 million, are now adding a layer of mobile gaming to the thrill of horse betting with their new company b Spot.
b Spot works as a gambling platform for developers to link horse race betting to their mobile games. Via b Spot players place bets before playing a mobile game, and as they win points within the game the results of their horse bet is revealed. b Spot believes that by combining mobile games with horse betting they can attract more horse betting customers and give game developers a new way to make money.
“There’s a really small portion of the population that understands horse racing. There’s a huge portion of adults that play games on their mobile devices,” said Marshall, co-founder and CEO. “If we can integrate those two things we can greatly expand horse racing gambling across the country."
Right now the platform is linked to 40 plus games, nearly all coming from outside developers. b Spot and their partner game developers make money by taking a portion of proceeds coming from horse betting wins. For users, the mobile games are free to play.
The company has raised $17 million in capital since its founding in Jan. 2012 and has grown to 47 employees. Currently, b Spot is in the process of raising another round to continue growth.
“Right now we’ve just launched here in California and we will be expanding across the course of the country into the appropriate states,” said Marshall.
b Spot is not alone in trying to add gambling to online mobile games, but horse racing may be its advantage. While, online mobile game gambling is only legal in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware, online horse gambling is legal in 34 states. That should make b Spot’s expansion easier, though the company will still have to comply with regulations state-by-state.
Its Los Angeles location has advantages too. L.A. has several other gambling and mobile game rewards startups, including Gamblit Gaming, a gambling platform for in-game gambling and P4RC, a platform for rewarding mobile gamers with gift cards.
“Gambling is entertainment and licensing and technology, so that's why I think a lot of this gets focused here in L.A.,” said Marshall.
As such, b Spot is in talks with movie, television, and celebrity brands about adding horse betting to their versions of mobile games. The combination of Hollywood brands and gambling could be enormous. Mobile game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, for example, made $43 million in its first three months. Imagine combining a game like that with the Kentucky Derby.
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