A lot is happening around sports betting.
Even though modern sportsbooks are still evolving, technology is helping to speed up the process.
One of the companies leading this innovation is Sparket.
Sparket, founded by Aaron Basch and Evan Fisher, is a sports betting platform on a mission to democratize event wagering by providing more content in live events, esports, and traditional sports.
With their technology, sportsbook operators can offer infinite free-to-play and pay-to-play betting opportunities and consumers can bet on anything.
It’s a win-win for both sides and the future of fan engagement.
In this interview with Aaron Basch, we discuss how their technology works within the sports betting ecosystem, how their partnership with PENN Entertainment came about, and the future of the industry.
Hello, who are you and what is the name of your company?
Hey, my name is Aaron Basch, CEO and co-founder of Sparket.
Sparket is a customizable B2B platform that offers free-to-play and pay-to-play parimutuel betting on traditional sports.
What was the process of getting the company off the ground?
Starting any company is a journey. My co-founder and I have been friends since high school when we were the president and vice-president of the math club together.
Fast forward 20+ years and we still play in the same fantasy football league. This industry has always been our passion, and we happened to have unique backgrounds in mathematics, finance, and tech to be able to make some really fun products.
We started with a demo product that was a solution for esports betting. We learned that the industry has legacy technology and cannot easily add new wagering types.
Many operators are risk averse to pricing fixed odds esports bets as well.
This info helped guide us in building our B2B solution for the industry to offer any type of sports market (Sparket) for their customers.
After making some adjustments to the product we got our first few clients on board and began fundraising with friends and family.
We also participated in several accelerator programs at UCLA, Stadia Ventures, and PAX Momentum, which helped us with everything from pitching and fundraising to business development and sales.
We have since launched products with multiple casino partners, sports teams and leagues, golf clubs, bars and restaurants, and more.
How does the technology work and what is the long-term vision?
Ultimately we imagine a world where people can bet on everything (within the legal and regulatory framework)!
We have created a pool-based wagering platform built with modern tech, gaming, and social features (with more exciting gamification aspects coming soon).
Our product is simple and odds adjust to the market as players wager more, so the market price gets set for everyone in a fair and transparent way.
This is ideal for players who are new to wagering and new events and bet types.
This is how we can work with existing operators to help them offer more social and wagering content to their customers without the additional risk of fixed price odds.
How did the partnership with PENN Entertainment come about?
After over a year of success and strong metrics with our initial flagship customer, Station Casinos, we have been seeking additional major partnerships to add to our Social Betwork® ecosystem.
As an innovative leader in the space, Penn Entertainment was a clear fit.
We connected with their team via our advisory board and were impressed with how quickly they were able to integrate and launch our product.
What differentiates Sparket from other products?
Sparket is uniquely positioned as the only GLI-certified (Gaming Labs International) pool-based wagering system for sports betting.
Our main differentiator is our ability to produce and offer unlimited content that is fully customizable.
We already offer over 50 unique events today, and we truly can offer anything, including local markets, minor league teams, custom tournaments, etc.
We provide industry-leading customization options via our modern tech stack for our partners to have a fully unique experience for their players.
How has the company been able to grow so rapidly?
We have been working on the product for several years now. Learning what customers want and how consumers want to engage have been key factors.
Since being able to pilot the software with multiple casinos, teams, leagues, clubs, restaurants, and more we have tons of data informing how we can best engage the end users.
Fans want a digital product to engage with on a social and real money use case for everything including football, esports, WNBA, reality TV, awards shows, and so much more.
Our product has been tested with multiple clients and certified with GLI, so we know we have great product market fit.
Players want to engage with each other in a less competitive and social environment before spending real money.
Our product allows users to do that in a fun and educational capacity as they learn about the wagering experience.
Once players feel comfortable, they can convert over to real money gaming. These factors have helped us engage with new and existing users in a unique capacity to ensure success for our clients.
Do you have any predictions for the sports betting space over the next couple of years?
The social and gamification pieces are both lacking drastically. Playing with and against friends, influencers, communities, fan bases, etc.
Those are all features I think will eventually be ways gamers want to play.
Being able to watch a live stream with an influencer, and have that influencer’s community create a completely fair and unique bet so they can engage with each other digitally is something that will happen in the wagering space.
Imagine Pat McAfee hosted Brett Farve on his show and they each want to throw up $10k on which team has more field goals in a Colts and Packers game respectively.
Then they open it up to their viewers to join in on both sides of their newly created sports market (Sparket).
Our software can power these types of new and social wagering experiences and ensure everyone is given fair odds and compensation.
Are you currently hiring or raising capital? If so, where can people find out more?
We are always looking for great new team members and strategic investors. Check us out at www.betsparket.com and email me at basch@betsparket.com.
