Gambling software startup Simplebet has closed a $15 million funding deal to advance its sports betting platform, CNBC reported on Tuesday (March 2).

Investors included Jim Murren, former CEO of MGM Resorts International, and Joe Banner, former NFL team executive. Revenue in U.S. sports betting is projected to hit $2.5 billion this year and $8 billion by 2025, according to CNBC.

Chris Bevilacqua, Simplebet co-founder and CEO, told CNBC that investors were drawn to the company following popularity on FanDuel and Intralot, the company’s latest partners. The new funding will be used to introduce Scripts, a solution for its micro-betting feature. 

Scripts provide users extended opportunities to place in-play bets around live sporting events, he said.

“We have the future operating system of all in-play betting,” Bevilacqua said. “And we think in-play betting is going to be the way the vast majority of sports fans are going to bet.”

Using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the Simplebet platform gives people the ability to make fast-paced bets with quick odds — such as which player will catch the ball. By creating micro-markets, Simplebet allows every game and every play to become a betting opportunity. The platform integrates with apps like FanDuel.

“It goes beyond drives and plays but expands into correlated bets,” Bevilacqua said, per CNBC. “So you can bet not only on the next play, but if the next play will result in a touchdown from a pass on the third play of the drive.”

In a November PYMNTS podcast interview with Karen Webster, George Connors, Fiserv senior vice president of gaming solutions, said that state governments and payment firms will soon see the benefits of sports gambling.  Over the course of the next 10 years, it’s anticipated that 90 percent of sports bets will be placed online or mobile.

Sports betting firms have benefited from the lack of in-person sporting events due to the worldwide pandemic. DraftKings — which went public in April — said boredom and the lack of live sports created vast opportunity.

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