Vested Interest #19: Alt Sports-betting booms, TopGolf disruption & Investment Insights

🎙 NEXT.io Podcast #19 of Vested Interest with Pierre Lindh, Lloyd Danzig & Benjie Cherniak. In this episode, Pierre, Lloyd and Benjie explore the rise of prediction markets in the U.S., the regulatory grey area between investing and gambling, and the disruptive potential of new betting models. They also discuss the evolution of competitive socialization venues like Topgolf, the tech behind real-money gaming integrations, and key lessons for investors and founders in iGaming. ⏰ Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 00:31 - Sponsors 02:01 - The explosion of prediction markets & the role of CFTC regulations 05:10 - Are futures contracts just sports betting in disguise? 09:14 - The impact of Robinhood & crypto platforms on the betting ecosystem 17:12 - The rise of competitive socialization: Topgolf, darts, bowling & beyond 21:40 - How real-money gaming is integrating into entertainment venues 30:12 - The state of iGaming investment: What makes a successful exit? 37:15 - Lessons from bootstrapped vs. VC-backed gaming ventures 45:38 - Closing marks 🔔 SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/409DefE06IKPhZzhDIDpH3?si=bf60dedab34e45bc Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/es/podcast/next-io-podcast/id1515442333 CONNECT WITH NEXT.IO ✩ Website - https://next.io/ ✩ Instagram - /nextdotio ✩ X/Twitter - /nextdotio ✩ LinkedIn - /nextdotio This episode of NEXT.io is brought to you by: Pragmatic Solutions – Leading iGaming platform technology. https://pragmatic.solutions/ Pragmatic Play – Industry-leading content provider. https://www.pragmaticplay.com/en/