They say “the house” always wins. So why not buy the house?
That’s the concept behind a new sports-betting platform called Upside. Upside is the first platform that enables its betting community to become shareholders. The more users place bets, the more Upside’s value will grow — and the more profits its shareholders can potentially earn.
Sports-betting is widely popular. Americans bet close to $120 billion on sports last year, many through popular platforms like DraftKings and FanDuel.
DraftKings went public in 2020, and has a current market cap of more than eighteen billion dollars. FanDuel, meanwhile, recently achieved a valuation of thirty-five billion dollars.
But these platforms struggle to keep bettors happy. There’s little to no brand loyalty in this market. Furthermore, these companies often exploit vulnerable bettors who may be battling gambling addictions. And remember, any and all profits made by these platforms are kept by the companies.
That’s what makes Upside so appealing. Like DraftKings and FanDuel, Upside is a full-service betting platform, offering fantasy and traditional sports-betting options through its mobile app. But it’s the only one to operate under a player-ownership model, which enables players to become shareholders in the company.
Upside has set aside thirty percent of its equity for its player-owners. Users earn equity through gameplay, referrals, and for helping build out the company’s platform.
The company has also set aside ten percent of its revenue and equity to benefit its non-profit foundation, which promotes safe, responsible gambling. Upside even operates with a play-safe budget, which forces bettors to declare a betting budget that caps monthly deposits. This limits their potential losses and keeps them from wiping out entire savings accounts.
Upside offers two unique, patented games that have been successfully operated through major partners. The first, Real-Time Brackets, is a game centered around the annual men’s college basketball tournament. It’s the only bracket game that lets bettors change their picks in real-time, even during live games.
The other game is called Daily Number, which focuses more on fantasy sports. Here, users pick a lineup of athletes across multiple sports, and hope that their individual performances create an overall score that’s higher than their projections. If they beat the target score, they win.
Upside generates revenue from transactions fees on its platform. Because players earn equity through referrals, Upside is in position to dramatically reduce its customer-acquisition costs (CAC) as its scales.
Upside’s platform is in private beta, being tested by some of its founding player-owners. The company has secured three patents protecting its gameplay.
Upside has also raised $1.4 million, and plans to launch its platform in the next few weeks. Revenue for this year is projected at around $50,000. But next year, projected revenue is ten million dollars, followed by $104 million in 2026.