WaterHouseVC Archives

March 12, 2024

Waterhouse VC: Spotlight on industry leaders

In his latest column, Tom Waterhouse of Waterhouse VC shines a spotlight on three industry leaders and discusses their paths to success.

In every industry, there are prominent figures who stand out and the wagering industry is no exception.

This month, we shine a spotlight on three distinct leaders in the industry: Tim Heath, a crypto wagering pioneer; Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter Entertainment; and David Walsh, renowned as one of the world’s largest professional horse racing gamblers.

Over the last decade, the online wagering industry has expanded significantly through the proliferation of mobile-focused platforms. Heath and Jackson lead companies at the forefront of digital innovation in the industry.

YOLO

Originally from Australia, Heath is a serial wagering industry entrepreneur and venture capitalist. After university, he started a software development and ecommerce firm, Heathmont.net.

In 2013, he launched Coingaming Group, a crypto wagering operator and supplier which reb..

February 23, 2024

Waterhouse VC: The mathematics of betting

Tom Waterhouse of Waterhouse VC explores the mathematical prowess involved in professional betting and discusses why people choose to bet the way they do.

For most of us, it is hard to fathom the mathematical capability possessed by a small number of people. It is even more impressive when these individuals can combine several rare skills together with business acumen to develop a highly profitable enterprise.

We believe that professional betting is one of the most difficult fields in the world. The three keys to winning at betting are: making correct bet selections; betting at an attractive price; correctly staking – knowing how much to wager on each selection.

Successful professional betting requires a combination of incredibly challenging skills:

Knowing a sport back to front – every player statistic, every last-minute change, every location and playing surface (e.g. clay/grass/hard tennis courts, Emirates Stadium vs Etihad Stadium)Complex modelling of the many 100s of various ..

January 19, 2024

Waterhouse VC: A year in review

In his first column of the year, Tom Waterhouse of Waterhouse VC looks back at the ups and downs of 2023 – and discusses what lies ahead in 2024.

While company valuations broadly increased in 2023, there was significant divergence across geographies and sectors. With the increase in interest rates globally, investors have grown more selective, preferring to invest in profitable businesses.

Waterhouse VC’s gross performance, as at 31 December 2023

Performance of various asset classes and sectors in 2023. Source: Topdown Charts, Refinitiv Datastream

In 2023, there were two stand out contributors to the fund’s +39.5% performance:

Project Tennis – a professional betting syndicate founded by Tom Dry focused on tennis. It was first discussed in December 2022 and invested in on 1 July 2023.Saintly – a crypto wagering operator and B2B platform. Position exited in August 2023.

Beating the house

We are very pleased with the operational performance of Tom Dry’s betting syndicate going into..

April 24, 2023

Waterhouse VC: Are you feeling lucky?

In his latest column for iGB, Tom Waterhouse of Waterhouse VC discusses the place of syndicate betting and artificial intelligence in the industry.

Business partners David Walsh and Zeljko Ranogajec are professional bettors, whose syndicate bets about $10bn per annum across horse racing, sports betting and lotteries. Walsh spent $75m to re-open Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in 2011.

In our December newsletter, we discussed the niche but highly lucrative field of professional betting. Betting successfully is incredibly challenging, with other market participants always trying to take your edge. This dynamic means that betting strategies must be adjusted all the time.

The Pharos wing at Australia’s MONA museum

Rebating their competition away

The large betting syndicates receive generous rebates from pari-mutuel or tote betting for providing liquidity. This gives them a significant edge, which varies depending on pool or jurisdiction, over other participants.

To receive ..

February 23, 2023

Waterhouse VC: The US wagering experience

In his latest column, Tom Waterhouse of Waterhouse VC discusses the wagering experience in the US, as well as how Flutter is integrating itself into the states.

On a recent trip to the US, we spoke with many US bettors who are incredibly frustrated with both the US online wagering experience and the US taxation system (regarding the treatment of winnings).

Due to KYC/AML requirements, it is very cumbersome to set up and fund an online betting account. We do not envision this changing any time soon – if anything, this initial barrier to entry is likely to become more challenging for consumers.

Furthermore, according to the IRS’ website, wagering winnings are fully taxable and a bettor must report winnings as income on their tax return. Gambling spans lotteries, raffles, horse races, online sports betting and igaming, and land-based sports betting and casinos.

An operator is required to issue bettors with a “Form W-2G, Certain Gambling Winnings” if they receive certain gambling winni..

January 25, 2023

How crypto could be embedded in online betting

Tom Waterhouse of WaterhouseVC revisits the subject of crypto wagering, and whether it could be central to next-gen sportsbook platforms.

In May, we discussed the significant opportunity in crypto betting, which is growing gross gaming revenue (GGR) at 36.6% per annum.

Online crypto operators have a similar user experience to online fiat operators. The likes of Stake.com and Sportsbet.io already record extraordinary turnover.

White label platform solutions for crypto betting operators are leveraged to the growth of crypto wagering as a whole. This means they are not exposed to the operational and regulatory risk of a single crypto wagering business.

Global crypto wagering data for total bets and GGR. Source: Softswiss.

Existing wagering platforms

Many fiat operators rely on white label sportsbook and igaming platform solutions, such as Kambi, OpenBet and SBTech.

A selection of white label sportsbook and iGaming platforms built for fiat operators. Source: Waterhouse VC.

Howev..

November 25, 2022

Waterhouse VC: Crunch time in the US

In his latest column, which goes live first on iGB, Tom Waterhouse of Waterhouse VC scrutinises the gambling stock performance in the US, and the variable of customer acquisition costs.

As discussed in our June newsletter, investors in US online wagering operators are growing impatient with the losses recorded for the sake of gaining market share.

One reason we focus primarily on suppliers over operators is because operators rely heavily on their customer acquisition cost (CAC).

In mature, highly taxed, regulated markets, a handful of operators earn the majority of profits because they have the lowest CAC and the best operational efficiencies.

ONE-Year Performance of Operators with Exposure to US Online Wagering.

Sportsbet take 2

Flutter’s third quarter results demonstrated FanDuel’s (Flutter’s US brand) clear market leadership. It has a 42% gross gaming revenue (GGR) market share in mobile sports betting and 18% market share in igaming.

As shown above, Flutter is the only opera..

October 26, 2022

Catering to the next generation

Tom Waterhouse’s latest betting investment column examines social betting, which he sees as a key way to engage younger audiences.

As discussed in our January 2022 newsletter, wagering apps have maintained a consistent information architecture for decades, typically structuring their layout by featuring promotions at the top, then providing some high level navigation to the most popular sports and major racing codes.

We have a particular focus on companies that are revolutionising this traditional user interface and the broader user experience. In January, we discussed Voxbet, a voice and text to bet business, which bettors can use directly through Viber, Telegram and other popular messaging services, thus circumventing the need to bet through a bookmaker’s website/app.

Social betting

Another way that bookmakers can appeal to a younger, digital-native generation of bettors is by promoting the social aspect of betting.

Bettors have always discussed their top picks with their frien..

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