HOBOKEN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Prophet Exchange, the first fully regulated, peer-to-peer high-frequency sports betting exchange in the United States, has proudly announced a new line of funding to the tune of over $10 million. This announcement comes on the heels of the company’s official launch in August of 2022 and a successful Super Bowl where the company saw over $1 million traded on the event.
Founded by Dean Sisun and Jake Benzaquen in 2018, Prophet Exchange is an entirely peer-to-peer sports betting platform that matches users’ potential bets with others from across New Jersey. The benefits of a betting exchange are that each user wins more or loses less on every single bet, there are no limits on the amount of money they’d like to wager, and they can trade in and out of positions on tight margin. Additionally, users can make offers on outcomes at their desired prices, similar to financial exchanges.
The platform offers money line, spread and total markets for NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and NCAA football and basketball games, and will continue to add new sports and markets as the platform scales. Soccer, tennis, golf, UFC and other Tier 2 sports will also be going live in the immediate future.
“As excited as we are to enter the emerging market of sports betting, we are a tech company at heart,” said Dean Sisun, CEO and co-founder. “We are a scrappy, lean and agile firm in a sea of behemoths, which allows us to respond to changes and capitalize on opportunities at a moment’s notice. This round of funding will let us continue as disruptors in the betting space and push our fast-moving product forward in this blossoming market.”
Built entirely on proprietary technology, Prophet Exchange is uniquely situated to capitalize on the rapidly changing and expanding sports betting market. As gambling legislation continues to roll out nationwide and change the face of gambling in the U.S., Prophet aims to position itself as the people’s exchange of choice.
While exceedingly common in Europe and abroad, peer-to-peer exchanges have not been present in the U.S. until 2022, when Prophet first opened its doors in New Jersey. Rather than develop the app similar to a sportsbook operator that charges a large vigorish (or tax) on every bet, Prophet instead focuses on a user-friendly system where bettors compete directly with each other. Successful bets are rewarded, and losses don’t mean victory for the platform.
“To be frank, something has always bothered us about ‘the house always wins,’” COO and co-founder Jake Benzaquen stated. “At Prophet, we win only when the user wins. As the first pro-consumer betting exchange in the country, we believe it’s time for the house to lose a few hands.”
Only users within New Jersey can place bets at this time; however, users across the country can download the app, view their lines, and learn the ins and outs of peer-to-peer exchanges, free of charge. Prophet is using this additional line of funding to look inward and develop the best, most innovative product in a rapidly emerging market.
“Prophet’s current mission is to dominate the straight bet experience in the U.S. Best-in-market prices, creating offers with requested prices, unlimited action, and frictionless trading in and out of positions with lower capital requirements make up that experience,” Sisun said. ”From there, over the long term, Prophet’s mission will evolve to scaling across states with a suite of unique betting products at a speed unforeseen by our competitors.”
Prophet’s operation first began in the United Kingdom in 2018, as it passed all of the necessary licensing and compliance overseas in order to prove its concept before peer-to-peer exchanges were being considered in the United States. After gaining the relevant experience, the team returned home in 2020 to work with New Jersey regulators to develop exchange rules and regulations in a then-sportsbook-dominated environment.
As for the future, Prophet aims to work toward profitability while growing their already industry-leading tech by offering additional pro-consumer pieces like increased liquidity, growing their roster of events, adding smart-wallet technology to let users trade more with less, and moving into in-play betting soon. From there, Prophet can roll out its proprietary multi-state technology into new markets as licensing fees and market access agreements continue to come down.
Prophet Exchange is a peer-to-peer sports betting exchange where users can set prices for others to bet on, or place bets on the prices already available. Prophet is the first fully regulated betting exchange in the U.S., with its launch market in New Jersey. They are live on iOS, Android and the web.
