The world has no shortage of online casinos, but that isn’t stopping FanDuel co-founders Nigel Eccles and Rob Jones from starting a new one.
On Tuesday, November 12, the duo launched BetHog, a crypto casino and sportsbook, anchored by its proprietary games.
Key Highlights
- Several of BetHog’s games were developed in-house and are unique to the site.
- BetHog will use social media and streamers to help build the site’s popularity.
- The founders feel that cryptocurrency is actually less risky for the business.
Finding a Niche
BetHog will initially focus its efforts on the Asian and Latin American markets before turning its sights to the United States. At the moment, the casino is the priority over the sportsbook.
The company wants to stand out through its overall look and feel and its in-house developed games.
Immediately upon loading the site, visitors are greeted with bold, cartoony graphics and BetHog’s proprietary “skilled based” casino games.
Eccles told Sportico that the hog logo sprouted from the designer’s simple doodle, saying, “(The designer) just immediately grabbed a personality in the hog, you’ll see it. And we were like, ‘Wow, I love that.’ He’s cheeky, he’s confident. He’s somebody you would like to hang out with.”
They’re the same games, they’re from the same third-party providers, and we think there’s an opportunity to build games that are just more social.
– BetHog co-Founder and CEO Nigel Eccles
BetHog will lean on social media and gambling streamers, specifically those on Kick, to help build the site’s popularity.
It is the combination of all the above – the bold site, the custom-made games, the social aspect – that BetHog hopes will allow it to claim a niche in the online gambling market and grow.
“We just sort of feel that there may be 500 online casinos, but they’re all kind of the same, right?” Eccles told Sportico. “They’re the same games, they’re from the same third-party providers, and we think there’s an opportunity to build games that are just more social.”
Leaning Into Crypto
But why cryptocurrency? Why not just regular currency?
Despite the volatile nature of crypto – “investing” in cryptocurrency is essentially gambling in and of itself – Eccles feels it is safer for an online gambling site to use than traditional currency.
He said when he was at FanDuel, customers would routinely contest credit card charges after they lost money gambling. That is not possible with cryptocurrency, as there is no bank to fall back on.
Additionally, Eccles told Sportico a story of being in a meeting with PayPal executives while he was still with FanDuel where a PayPal risk officer was “evaluating whether they were going to keep doing business with us.”
Again, there is no bank or financial institution that will stop doing business with BetHog if the site uses crypto, so the company doesn’t have to worry about payment providers getting cold feet.
BetHog currently accepts Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and USDT and plans to add more currencies down the road.
The Games Are the Differentiator
BetHog offers all the usual slots and table games from providers like Evolution and Pragmatic, but where the site is really trying to differentiate itself is with its custom-made games.
“We just sort of feel that there may be 500 online casinos, but they’re all kind of the same, right?” Eccles said. “They’re the same games, they’re from the same third-party providers, and we think there’s an opportunity to build games that are just more social.”
In the game “HODL!” for instance, players wager on the ups and downs of a fictional memecoin. Every nine seconds, customers can place a bet and watch as the memecoin price chart fluctuates.
They can cash out at any time and take their winnings, but the longer they hold on, the higher the price can go.
Eventually, though, the rug is pulled (“rugged”), the value of the memecoin plummets to zero, and anyone who hasn’t cashed out loses.
And then there is “Hogger,” a take on the classic video game Frogger. The player places a bet and then tries to advance the hog across a busy street, one lane at a time.
Each successive lane increases the payout, but at some point, the hog gets run over by a car (it can be as soon as the first lane). The trick, like with HODL!, is to quit while you’re ahead.
BetHog may consider licensing its games to other companies one day, but that is of no concern right now.
Sources
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241112479929/en/FanDuel-Co-Founders-Launch-Crypto-Casino-and-Sportsbook-Company-BetHog-and-Secure-6M-Seed-Round
https://www.sportico.com/business/sports-betting/2024/fanduel-founders-launch-bethog-casino-sportsbook-1234804432/
https://www.bethog.com/about
