Swedish start-up Fan13League has a new approach to online pool betting action

Following two rounds of successful capital funding by Scandinavian investors, a Swedish start-up claims it is set to disrupt the online pool betting vertical with a format that combines strong social features with exciting but responsible gambling.

Titled Fan13League, the start-up launched this week and is the brain child of four Swedish online entrepreneurs, Markus Jennemyr, Christian Magnuson, Henrik Åsén and Christian Schaffner. Jennemyr is currently helming the company as CEO.

The two rounds of funding have raised a total of $4.3 million, ensuring the company’s viability as it enters the market focused on the UK and with ambitions to quickly grow the business. The company has already obtained a Malta online gambling licence, which may help it penetrate the Swedish market as well as the UK.

The ’13’ in the company title is a reference to the number of match picks a player can enter; the pools betting is based on each player predicting home win, away win or draw for 13 football fixtures in the English Premier League and Championship.

Using the social sharing functions, players can set up private leagues, compete against FanLeague’s own experts (which include former England football coach Sven Goran-Ericksson) or against the rest of the social community, competing to win the weekly and season end prize pot awarded to the 1,000 best players.

Respecting responsible gambling principles, Fan13League has put a maximum betting limit on all players of GBP 125 a week. Players are incentivised by game credit rewards for bringing more new players to the platform.

“We want our players to communicate, share, comment and socialise around the football,” Jennmyr explained this week. “The focus is on creating a social sports betting community.”

Social responsibility is also a key element in the founders’ strategy, with a plan to donate 10 percent of turnover to charity.

Fan13League is available through desktop and mobile channels, and has embarked on a marketing campaign dominated by digital media, PR and events marketing.