BetDEX launches on Solana mainent amid World Cup betting interest

BetDEX launches on Solana mainent amid World Cup betting interest

Looking to capitalise on heightened sporting interest during the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup, BetDEX is now taking real-money wagers.

Operating on the Solona mainnet, the crypto-betting exchange will conduct business under a ‘beta’ tag until 2023, but interested customers can make real-money bets on the Qatar World Cup immediately.

An Isle of Man-licensed company – the first blockchain-based operator to secure such a licence – BetDEX aims to target a number of international markets, currently accepting customers from Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. 

The frim detailed that it will explore regulatory approval for expansion into other jurisdictions, and to mark its launch coinciding with the World Cup has offered fee-free wagers on the tournament. SBC News BetDEX launches on Solana mainent amid World Cup betting interest

Commenting on the launch, Varun Sudhakar, CEO and Co-Founder of BetDEX, commented on today’s news: “The Solana mainnet launch is an incredible milestone for BetDEX and one our community has been patiently waiting for. 

“We are excited for our users to have real stakes in the game, and we couldn’t imagine a better time to do so than during the World Cup.”

Setting out its commercial objectives, BetDEX aims to ‘revitalise’ the sportsbook industry by ‘shifting the power from the operators to players’ via its non-custodial exchange, which it states grants players greater control.

The firm added that it ‘never places stake limits or charges on winning players’, instead aiming to encourage success, whilst all wagers are held on ‘transparent, audited, and public smart contracts’ based on the blockchain, with funds immediately transferred to a player’s wallet after winning. 

Led by Sudhakar alongside Chairman and Co-Founder Nigel Eccles and Chief Technology Officer Stuart Tonner – all three having previously worked at FanDuel – BetDEX was able to raise $21m in a 2021 funding round whilst operating a beta product in preparation for today’s real-money launch.

Speaking exclusively to SBC Media ahead of the launch, Sudhakar asserted that the timing of the firm’s real-money launch with the onset of the World Cup was ideal for promoting crypto-betting to a wider audience.

“The World Cup is one of the biggest betting events, and any event which has this many global eyes on it is always a good kind of tentpole event to showcase any form of betting, and obviously crypto betting is going to be one of them,” he said.

BetDEX launch comes not just during the World Cup but also amid a period of uncertainty in global crypto markets, which were shaken two weeks ago by the collapse of FTX – formerly one of the largest exchanges in the US, and leader in the 2021 funding round. SBC News BetDEX launches on Solana mainent amid World Cup betting interest

After reaching out to BetDEX in the aftermath of FTX going under, SBC learned that the firm remained confident in the future prospects of crypto, with Sudhakar stating ‘we expect to see very limited impact’.

Acknowledging this week that there was some turbulence in the sector, the CEO remained steadfast in backing the long-term stability of the markets, whilst also noting that the World Cup provides an opportunity to strengthen faith in crypto among consumers. 

He remarked: “I think the best way to solve that as it relates to the general public is to find different ways to showcase different applications which actually help users, and actually provide something different for users to what they currently experience in day-to-day life in the mass market. I think betting is definitely one of those avenues.”

SBC’s full interview with Varun Sudhakar will be published in the coming weeks – stay tuned to SBC News and our newsletter to read more.

SBC News BetDEX launches on Solana mainent amid World Cup betting interest


Source: SBC News