Ep. 198 features Pierre Lindh, founder of NEXT.io, returning for his fourth appearance on the Betting Startups Podcast. Pierre reflects on NEXT.io’s breakout year, the transition from scrappy startup to growth-stage business, the role of investigative journalism in iGaming media, and why emerging betting products may go global in 2026.

Hear them discuss:

• How 2025 became a “12-year overnight success” after more than a decade of compounding momentum
• The shift from runway preservation to investing aggressively in growth
• Why founders inevitably become bottlenecks and how to let go without losing vision
• The importance of finding a true operational counterbalance as a visionary leader
• Why sustainable scaling beats short-term overexpansion in a cyclical industry
• How AI is reshaping media and why human journalism may become more valuable, not less
• The commercial trade-offs of integrity-led investigative reporting
• Game theory, AI acceleration, and why safety may lose to competitive pressure
• The explosive growth of NEXT New York and what makes it a senior-level dealmaking event
• His 2026 prediction: emerging products like prediction markets and sweepstakes expanding globally

If you don't have a ticket for the Next.io Summit in New York event yet, use discount code BETTINGSTARTUPS10 for 10% off your full event pass. Grab your ticket here: https://next.io/summits/newyork/

Catch the video version of this episode here.

Learn more 👇

➡️ Next.io website

➡️ Pierre Lindh on Linkedin

📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/

Ep. 197 features Benson Bleier and Daniel Prior, Co-Founders of Regen, an automated savings platform built specifically for sports bettors. break down how Regen helps bettors automatically save money on every bet — win or lose — and why they believe savings and investing can become a core part of sustainable gaming.

Hear them discuss:

• Benson and Daniel’s paths from consulting, VC, and professional poker into building a betting-adjacent fintech startup
• How the founders met in Argentina through padel and decided to launch Regen
• How poker bankroll management inspired the original idea behind Regen
• What Regen does: automated savings triggered every time a sports bet is placed (win or lose)
• How the product works, including sportsbook connections, bank integrations, and user-set saving rules
• Why users save on both wins and losses and how typical saving percentages are set
• How Regen aggregates betting activity across multiple sportsbooks to provide simple performance insights
• Why Regen positions itself as a fintech, “gambling-adjacent” product for operators and bettors
• How Underdog’s Guard Dog fund discovered Regen and why it invested
• Regen’s roadmap, including operator integrations, investing products, and its vision for sustainable betting and financial education

Catch the video version of this episode here.

Learn more 👇

➡️ Regen website

➡️ Ben Bleier on Linkedin

➡️ Daniel Prior on Linkedin

📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/

Ep. 196 features Javier Troncoso and Cristian Barbosa, Co-Founders of InsightPlay.ai, an AI-powered engagement platform using autonomous agents to help operators acquire, retain, and reactivate players at scale.

Fresh off a busy ICE Barcelona and a newly announced seed round, Javier and Cristian join Jesse Learmonth to break down how Insight Play is redefining player engagement through conversational AI and what it takes to build an AI-native startup in global gaming.

Hear them discuss:

• Javier and Cristian’s paths from media, affiliates, and iGaming into building an AI-native startup

• How InsightPlay.ai was founded and why they went all-in on autonomous AI agents

• What InsightPlay.ai does: conversational AI agents that drive acquisition, retention, and reactivation

• Real-world use cases including win-back campaigns, VIP engagement, onboarding, and support

• A live demo showing AI agents making personalized outbound calls to bettors

• Why conversational AI changes sportsbook UX from static interfaces to 1:1 interaction

• Early traction in LATAM, rapid deployments, and lessons from launching with real operators

• Performance metrics, reactivation success, and how AI complements CRM and call centers

• Closing a $500K seed round, choosing strategic investors, and founder fundraising realities

• The roadmap ahead, global expansion plans, and why the World Cup is a major growth catalyst

Catch the video version of this episode here.

Learn more 👇

➡️ InsightPlay.ai website

➡️ Javier Troncoso on Linkedin

➡️ Cristian Barbosa on Linkedin

📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/