William Hill Eyes E-Sports, Millennials with $214,000 BetGame Investment

Social-betting start-up BetGame "has been named the first winner" of William Hill's accelerator program scheme, launched last year in partnership with L Marks, according to Shona Ghosh of MARKETING MAGAZINE. BetGame, a Manchester-based start-up, "is an app that lets two people place a bet on the result of a console or PC video game, such as football title FIFA." Gamers "can bet against a friend or any other player." The start-up will receive a £150,000 ($214,000) investment from William Hill and "go live in March, in time for the release of FIFA 2016." Runner-up Skillzzgaming, which combines betting with casual gaming, "will also receive some investment and backing from William Hill." The investment in BetGame "gives William Hill access to an untapped male audience in the 18- to 35-year-old age group" (MARKETING MAGAZINE, 1/15).