{"id":44420,"date":"2023-10-20T15:35:50","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/wanna-bet-startup-plans-to-make-friendly-wagers-fun-again-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:35:50","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:35:50","slug":"wanna-bet-startup-plans-to-make-friendly-wagers-fun-again-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/wanna-bet-startup-plans-to-make-friendly-wagers-fun-again-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Wanna bet? Startup plans to make friendly wagers fun again – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

A Brisbane startup wants to put the power back in the hands of the punters rather than the bookies and reignite the social aspect of gambling.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Puntaa is a pre-launch social betting app that allows users to bet on anything they like with their friends, rather than against a computer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Co-founder Damon Oudejans says the idea came from his brother and co-founder Jordan, and his experience as a bookmaker.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe social betting part of gambling has evaporated with the consolidation of online bookmakers,\u201d Oudejans says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no social platform, it\u2019s all just for bookmakers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOur whole mission is to bring the social aspect back to betting that\u2019s really lost its way with online corporate bookies. It\u2019s about getting together and having a bit of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A social betting platform<\/b><\/h2>\n

Puntaa is a peer-to-peer platform where users can enter the terms of the bet, set the wager and odds, and then invite a friend to compete. It\u2019s also integrated with various social media sites so winners can brag to their heart\u2019s content.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All transactions happen within the app, with users uploading money to an eWallet on the platform.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A legal minefield<\/b><\/h2>\n

The startup relies on an honour system, which could prove troublesome. The losing party having to admit defeat on the app before the money is transferred.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s with friends, so you\u2019re going to honour your bet,\u201d Oudejans says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The team is also looking at introducing a rating system like Uber so stingy users not paying up can be named and shamed, and possibly suspended from the service.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, the young trio of co-founders encountered a number of legal obstacles, but Oudejans says they\u2019re through this \u201cminefield\u201d now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have obtained a fully operational online bookmaker and online betting exchange licence,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A difficult industry<\/b><\/h2>\n

Oudejans hopes to avoid the less savoury connotations of gambling with his startup.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever you hear the word gambling people jump on the negative side of it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGambling companies have a responsibility to try to provide a responsible platform, and often they abuse the position they\u2019re in.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But Oudejans says Puntaa can transform the notion of gambling to one of fun between friends rather than competition with bookies over large amounts of money.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to change this stigma hanging around gambling,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOur model is peer-to-peer, so unlike with bookies that need people to lose, the result of the bet doesn\u2019t concern us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWith that approach we can go a long way to bringing the fun back and being more responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Puntaa is currently in a beta , or possibly bettor, testing phase, with about 100 users taking part. It\u2019ll officially launch in the next month or so.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The startup was recently accepted into the River City Labs\u2019 first accelerator program<\/a>, and will receive $20,000 in funding in exchange for 3% equity as part of this.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are also two private investors who have contributed to the startup, but Oudejans won\u2019t reveal who they are just yet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The accelerator program is about a lot more than the money though, he says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe best part is being involved with the network and getting around that startup ecosystem,\u201d Oudejans says. \u201cWe\u2019re honoured to be part of the inaugural group.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great initiative from muru-D and River City Labs, and Australia needs a lot more of it. It\u2019s important for the country moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Raising your<\/i> first round of capital<\/i><\/a>? Starting a<\/i> crowdfunding campaign<\/i><\/a>? Want to grow your business<\/i> with Instagram?<\/i><\/a> StartupSmart School can help.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Brisbane startup wants to put the power back in the hands of the punters rather than the bookies and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,27,20,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44420"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}