Slips Secures $3.5 Million Series Seed Funding to Scale Peer‑to‑Peer Betting Platform
Slips, the Los Angeles–based peer‑to‑peer betting company that aims to reshape how people engage with wagering on sports and events, has raised $3.5 million in Series Seed funding as it looks to accelerate product development, expand its team, and grow its user base across the United States. The financing reflects growing investor interest in social and skill‑based gaming platforms that emphasize community engagement and new experiences beyond traditional house‑versus‑player betting models.
The Series Seed funding round was led by Las Olas Capital, a Miami‑based investment firm focused on high‑growth technology companies across fintech, consumer and digital platforms. Las Olas Capital’s participation underscores its belief in Slips’ vision to build a scalable, social‑first wagering experience grounded in head‑to-head competition between users rather than bets against a centralized house.
Joining Las Olas Capital in the round was Sunset Bay Capital, a private investment firm that backs early‑stage and emerging growth companies. Sunset Bay’s engagement brings additional strategic support as Slips looks to expand its technology stack and sharpen its go‑to‑market execution in a competitive gaming landscape.
The round also featured participation from prominent individual investors, including Andrew Schwartzberg, co‑owner of both the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets and English football club Leeds United. Schwartzberg’s involvement highlights cross‑sector investor conviction in Slips’ potential to engage sports fans in new ways by combining real‑time competition with wagering experiences tied to athletic and social milestones.
Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Slips was built to innovate beyond traditional sportsbook and lottery models by enabling players to compete directly with one another in a variety of peer‑versus‑peer formats. The platform supports multiple gameplay types, including “Heads Up” one‑on‑one challenges, pools where users can join together to compete for shared prizes, tourlays that mix tournament and betting mechanics, and geo‑located group experiences that bring social play to bars, stadiums, private clubs, and local communities.
Slips’ platform also offers features tailored to a range of interests, from casual play among friends to organized groups centered on recreational sports such as pickleball, padel, and golf. The design philosophy behind the product is rooted in creating a social and interactive environment where users connect, compete, and win in real‑time, both online and in real life, fostering stronger community bonds and shared experiences around common interests.
According to leadership, the new funding will be used to strengthen Slips’ technology stack, including enhancements to the backend systems that power peer‑to‑peer challenges, improved user experience across mobile and web platforms, and advanced features that support real‑time social engagement and competition. These investments aim to differentiate Slips in a space where user retention and dynamic interaction are key drivers of growth.
Slips also plans to expand its team, particularly across product development, engineering, and growth functions, to ensure it has the talent and operational capacity necessary to scale nationally. Hiring efforts are expected to focus on areas that enhance Slips’ core product while enabling rapid iteration in response to user feedback and market demand.
User acquisition efforts will be another key area of investment with the new capital. Slips is prioritizing marketing and outreach initiatives designed to build awareness among sports fans and social gaming communities, tapping into the growing overlap between digital social experiences and casual betting formats. The company believes that this hybrid approach—part entertainment, part competitive gaming—positions it to attract a broad audience of players seeking alternatives to traditional sportsbooks and casino‑centric wagering platforms.
CEO Jess Richman and CTO Gurminder Singh, who lead Slips’ executive team, have emphasized that the company’s mission extends beyond simply offering another betting app. Instead, Slips seeks to create a platform where people can engage with friends, fans, and communities around shared passions, using wagering mechanics as a vehicle for social play rather than a sole focus on monetary gain.
As Slips scales its product and user base, the company is positioning itself to capture interest from a segment of players who gravitate toward social and communal gaming experiences. With $3.5 million in fresh capital from a diverse investor group led by Las Olas Capital and Sunset Bay Capital, alongside strategic support from sports‑industry investor Andrew Schwartzberg, Slips appears ready to deepen its footprint and evolve its offering in the dynamic intersection of social gaming and peer‑to‑peer competition.
