It is building an exchange model that aims to make wagering work like stock trading, with outcome-based contracts that close at $0 or $100

Sporttrade, a startup looking to change the way American fans bet on sports, has acquired a license to operate in Colorado. The company plans to launch first in New Jersey in 2022.

It is building an exchange model that aims to make wagering work like stock trading, with outcome-based contracts that close at $0 or $100 and the ability to buy or sell at market-based prices before and during the action.

Sporttrade recently announced a $36 million raise, led by Jump Capital. Nasdaq’s investment arm, Nasdaq Ventures, participated by taking convertible debt. Nasdaq has the same vision we do, Sporttrade CEO Alex Kane said at the time. They think sports betting looks like the stock market in the 1950s with huge room for improvement.

Retail trading exploded in popularity during the pandemic, as average daily volume nearly doubled year-over-year (YOY) in January. Online brokerage Robinhood recently went public at a valuation around $30 billion, while rival Public raised money at a $1.2 billion valuation in February. Now, Kane says, fans are more familiar with stock tickers than the American odds system of -110s and +450s. Like Robinhood, Sporttrade also plans to offer lower fees.

At some point, this will become the predominant form of wagering for the audience that is more of a digital native and less of a digital immigrant, Kane said in an interview. It’s impossible that that’s not going to happen. We define success by the degree to which we accelerate that. Hopefully we’re carrying the torch.

Sporttrade acquired Colorado-based sports betting company Momentum Sports, which owns an internet sports betting operator license in the state thanks to a deal with GF Gaming and Easy Street Casino.

We are proud to transition our gaming license to Sporttrade to serve Colorado’s growing sports betting community and to continue to evolve the industry, Momentum Sports founder Dan Kelliher said in a statement.