The company was started by FanDuel founder Nigel Eccles, along with executives Varun Sudhakar, and Stuart Tonner. FanDuel was founded in 2009 out of Edinburgh and grew to become a “unicorn” – a privately owned tech company with a valuation of over $1 billion. 

BetDEX is the latest stride by the sports betting moguls, this time becoming – it claims – the first fully licensed and regulated sports betting exchange built using blockchain technology. Using the blockchain, all wagers made on BetDEX are held on public smart contracts allowing immediate payout when bets are settled. 

This technology has led to the exchange seeing over $1.5 million (£1.1m) in matched wagers during the past six months. 

The company first obtained its online gambling license from the Isle of Man in October last year. According to the company this new licensing in Ireland solidifies its position as a leader in the web3 betting space. 

“Ireland has long been a leader in innovation and adoption of new technologies,” said Nigel Eccles, BetDEX Labs chairman and co-founder. “This licensing is a testament to the country’s commitment to staying on the cutting-edge and I am proud to be able to bring the BetDEX Exchange back to my native country.”

The licensing comes in the wake of BetDEX introducing in-play betting for cricket and tennis, which accounts for over 50% of global sports betting turnover. The company is now eyeing new betting markets like the Rugby World Cup and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

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“As a UK-headquartered company with a local presence in Ireland, the BetDEX team is excited to enter a new but familiar territory of operation,” said Varun Sudhakar, CEO and co-founder.

“While this license provides Irish citizens with the opportunity to bet using our platform, it also introduces the region to the power and benefits of blockchain and web3 technologies. We’re confident this will continue to advance the adoption of web3 betting platforms across the globe.”